Ronald Wilfried Kolf (born June 5, 1939) is a former Surinamese football manager and player who last served as the technical director of the
Suriname national team and a board member of Surinamese football club
S.V. Leo Victor.
As a player, he played in the Surinamese
Hoofdklasse
The Vierde Divisie, formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general.
Background
The league is divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunday. This is a result of ...
for
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 ...
and for
S.V. Transvaal
Sport Vereniging Transvaal is a Surinamese association football club, which currently play in the SVB Eerste Divisie, Eerste Divisie, the top flight of football in Suriname. They play their home games in Paramaribo at André Kamperveen Stadion to ...
, having taken a brief player-coaching role at Concordia in
Moengo
Moengo () is a town in Suriname, located in the Marowijne district, between Paramaribo and the border town Albina on the Cottica River. Moengo is also a resort (municipality) in the district of Marowijne. Moengo was the capital of Marowijne Distr ...
, he would return to
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's ...
to finish his playing career at Transvaal. He is one of the most successful managers in Suriname, having led Transvaal and Robinhood to a total 15 national titles.
Career
Early career
Kolf grew up playing for various youth teams on the
Mr. Bronsplein such as Rio, De Trappers and Millionaros, before getting picked up by
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 ...
where he progressed through the youth ranks, winning two youth national championships. He was scouted by Andre de Vries. On the Bronsplein is where grew up playing with players such as Wim Petrici, Jan Helstone van Eyck, Charlo Stynberg, and Kenny Headley. He was given his first pair of football boots by Etire Strok, whom he admired, but his greatest idol growing up was
Humphrey Mijnals.
SV Robinhood
In 1958, Kolf made his
Hoofdklasse
The Vierde Divisie, formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general.
Background
The league is divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunday. This is a result of ...
debut in the first team of Robinhood. He would play with the team for three seasons winning the national title twice in 1959 and 1961. In 1962 Kolf parted ways with Robinhood over differences with the technical team, and signed with crosstown rivals
S.V. Transvaal
Sport Vereniging Transvaal is a Surinamese association football club, which currently play in the SVB Eerste Divisie, Eerste Divisie, the top flight of football in Suriname. They play their home games in Paramaribo at André Kamperveen Stadion to ...
instead.
SV Transvaal
Kolf joined S.V. Transvaal in 1962 where he played for three seasons winning the national title in 1962 and 1965.
Concordia
In 1965, Kolf relocated to
Moengo
Moengo () is a town in Suriname, located in the Marowijne district, between Paramaribo and the border town Albina on the Cottica River. Moengo is also a resort (municipality) in the district of Marowijne. Moengo was the capital of Marowijne Distr ...
, taking a teaching position at a school, where he joined local club Concordia, taking his first managerial role while also playing as a player. After two seasons, Kolf returned to
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's ...
joining S.V. Transvaal as a player-youth coach.
Return to Transvaal
Kolf returned to S.V. Transvaal where he was playing for the first team, while coaching the youth teams. After one season which saw Kolf winning the national championship with the first team, and two national championships with the youth teams, Kolf took over as manager of the club the following season, retiring as a player.
Managerial career
Kolf took on his first job as a football manager when he relocated to Moengo for a teaching position at a local school. At the time, Kolf had joined the club Concordia taking on a player-manager function for two seasons before returning to
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's ...
. Upon his return, Kolf took on a coaching position at his former club
S.V. Transvaal
Sport Vereniging Transvaal is a Surinamese association football club, which currently play in the SVB Eerste Divisie, Eerste Divisie, the top flight of football in Suriname. They play their home games in Paramaribo at André Kamperveen Stadion to ...
, coaching the youth teams, while actively playing in the first team. That season he was able to secure two National championships with the youth teams, while winning the National title with the first team. The following season, saw Kolf taking on the manager position of S.V. Transvaal.
As manager of Transvaal, Kolf led the team to consecutive national titles in 1967 and 1968, before taking over the manager position of S.V. Robinhood. Kolf successfully led the club to 13 national titles, making it to the finals of 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 Ameri ...
on five occasions, namely in 1972, 1976, 1977, 1982 and 1983.
In 1976, Kolf was the assistant to
Walther Braithwaite 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 ...
's
1978 FIFA World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June.
The Cup was won by t ...
qualifying campaign. In 2000 Kolf took over as the manager of the national team after 31 years at the helm of Robinhood, for the country's
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
qualifying campaign where they were eliminated by
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. He also helped Suriname the final stages of the
2001 Caribbean Cup
The Caribbean Cup was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union.
Qualifying tournament Preliminary round Group 1
----
----
Group 2
----
Group 3
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* Bahamas ...
.
In 2003, Kolf took over as manager of
S.V. Leo Victor, winning the
Surinamese Cup and the
Suriname President's Cup in his first year with the club. In 2008, he became the technical director for the club. In 2013 Kolf was made the technical director of the Suriname national football team.
Career statistics
Manager
Suriname matches
Honours
Player
;S.V. Robinhood
*
Hoofdklasse
The Vierde Divisie, formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general.
Background
The league is divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunday. This is a result of ...
(2): 1959, 1961
;S.V. Transvaal
*
Hoofdklasse
The Vierde Divisie, formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general.
Background
The league is divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunday. This is a result of ...
(2): 1962, 1965
Manager
;S.V. Transvaal
*
Hoofdklasse
The Vierde Divisie, formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general.
Background
The league is divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunday. This is a result of ...
(2): 1967, 1968
;S.V. Robinhood
*
Hoofdklasse
The Vierde Divisie, formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general.
Background
The league is divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunday. This is a result of ...
(13): 1971, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
*
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 Ameri ...
Runner-up (5): 1972, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1983
;S.V. Leo Victor
*
Beker van Suriname
The SVB Cup (Dutch: Beker van Suriname) is a competition organized by the Surinamese Football Association (Dutch: ''Surinaamse Voetbal Bond (SVB)'') since 1992. It was based on the size of the KNVB Cup. The tournament consists of all teams from ...
(1): 2003
*
Suriname President's Cup (1): 2003
Individual
* Suriprofs oeuvreprijs: 2013
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolf, Ronald
Living people
1939 births
Sportspeople from Paramaribo
Surinamese footballers
Surinamese football managers
S.V. Robinhood managers
S.V. Leo Victor managers
Suriname national football team managers
S.V. Robinhood players
S.V. Transvaal players
SVB Eerste Divisie players
SVB Eerste Divisie managers
20th-century Surinamese businesspeople
Association football forwards