Erwin Sparendam (14 November 1934 – 20 September 2014) was a Surinamese professional footballer who played as a right back.

Career

Sparendam moved from Robinhood to Dutch club USV Elinkwijk in January 1957. He was one of five Surinamese players to join the club at that time, the others being

Humphrey Mijnals Humphrey August Mijnals (21 December 1930 – 27 July 2019) was a footballer who played international football for both the Netherlands and Suriname. Career Mijnals began his career with the Surinamese football club S.V. Robinhood in the 1950s, ...

Frank Mijnals Frank Mijnals (born 8 February 1933) is a Surinamese former football player who has played for S.V. Robinhood in the Surinamese Hoofdklasse, and for USV Elinkwijk in the Dutch Eredivisie. He also played for the Suriname national team. He is ...

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, and

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. The group was known as the 'Five Elements' and 'The Five-Leaf Clover' and were among the first Surinamese footballers to play in the Netherlands. Sparendam stated he was not subjected to racism during his playing days, though he did experienced racism in the Netherlands as he grew older. Sparendam also played for Blauw-Wit. He appeared for

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

in a friendly match versus the Netherlands in 1960. After retiring as a player Sparendam became a coach, and managed a number of amateur club sides including Eminent Boys, Faja Lobi and DVSA.

References

1934 births 2014 deaths Surinamese footballers Surinamese expatriate footballers Suriname international footballers Surinamese expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands USV Elinkwijk players Blauw-Wit Amsterdam players Eredivisie players S.V. Robinhood players SVB Eerste Divisie players Association football fullbacks Sportspeople from Paramaribo {{Netherlands-footy-defender-stub