MIAMI, Florida – It has been a week to remember for Suriname football.
In addition to taking part in the Draw for their first ever Concacaf Gold Cup, the Surinamese Football Association is celebrating its centennial on Thursday, commemorating 100 years since its founding on October 1, 1920.
Despite not being able to have a full celebration due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Suriname Head Coach Dean Gorre says it is nevertheless a very special day in the country.
“It is fantastic to celebrate a 100-year anniversary and it is special. The president of the country will come; we’ll have a celebration that is within the Covid-19 protocols, but I would have liked it to have been open and free for everyone to enjoy,” said Gorre in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.
Born in Suriname, Gorre enjoyed great success as a player in the Netherlands and England before ultimately deciding to return home to Suriname to take the reins of the national team for a second time in 2018. Just being a part of its 100-year history fills Gorre with pride.
“Suriname is the country where I was born and two years ago, I made the decision to come and live in Suriname to prepare these amateur players to qualify for the Gold Cup. The hard work we’ve done in the last two years is something to look back on and say we done it. It’s special. My roots are here and now to reach this Gold Cup with my country where my heart is means a lot. I’ve never seen a group so emotional after our last game to clinch a Gold Cup place. I won cups in leagues in Holland, but that last game was something special,” said Gorre.
Drawn into Group C with Costa Rica and Jamaica for the 2021 Gold Cup, Gorre is looking forward to facing a pair of Concacaf stalwarts in next summer’s tournament.
“I think Costa Rica is a world class team. We have seen them play many times. It is special to play against Costa Rica for the players we are going to face. We have played Jamaica before. They beat us 2-1 in the Nations League [Qualifying] and that was a match we really enjoyed playing,” said Gorre.
For the Gold Cup, Gorre will also have the luxury of relying on some Netherlands-based players who are eligible to play for Suriname.
“Having players from our diaspora will make us stronger. We could actually be a surprise in the tournament with this new team. There’s no Gold Cup experience, but the quality we have will help us. We will enjoy the entire experience,” said Gorre.
The Suriname Football Association was a founding member of Concacaf in 1961. As the country begins a new century of football, it is Gorre’s hope that the country can soon develop a professional league and enrich the their decorated football history. Suriname were champions of the 1978 CFU Championship, and domestic clubs transcended on the international stage, with Robinhood and Transvaal each reaching five different Concacaf Champions Cups in the 1970s and 1980s, and Transvaal winning the 1973 and 1981 editions.
There is no doubt that the country brims with talent, and Gorre feels like with the proper development, Suriname football can shine on the international stage.
“In the 1970s we had top teams and top players playing for Suriname, with Robinhood and Transvaal. But there has been a gap and we didn’t grow. Our level is still amateur, so players like myself made ourselves known in the Dutch league. You can see Surinamese players have quality by past players like Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and current players like Virgil Van Dijk [who represent Holland]. I hope the future will be bright. We put a lot of effort into qualifying for the Gold Cup, and when you put in effort, there is a lot possible. I think with development, football in Suriname has a bright furfure,” concluded Gorre.
