The first selection of Suriname led by national coach Stanley Menzo has been announced. The former goalkeeper of Ajax and PSV, among others, came over from Aruba at the beginning of January, where he was technical manager and interim national coach. Suriname will play a friendly international match against Barbados next Friday, after which the country will practice against arch-rival Guayana on Tuesday, February 2.
Earlier, Menzo announced that he would not make any major changes compared to the selections of his fired predecessor, Dean Gorré. The national coach has included six names that are not currently active in Suriname. Warner Hahn (Go Ahead Eagles), Ryan Donk (Kasimpasa), Myenty Abena (Slovan Bratislava), Dion Malone (NAC Breda), Ryan Koolwijk (PEC Zwolle) and Florian Jozefzoon (Quevilly Rouen Métropole) all flew in from abroad.
Our warriors for the upcoming games ??#Nation #BribiNaKrakti pic.twitter.com/xRaAtXpIfa
— Surinamese Football Federation (@OfficialSVB1920) January 25, 2022
“Huge steps have been taken”, Menzo reacted shortly after his appointment to the current situation at the national team. “I think a good foundation has been laid. A foundation on which to build further. And I want to contribute to that with my team. The objectives are also stated. No unrealistic goals for me. It is important to me that the conditions are created to achieve these objectives, that process has already started. I also want to make use of the diaspora players and local players,” said the coach.
Menzo is the successor to Gorré in Suriname, who was fired by the Surinamese football association at the beginning of August. This happened after the disappointing elimination at the Gold Cup, where the South American country did not survive the group stage. Before that, Gorré was also eliminated with Suriname in the battle for qualification for the World Cup in Qatar, where Canada proved much too strong in a mutual duel.
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