PLAYERS WHO COULD HAVE REPRESENTED SURINAME
Ruud Gullit
Born: Amsterdam, 1962 Caps: 66 Goals: 17 Clubs: Feyenoord, PSV, AC Milan, Sampdoria, Chelsea The son of George Gullit, a Surinamese migrant and economics teacher, the attacking midfielder is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history, winning two European Cups with AC Milan and leading Holland to European Championship glory in 1988. Once described by George Best as “better than Maradona”.
Frank Rijkaard
Born: Amsterdam, 1962 Caps: 73 Goals: 10 Clubs: Ajax, AC Milan Scorer of the winner in the 1990 European Cup final for Milan, Rijkaard was a peerless defensive midfielder who, like Gullit, won Euro ’88 with Holland. Son of a Surinamese migrant, Rijkaard still visits the country and said in 2010 , “We can’t forget our roots and we wouldn’t want to”.
Aron Winter
Born: Paramaribo, 1967 Caps: 84 Goals: 6 Clubs: Ajax, Lazio, Inter Another winner in ’88, Winter played in seven successive international tournaments for Holland, his last coming in 2000. Born in Suriname, he moved to Europe as a two-year-old and came through the vaunted Ajax youth system.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Born: Paramaribo, 1972 Caps: 23 Goals: 9 Clubs: Leeds, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Middlesbrough Whatever they feed you in Suriname, it clearly goes straight to your thighs. Famed for possessing just about the hardest shot in football, JFH lived in Suriname until he was five, starting out with AZ Alkmaar before scoring goals galore for Chelsea.
Michael Reiziger
Caps: 72 Goals: 1 Clubs: Ajax, AC Milan, Barcelona, Middlesbrough, PSV Winner of back-to-back titles as a marauding right-back with Barcelona, Reiziger – the son of a Surinamese migrant – played in four consecutive tournaments for the Dutch.
Edgar Davids
Born: Paramaribo, 1973 Caps: 74 Goals: 6 Clubs: Ajax, AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Inter, Spurs (and Barnet) Nicknamed ‘The Pitbull’ Davids was one of
Europe’s most iconic players in his pomp, winning the European Cup, UEFA Cup, Super Cup and three Italian titles as a no-nonsense defensive midifelder. A regular visitor on charitable visits, Davids says football in Suriname was a means of escape. “It is like Brazil,” he says. “There is a lot of poverty, a lot of kids from broken homes. All they have is football, so they learn to play on the streets, in their bare feet.”
Clarence Seedorf
Born: Paramaribo, 1976 Caps: 87 Goals: 11
Clubs: Ajax, Sampdoria, Real Madrid, Inter, AC Milan, Botafogo The only player to have won the Champions League four times with three different clubs, the midfield maestro – now 37 and manager of Milan – is arguably the most decorated player of his generation. Deeply involved with Suriname through his Champions for Children foundation, he regularly visits the country and recently opened the Clarence Seedorf Stadium in Paramaribo
Patrick Kluivert
Born: Amsterdam, 1976 Caps: 79 Goals: 40
Clubs: Ajax, AC Milan, Barcelona, Newcastle, Valencia, PSV Yes, just when you thought it couldn’t get any better up pops the second-highest goalscorer in Dutch history (after Robin van Persie). Another Ajax European cup winner before collecting titles galore with Milan and Barca, Kluivert’s father was actually a professional footballer in Suriname, representing the national side in a World Cup qualifier in 1966.
Michel Vorm
Born: Ijsselstein, 1983 Caps: 14 Goals: 0 Clubs: Utrecht, Swansea The Swansea star is Holland’s first ever keeper of Surinamese descent and is proud of his heritage. “It is something I am proud of, and something Surinamese people are very proud of,” he said last year. “If I am in Holland they say how proud they are to see me playing for Swansea and being part of the national team.”
Nigel De Jong
Born: Amsterdam, 1984 Caps: 69 Goals: 1 Clubs: Ajax, Hamburg, Man City, AC Milan Born to an Indonesian mother and a Surinamese father, De Jong (known as “the lawnmower” for his ability to flatten anything in his way) has kicked his way to the top with Man City and Milan, famously getting away with kung-fu kicking Spain’s Xabi Alonso in the World Cup final.
Honourable mentions: Winston Bogarde (Ajax, Milan, Barcelona, Chelsea), Mario Melchiot (Ajax, Chelsea), Royston Drenthe (Real Madrid, Everton), Regi Blinker (Sheffield Wednesday), Jeffrey Bruma (Chelsea, PSV)