Remie Jacques Olmberg (born August 28, 1950) is a retired
Surinamese footballer who played as a
defender for
SV Robinhood in the
Hoofdklasse, and the
Suriname national team. He was the team captain for SV Robinhood for a decade during one of the club's most successful periods, having won three national titles and finishing as runners-up in the
CONCACAF Champions Cup
The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Americ ...
on three occasions as well. He also won the
Surinamese Footballer of the Year award twice.
Career
Early career
Olmberg began to play football at age eight under the tutelage of Jules Coblijn (SV Robinhood) and Saften (SV Voorwaarts). He played for the Froweinschool in the Mulo competition, before moving to the George Streepy Stadion playing in the youth ranks of
S.V. Robinhood
Sport Vereniging Robinhood is a Surinamese football club based in Paramaribo that competes in the SVB Eerste Divisie, the highest level of football in Suriname. Founded on 6 February 1945, Robinhood is the most successful club in Surinamese foo ...
. In 1966 he was selected to play for the Suriname national youth team to compete in the
Kingdom Games leaving an impression on then Dutch national team head coach
George Kessler
George Edward Kessler (July 16, 1862 – March 20, 1923) was an American pioneer city planner and landscape architect.
Over the course of his forty-one year career, George E. Kessler completed over 200 projects and prepared plans for 26 comm ...
.
SV Robinhood
In 1969 Olmberg made his debut for the first team of SV Robinhood playing with the likes of Theo Blaaker, Ewout Leefland and Wilfred Garden. His impact on the team earned him the captain armband and in 1970 he was awarded the prize for
Surinamese Footballer of the Year. The following season saw him win his first national title and Robinhood's eighth overall. Qualifying for the
1972 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The 1972 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 8th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. It determined that year's clu ...
, Olmberg would captain his team to a second-place finish in the tournament, losing to
Olimpia from
Honduras 2–0 on aggregate score in the final.
Olmberg won his second national title with Robinhood in 1975, thus qualifying for the
CONCACAF Champions' Cup once more. In 1976 Robinhood would go on to win consecutive national titles and Olmberg's third overall, while also making it to the
1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup final once more. Robinhood finished second to
Águila from
El Salvador, losing 8–2 on aggregate score in the final. In 1977, he led Robinhood to the
1977 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The 1977 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 13th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), the CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The CONCACAF Champions Lea ...
final for the second time in a row where they faced
Club América from
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, losing 1–0 on aggregate score. It was Olmberg's third time in the finals of the competition, with his performance earning him his second National Footballer of the Year award. His period with Robinhood is considered one of the best in the club's history.
Caribbean All-Stars
On Sept 1, 1977 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 ...
was played at the
Queen's Park Oval
The Queen's Park Oval is a sports stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, used mostly for cricket matches. It opened in 1896. Privately owned by the Queen's Park Cricket Club, it is currently the second largest capacity cricket ground in ...
, in
Port of Spain,
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 ...
between the
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to
* New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada)
* New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...
and the Caribbean All-Stars, a selection of
International
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
football players of the
Caribbean Football Union. Olmberg was selected to captain the team, which included players such as
Arsène Auguste, Hugh Bell, Leroy Spann, Ernst Jean Joseph, Orville Edwards and Jose Sabin. The New York Cosmos were captained by
Pelé, and fielded players such as
Carlos Alberto,
Franz Beckenbauer,
Giorgio Chinaglia
Giorgio Chinaglia (; 24 January 1947 – 1 April 2012) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with Swansea Town in 1964. He later returned to Italy to ...
,
Rildo and
Werner Roth. The match ended in a 5–2 win for the Cosmos with Chinaglia,
Topić and Pelé scoring for the visitors. Olmberg played the full match, which saw Trinidadians' Spann and Llewellyn scoring for the Caribbean All-Stars.
SV Transvaal
In 1979, Olmberg transferred to cross town rivals
S.V. Transvaal and in 1981 helped the team win their second
CONCACAF Champions' Cup, defeating
Atlético Marte
Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to:
Sports Teams Athletico
* Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy
* Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic ...
from
El Salvador 2–1 on aggregate score in the final. It was Olmberg's first Continental title, having been to the finals of the competition three times with his former club.
International career
Suriname youth teams
Olmberg made his first appearance for the
Suriname national team playing for the youth team in the 1966
Kingdom Games.
Suriname first team
He made his debut for the first team in 1972, playing in the country's
1974 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign on 28 November 1972 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 ...
. The match ended in a 2-1 loss at the
Queen's Park Oval
The Queen's Park Oval is a sports stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, used mostly for cricket matches. It opened in 1896. Privately owned by the Queen's Park Cricket Club, it is currently the second largest capacity cricket ground in ...
in
Port of Spain,
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 ...
, with Suriname failing to advance in the qualifying rounds.
Olmberg also played in Suriname's
1978 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. The team played the
1977 CONCACAF Championship qualification Listed below are the dates and results for the tournament qualification. A total of 17 CONCACAF teams entered the competition. Honduras withdrew before the matches were played. The remaining 16 teams were divided into 3 zones, based on geographical ...
, finishing in 8th place in the final round. He scored five goals in the campaign, scoring against Trinidad and Tobago twice, as well as against
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
El Salvador. That same year he also helped Suriname to win the
CFU Championship
The CFU Championship (sometimes referred to as the CFU Nations Cup) was a football tournament for teams in the area of Caribbean between the years 1978–1988. It was the precursor of the Caribbean Cup
The Caribbean Cup was the championship ...
.
Career statistics
International goals
:''Scores and results list Suriname' goal tally first.''
Honours
Club
;S.V. Robinhood
*
SVB Hoofdklasse (3): 1971, 1975, 1976
*
CONCACAF Champions' Cup Runners-up (3): 1972, 1976, 1977
;S.V. Transvaal
*
CONCACAF Champions' Cup Winners (1): 1981
International
;Suriname
*
CFU Championship
The CFU Championship (sometimes referred to as the CFU Nations Cup) was a football tournament for teams in the area of Caribbean between the years 1978–1988. It was the precursor of the Caribbean Cup
The Caribbean Cup was the championship ...
(1): 1978
Individual
*
Surinamese Footballer of the Year (2): 1970, 1977
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olmberg, Remie
Living people
1950 births
Footballers from Paramaribo
Surinamese men's footballers
Suriname men's international footballers
S.V. Robinhood players
S.V. Transvaal players
SVB Eerste Divisie players
Men's association football defenders