Erwin Sparendam

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

Erwin Sparendam

Erwin Sparendam in 1968
Personal information
Date of birth	(1934-11-14)14 November 1934
Place of birth	Paramaribo, Surinam
Date of death	20 September 2014(2014-09-20) (aged 79)
Place of death	De Meern, Netherlands
Position(s)	Right back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Robinhood
1957	USV Elinkwijk
1957–1958	Blauw-Wit	33	(10)
1959–1961	USV Elinkwijk	55	(7)
1961–1969	Blauw-Wit	67	(15)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Sparendam moved from Robinhood to Dutch club USV Elinkwijk in January 1957.^[1] He was one of five Surinamese players to join the club at that time, the others being Humphrey Mijnals, Frank Mijnals, Michel Kruin, and Charley Marbach.^[1] 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.^[2] Sparendam stated he was not subjected to racism during his playing days, though he did experienced racism in the Netherlands as he grew older.^[3] Sparendam also played for Blauw-Wit.^[4]

He appeared for Suriname in a friendly match versus the Netherlands in 1960.^[5]

After retiring as a player Sparendam became a coach, and managed a number of amateur club sides including Eminent Boys, Faja Lobi and DVSA.^[3][6]