Herman Harry Rijkaard (12 September 1935 – 30 September 2010) was a Surinamese footballer who played as a forward for Robinhood in the SVB Hoofdklasse, Blauw-Wit in the Dutch Eredivisie, and for Stormvogels in the Eerste Divisie.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Herman Harry Rijkaard | ||
| Date of birth | 12 September 1935 | ||
| Place of birth | Paramaribo, Surinam | ||
| Date of death | 30 September 2010 (aged 75) | ||
| Place of death | Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ajax | |||
| Robinhood | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1955–1957 | Robinhood | ? | (?) |
| 1957–1961 | Blauw-Wit | ? | (?) |
| 1961–1962 | Stormvogels | ? | (?) |
| Managerial career | |||
| Real Sranang | |||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of (09:38, 5 January 2016 (UTC)) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of (09:38, 5 January 2016 (UTC)) | |||
He is the father of former Dutch international player and Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard.
Career
editEarly career
editBorn in Surinam, Rijkaard began his football career on the Mr. Bronsplein sport terrein in Paramaribo, before he was picked up by one of the local clubs, joining the youth ranks of V.V. Ajax playing with the likes of Erwin Sparendam and Charley Marbach, before being recruited to the ranks of Robinhood.[2]
Robinhood
editHaving played in the youth ranks of Robinhood, Rijkaard progressed to the Surinamese Hoofdklasse. As an attacker with a strong right foot, he helped Robinhood to national titles in 1955 and 1956. While making a living as a bookkeeper for a company called Kersten & Co., word started spreading in Suriname about a fully professional league being established in the Netherlands. Rijkaard soon relocated, joining Blauw-Wit from Amsterdam, the crosstown rivals of Ajax at the time.[3]
Blauw-Wit
editIn 1957, Rijkaard joined Blauw-Wit playing in the Olympic Stadium in the newly formed Eredivisie, the top flight of professional football in the Netherlands.[4] He would be reunited with his childhood friend Sparendam once more.[5] Due to his strong physique, Rijkaard was gradually moved to a more defensive role on the playing pitch. A development his Son would undergo during his playing career as well. A 13th-place finish with Blauw-Wit in the league table was his best result in four seasons with the club, before transferring to Stormvogels from nearby Velsen.[6]
Stormvogels
editIn 1961, he joined the Stormvogels, competing in the Dutch Eerste Divisie, the second tier of professional football in the Netherlands.[7] He played for one season, before directing his focus towards family and the needs of Surinamese expatriates in the Netherlands, thus retiring from professional football as a player.[8]
Personal life and other work
editAfter his career as a football player, Rijkaard took a job as a social worker in Amsterdam. He married Neel van der Meulen and in 1959 they had their first son Herman Harry Rijkaard Jr. Three years later, Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard was born. Herman Jr would go on to become a players' agent licensed by FIFA.,[9] while Frank would go on to play for Ajax, Real Zaragoza, Milan and the Netherlands national team, winning the UEFA European Championship in 1988 and the UEFA Champions League in 1995 with Ajax as a player, and as a manager in 2006 with Barcelona. Frank is one of the most successful players/managers in the history of Dutch football.[10]
As a social worker, Rijkaard was intimately involved in the integration process of his compatriots who were emigrating to the Netherlands escaping political unrest in Suriname. He was the manager of Real Sranang, an amateur football club in the Netherlands for a while,[11] and was also the secretary of the ROVI (Reünisten Oud Surinaamse Voetbalinternationals), an organization based in the Netherlands responsible for organizing reunion matches and events for former players of the Suriname national team living in the Netherlands.[12] He died on 30 September 2010 of unspecified causes.
Honours
editClub
edit- Robinhood[13]
- Hoofdklasse (2): 1955, 1956
References
edit- ^ "Frank Rijkaard - De Biografie". AW Bruna. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^ "Mr. Bronsplein; De eerste Surinaamse sportencyclopedie (1893-1988)". dbnl.org.
- ^ "SV Robinhood; De eerste Surinaamse sportencyclopedie (1893-1988)" (PDF). dbnl / Ricky W. Stutgard. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ "Blauw-Wit vs FC Den Bosch". Elf Voetbal. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ "'Negeren heeft geen zin'". Volkskrant. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ "Ster van Robin Hood wees talentvolle Surinamers" (PDF). Rondomvoetbal.nl. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^ "pagina 5 - Historische Kranten, Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken". Leidsche Dagblad. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ "'Frank Rijkaard, melancholicus en toptrainer'". Voetbal International. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ "'Rijkaard legt beslag op betaling Ajax'". AD.nl. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ "Rijkaard finally gets frank". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ "Real Sranang SV - Het Koninklijke Suriname in Amsterdam (Historie)". Real Sranang. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ "Lancering website over Surinaamse voetbalhistorie". Waterkrant. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
- ^ Allard Doesburg; Hans Schöggl. "Surinam – List of Champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2 August 2011.