Frits Lambertus Purperhart (25 December 1944 – 29 September 2016) was a Surinamese football manager and player, a member of the Suriname Olympic Committee board of directors as well as being a board member for the National broadcasting network Telesur in Suriname. As a player, he played in the Surinamese Hoofdklasse for

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

NAKS ''NAKS'' (Sranan Tongo: , en, Our African Culture of Suriname) is a social and cultural organization which promotes Afro-Surinamese culture and expression in Suriname and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1948 with Eugène Drenthe as it ...

and S.V. Leo Victor, as well as playing for the Suriname national team. He has also managed both Leo Victor and the Suriname national team during the span of his career. He is considered to be one of the greatest footballers in the history of the sport in Suriname, having finished as the league's top scorer twice, winning the Surinamese Footballer of the Year award on two occasions as well.

Career

Purperhart began his career on the Mr. Bronsplein sport terrain in

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname' ...

, Suriname where he was picked up by one of the local clubs, namely

. His father urged him to transfer to

, where he was coaching at the time, and Purperhart stepped over. After two seasons Purperhart transferred to S.V. Leo Victor. He helped the club to secure its second national title in his first season with the club. Known for his ability to score from a free kick, he is considered one of Suriname's best goal scorers of all time. In 1966 and in 1967 he won the Surinamese Footballer of the Year award consecutively, and in 1965 he became captain of S.V. Leo Victor. In 1970 and in 1972 he finished as the league's top scorer.

International career

Purperhart made his debut for the Suriname national team on 10 June 1966 at the Coupe Duvalier tournament against

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

in a 3–2 loss at the Sylvio Cator Stadium in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He scored his first two goals for the National team on 13 June 1969 in a

Friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

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, scoring the equalizer and the second goal in a 2–1 win at the National Stadion. He played an important role in the countries

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

and 1978

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

qualifying campaigns, also helping his team to win the

1978 CFU Championship This page provides summaries for the 1979 CFU Championship. Qualifying round First round The following are known results only; there may be more matches. ---- ---- ---- ---- vs , Martinique advanced to the second round after Domin ...

Managerial career

In 1978 Purperhart took over a player–coach function for S.V. Leo Victor before retiring as a player and fully committing himself to his managerial role. In 1996, he was appointed manager of the Suriname national team for their

1998 FIFA World Cup qualification 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

campaign. His side was eliminated by

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

1–0 in the 2nd qualifying round. He also managed Suriname to a fourth place finish in the

1996 Caribbean Cup The 1996 Caribbean Cup (also known as the Shell/Umbro Caribbean Cup for sponsorship reasons), was the 8th edition of the Caribbean Cup, the biennial football championship of the Caribbean region (CFU). It was held in Trinidad, where it began on ...

, losing to

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

3–2 on penalties after extra time, following a 1–1 deadlock, in the match for third place.

Honours

Player

;S.V. Leo Victor * SVB Hoofdklasse (2): 1963–64, 1978 * Surinamese Footballer of the Year (2): 1966, 1967

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purperhart, Frits 1944 births 2016 deaths Sportspeople from Paramaribo Surinamese footballers Suriname international footballers Surinamese football managers S.V. Leo Victor managers Suriname national football team managers S.V. Leo Victor players SVB Eerste Divisie players SVB Eerste Divisie managers 20th-century Surinamese businesspeople Association football forwards