Monday, August 24, 2015

Dutch-Surinamese Greatest All-time 23 member team



Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard, at Euro 1988 Final

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index. 

Nethetlands All-Time Team
Dutch Indos/Indonesian-born Dutch

Suriname is a former Dutch colony.  For international football, its national plays in the CONCACAF even through it is located in South America. Approximately 350,000 individuals of Surinamese descent now live in the Netherlands, with mass migration beginning in the years leading up to Suriname's independence in 1975, and continuing in the period immediately after independence and during military rule in the 1980s.  However, Suriname discourages dual citizenship and Surinamese-Dutch players who have picked up a Netherlands passport are barred from selection to the national team.  The national team remains weak in the region, despite a number of Holland's footballers were born in Suriname or traced their ancestry to Suriname.

This is my selection of the Dutch-Surinamese all-time 23 member team.  All players here has chosen to represent Netherlands.

Team
GK: Stanley Menzo
Stanley Menzo spent over 10 years with Ajax.   He also played with PSV Eindhoven, Lierse SK and Girondins de Bordeaux. For Holland, he earned 6 caps.  He went to the World Cup in 1990 and the European Championship in 1992 as a backup keeper.  He was the Dutch Goalkeeper of the Year in 1990.  At the club level, he spent most of his career with Ajax.

GK: Michel Vorm
Vorm started his career with FC Utrecht in 2005 and played for them until 2011.  He played for Swansea between 2011 and 2014.  He moved to Tottenham Hotspurs in 2014.  Since 2008, he played 15 times for Holland. He was the backup keeper at both 2010 and 2014 World Cup Finals.  He played part of the the third place match in the 2014 edition.

GK: Kenneth Vermeer
Vermeer was a long term keeper for Ajax.  In 2014, he shocked the football world by joining rival Feyenoord.  At the time of writing, he received 5 caps for the national team. He is the current Dutch national team record holder for longest streak in goal without conceding in a match, having not conceded a goal since his debut in 2012. 

RB: Michael Reiziger
Michael Reiziger was a member of the Golden Generation from Ajax that won Champions League in 1995.  After a brief stint with AC Milan, he moved to Barcelona in 1997.  In 2004, Reiziger moved to Middlesbrough on a Bosman transfer. He was capped 70 times for Holland, representing the nation in three European Championships and the 1998 World Cup Finals.

RB: Mario Melchio
Born in 1976, Melchio started with the youth of Ajax.  He made his senior debut in 1996, but the peak of his career was spent with Chelsea between 1999 and 2004.  He also played for Rennes, Birmingham City and Wigan.  He was capped 20 times for Netherlands. He went to European Championship in 2008.

DM/CB: Frank Rijkaard
Frank Rijkaard was one of Holland's most important player.  He was capped 73 times.  He won the 1988 European Championship in West Germany. He notably played for Ajax and AC Milan. He spent 5 seasons with AC Milan when Milan was considered the greatest club team in the world.  He won two European Cup with them. In 1995, he led a young Ajax team to their famous Champions' League victory.  That team is also considered one of the greatest club sides ever.
Frank Rijkaard
CB: Virgil van Dijk 
Van Dijk started with Groningen before he moved to Celtic in 2013. In S2015, he joined Southampton before signing for Liverpool in 2018 for £75 million, a world record transfer fee for a defender. Van Dijk was named the PFA Player of the Year and the Premier League Player of the Season for the 2018–19 season. Van Dijk starred as Liverpool won the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final where he was named man of the match. From 2015 onward, he played for Netherlands and was named captain.

CB: Humphrey Mijnals
Born in Suriname, Humphrey Mijnals became the first Surinamese player to play for Holland.  He began his professional career in Brazil with America Futebol Clube.  In 1956, he went to play for USV Elinkwijk in Netherlands. He made his national team against Bulgaia in 1960.  He was remembered for clearing a ball from the goalline through a overhead kick in that match. His international career was limited due to a dispute with the Dutch FA.  He later played for the Surinamese National Team.
Humphrey Mijnals
CB: Winston Bogarde
Winston Bogarde won 20 caps for Netherlands.  He was a member of the Golden Generation from Ajax that won Champions League in 1995.  He represented Netherlands at the Euro 1996 and the World Cup Finals in 1998. He played briefly for AC Milan. In 1998, he joined the Dutch contingency at Barcelona.  Two seasons later, he joined Chelsea, where he played until 2004.

LB/CB: Wilfred Bouma
Born in 1978, Wilfred Bouma won 37 caps for Netherlands between 2000 and 2012. He played in three European Championship: 2004, 2008 and 2012, but he never played in the World Cup Finals.  From 1994 to 2005, he played for PSV Eindhoven.  He won the Eredivisie in 2000, 2001, 2003 and  2005.  In 2005, he moved to Aston Villa, where he had a successful career before returning to PSV. 
Wilfred Bouma
DM: Edgar Davids
Nicknamed "the Pitbull", Edgar Davids was one of the greatest defensive midfielders in the world.  He won the European Champions' League with Ajax in 1995.  He was capped 74 times. He was an important player at the World Cup Finals in 1998 when Netherlands reached the semi-final. At the club level, he also spent 7 seasons with Juventus at the height of his career.  He also played for Tottenham Hotspurs, Barcelona, AC Milan, etc.

DM: Nigel De Jong
Known as tough defensive midfielder, Nigel De Jong made his name with Ajax, Hamburger and Manchester City.  At Manchester City, he helped the club to win their first ever Premiership. He moved to AC Milan in 2012 where he spent three and half years. He also played for Galatasaray, LA Galaxy, Maniz 05, etc. He is a regular member of the national team since 2004.  He is probably best remembered for kung-fu kicking Xabi Alonso at the World Cup Final in 2010.
Nigel De Jong
A youth product of Feyenoord, Wijnaldum became the youngest player ever to represent the club when he made his debut in 2007.  From 2011 to 2015, he played for PSV and one season withnewcastle before joining Liverpool.  In 2021, he joined PSG.  He was a member of the squad which finished third at the 2014 World Cup as well captaining the national team at Euro 2020.
 
Clarence Seedorf is the first player to win three Champion League titles with 3 different clubs. He was a member of the Golden Generation from Ajax that won Champions League in 1995.  In 1996, he moved to Real Madrid, where he quickly established himself as a star.  He would win two Champions League title there.  He later played for both AC Milan and Inter Milan, winning two more Champions League titles with AC Milan.  He was a key player for the Dutch national team from 1994 to 2008.
Clarence Seedorf
RM: Aron Winter
Born in Suriname of an unique ethnic background, Aron Winter was both an Indian and Chinese descendent.  He started his career with Ajax, where he played from 1986 to 1992. He oined Lazio at the height of Serie A during the early 1990's.  He later played for Inter Milan between 1996 and 1999.  For the national team, he was a regular member of the team.  He was capped 84 times and a part of the Euro 1988 winning team.  His last major tournament was the Euro 2000.

RW: Gerald Vanenburg
During the 1990's, Gerald Vanenburg formed a dangerous partnership Marco Van Basten and Wim Kieft at Ajax.  He would join PSV in 1986. He later played in Japan, Germany and France. For the national team, he was a part of the Golden Generation that won the European Championship in 1988. He played for Netherlands 42 times.

RW/SS: Gaston Taument
Gaston Taument played the vast majority of his 14-year professional career with Feyenoord, amassing Eredivisie totals of 204 games and 45 goals over the course of nine seasons., where he starred along side Regi Blinker.  He earned 15 caps.  He played for Netherlands at the World Cup Finals in 1994 and at Euro 1996.

LW: Bryan Roy
Bryan Roy played for Ajax in the late 1980's and early 1990's.  He won UEFA Cup in 1992 with them.  He went to play with Italy's Foggia in 1992 when Ajax decided to promote their young players. He later played for Nottingham Forrest, Hertha Berlin and NAC. His transfer fee to Nottingham Forest was the club's record. At the international level, he was capped 32 times and played at both World Cup Finals in 1990 and 1994, and the 1992 European Championship.
Bryan Roy
LW: Regi Blinker
Regi Blinker played for Feyenoord between 1986 and 1996. He was known for his partnership with Gaston Taument at Feyenoord.  He later played for Sheffield Wednesday, Celtic, RBC and Sparta Rotterdam. He picked up 3 caps for Netherlands between 1993 and 1994. He made his senior international debut against San Marino. He was born in Suriname.

AM: Ruud Gullit
Gullit was the iconic captain of Netherlands' Euro 1988 winning team.  In 1987,  he moved from PSV Eindhoven to A.C. Milan for a world record transfer fee.  He was an important player for AC Milan during the 1980's where they won two straight European Cups. He was the European Footballer of the Year in 1987 and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989.  He spent one season with Sampdoria winning the Italian Cup in 1994, and then, three more seasons with Chelsea.
Gullit at Euro 1988
ST: Pierre Van Hooijdonk
Pierre Van Hooijdonk played for many clubs in his career. His longest stints were with NAC Breda, Nottingham Forrest, Feyenoord and Celtic.  Between 1994 and 2004, he played over 40 times for Netherlands, despite the fact that he played in the same generation as Patrick Kluivert, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Roy Makaay and Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
  
ST: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was late bloomer where he played with smaller clubs until he moved to Portugal in 1995.  His best spell was probably in England with Leeds United and Chelsea.  He was the Premier League Golden Boot winner in both 1998-1999. 2000-2001.  He only played 23 times for Netherlands because of Netherlands loaded with forwards during the peak of his career.

ST: Patrick Kluivert
Kluivert was the teenage star of the great Ajax team of 1995. scoring the wining goal the Champions' league Final..  He was also a star with Barcelona.  He joined Milan in 1997, but he quickly left for Barcelona a season later.  He had a relatively successes at the club, but left for Newcastle United in 2004.  His career was never the same due to injuries.  He was a part of the national team from 1996 to 2004.
Patrick Kluivert

Honorable Mention
Romeo Castelen, Jerry De Jong, Edson BraafheildLuciano Narsingh, Ken Monkou, Ryan Babel, Romeo Castelen, Henk Fraser, Marciano Vink, Jeremain Lens, Ulrich Van Gobbel, Eljero Elia, André Kamperveen, Orlando Engelaar, Quincy Promes.

Squad Explanation
-- Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Edgar Davids are on my All-Time Team for Netherlands
-- Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Aron Winter and Gerald Vanenburg were parts of the Dutch national team that won the European Championship in 1988.
-- The 1998 World Cup team that Netherlands reached the semi-final consisted of Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Michael Reiziger, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Pierre Van Hooijdonk, Aron Winter and Winston Bogarde who were of Surinamese origins.
-- The 2010 World Cup team that reached the Final included Michel Vorm and Nigel De Jong on this all-time team. Edson Braafheid, Eljero Elia and Ryan Babel are also of Surinamese background. They made honorable mention. Gregory van der Wiel is of Curaçao descent.
-- The fantastic 1974 World Cup team did not include a single Surinamese player.
-- André Kamperveen was a Surinamese player to play club football in Brazil and Holland.  He was the captain of the Surinamese national team. The National Stadium is named after him.  However, this blog is about Dutch-Surinamese.  He was a Surinamese playing in Netherlands  I do not know if he is considered Dutch.
-- Born in Suriname of an unique ethnic background, Aron Winter was both an Indian and Chinese descendent.
-- Ken Monkou was uncapped.  I preferred capped players even through that does not say much about the skilled level of the players.

-- The team was updates in June, 2019 immediately after Liverpool won the Champions' League.  Virgil van Dijk replaced Ulrich Van Gobbel on the team.  He is the best defender in the world at this moment.
-- Humphrey Mijnals was selected for his historical role of being the first Surinamese player to play for Netherlands. 
-- Jerry De Jong is probably better known as Nigel's dad.  His club career was not too impressive.
-- Marciano Vink's position is well-covered by Davids, Rijkaard and Seedorf.  His injuries really destroyed his career.  So I took Orlando Engelaar instead.
-- I did not take Romeo Castelen because there are too many wingers on the team.
-- I believe John Heitinga is not of Surinamese origin.
-- During Euro 2020, I replaced Orlando Engelaar with Georginio Wijnaldum.  Wijnaldum was the Dutch captain in the tournament.  He played over 70 times for the national team.  He was the Dutch Player of the Year in the 2014-2015 season.
-- I never heard of Curacao until their recent runs at the Gold Cup in 2017 and 2019.  Their national team decided to look for Dutch professional players to represent them.  Suriname could improve their national team if they also look for Surinamese Dutch playersIn November 2019, Suriname created a so-called sports passport would allow Dutch professional footballers from the Surinamese diaspora to represent Suriname.  Suriname qualified for the 2021 Gold Cup with 2–1 CONCACAF Nations League win over Nicaragua and made their first appearance in a CONCACAF tournament since 1985.  This development would lead to more quality players to the country.  However, this blog team is still about Surinamese Dutch players.  The contributions to the Surinamese national team and the football in Suriname also play no role on future selection.  It was about the quality of the players. As mentioned,  Humphrey Mijnals was selected for his historical role as the first Surinamese in Dutch professional football.

-- Denzel Dumfries was the star of Netherlands at the European Championship in 2021.

Starting lineup
Formation 4-4-2(diamond)
-- Van Hooijdonk mkght have picked up many caps than Hasselbaink, but Hasselbaink was a better player.
-- I dropped Rijkaard to the backline so that I could play Winter.  Virgil van Dijk might take one of the starting position one day.


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