Andro Knel
Encyclopedia
Andro Charles Willem Knel (October 8, 1967 in Rotterdam
– June 7, 1989 in Paramaribo
) was a Dutch
-Suriname
footballer
. During his career he served Sparta Rotterdam
and NAC Breda
. He died at the age of 21, when on June 7, 1989 he was killed in the Surinam Airways Flight PY764
air crash in Paramaribo
. He was said to be a "tropical surprise in milk chocolate".
Knel and his family moved from Rotterdam to Den Haag when he was 10 years old. He played in the youth squads of HMSH, DWO, ADO and FC Den Haag before making the switch back to Rotterdam when he moved to Sparta Rotterdam
. He made his professional debut in the 1986-87 season, aged 19.
He loved Jamaica
n reggae
and his dreadlocks
combined with his position of attacking midfielder made many people compare him with Ruud Gullit
who also had dreadlocks in those days. Bob Marley
and Peter Tosh
were his main artists. Knel became loved at Het Kasteel. There were various cheer banners with rasta colours, messages and other signs featuring Knel. He had no driver's license and visited the training by tram or by roller skates. In total he played 44 professional matches for Sparta in which he scored one goal.
In the winter break of the 1988-89 season NAC Breda
manager Hans Verèl
brought Knel to NAC for whom the club paid 185,000 guilder
s (about 84.000 euro
s). Also at NAC he soon became a fan favourite and stole many of their hearts. Not just with his performances on the pitch, but also with personality off the pitch.
He was invited by Sonny Hasnoe, the founder of the Colourful 11 to be part of the team and travel to Suriname to play in the "Boxel Kleurrijk Tournament" with three Surinamese teams. The Surinam Airways Flight PY764 crashed during approach to Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport, killing 176 of the 187 on-board, including Knel, making it the worst ever aviation disaster in Suriname's history. Among the deads were a total of 15 members of the Colourful 11, only three of them survived.
Hundreds of fans of both NAC Breda and Sparta Rotterdam came together in memorial of Knel. A temporary Knel monument was revealed and the numbers of supporters visiting the monument proved his popularity. Due to the sad moments of Knel's death a special relationship between fans of both teams was created. Ten years after the disaster both clubs released a combined edition of their fanzine in memorial of Knel. The fans also introduced the Andro Knel Trophy, which is held every time the clubs play each other competitively in the Dutch leagues. Prior to the match the fans play against each other to decide which team wins that year's Andro Knel Trophy.
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
– June 7, 1989 in Paramaribo
Paramaribo
Paramaribo is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 250,000 people, more than half of Suriname's population...
) was a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
-Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
. During his career he served Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Sparta is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior and Feyenoord , the latter playing in the Eredivisie.-History:Sparta was first founded in 1887....
and NAC Breda
NAC Breda
NAC Breda , simply often known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Dutch Eredivisie and are known by the fierce and fanatic support of...
. He died at the age of 21, when on June 7, 1989 he was killed in the Surinam Airways Flight PY764
Surinam Airways Flight PY764
Surinam Airways Flight 764 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands to Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport in Suriname on a Surinam Airways DC-8...
air crash in Paramaribo
Paramaribo
Paramaribo is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 250,000 people, more than half of Suriname's population...
. He was said to be a "tropical surprise in milk chocolate".
Knel and his family moved from Rotterdam to Den Haag when he was 10 years old. He played in the youth squads of HMSH, DWO, ADO and FC Den Haag before making the switch back to Rotterdam when he moved to Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Sparta is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior and Feyenoord , the latter playing in the Eredivisie.-History:Sparta was first founded in 1887....
. He made his professional debut in the 1986-87 season, aged 19.
He loved Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and his dreadlocks
Dreadlocks
Dreadlocks, also called locks, a ras, dreads, "rasta" or Jata , are matted coils of hair. Dreadlocks are usually intentionally formed; because of the variety of different hair textures, various methods are used to encourage the formation of locks such as backcombing...
combined with his position of attacking midfielder made many people compare him with Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit
OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...
who also had dreadlocks in those days. Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
and Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh , was a Jamaican reggae musician who was a core member of the band The Wailers , and who afterward had a successful solo career as well as being a promoter of Rastafari.Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica, an illegitimate child to a mother too young...
were his main artists. Knel became loved at Het Kasteel. There were various cheer banners with rasta colours, messages and other signs featuring Knel. He had no driver's license and visited the training by tram or by roller skates. In total he played 44 professional matches for Sparta in which he scored one goal.
In the winter break of the 1988-89 season NAC Breda
NAC Breda
NAC Breda , simply often known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Dutch Eredivisie and are known by the fierce and fanatic support of...
manager Hans Verèl
Hans Verèl
Hans Verèl is a former football defender and midfielder from the Netherlands, who played for Sparta Rotterdam, SVV and FC Den Bosch...
brought Knel to NAC for whom the club paid 185,000 guilder
Guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...
s (about 84.000 euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s). Also at NAC he soon became a fan favourite and stole many of their hearts. Not just with his performances on the pitch, but also with personality off the pitch.
He was invited by Sonny Hasnoe, the founder of the Colourful 11 to be part of the team and travel to Suriname to play in the "Boxel Kleurrijk Tournament" with three Surinamese teams. The Surinam Airways Flight PY764 crashed during approach to Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport, killing 176 of the 187 on-board, including Knel, making it the worst ever aviation disaster in Suriname's history. Among the deads were a total of 15 members of the Colourful 11, only three of them survived.
Hundreds of fans of both NAC Breda and Sparta Rotterdam came together in memorial of Knel. A temporary Knel monument was revealed and the numbers of supporters visiting the monument proved his popularity. Due to the sad moments of Knel's death a special relationship between fans of both teams was created. Ten years after the disaster both clubs released a combined edition of their fanzine in memorial of Knel. The fans also introduced the Andro Knel Trophy, which is held every time the clubs play each other competitively in the Dutch leagues. Prior to the match the fans play against each other to decide which team wins that year's Andro Knel Trophy.