Radjin de Haan
Encyclopedia
Radjin de Haan is a retired Dutch
-Suriname
footballer
and currently is a football manager. During his career he served Telstar
, FC Eindhoven
and FC Den Bosch. He was one of the footballers that survived the Surinam Airways Flight PY764
air crash in Paramaribo
on June 7, 1989. He was the only player to return on the pitch after the disaster.
De Haan was known as a talented player and started his career at Telstar
where he made his debut. He was the youngest footballer (18) to be 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, 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, including De Haan survived. After the crash De Haan saw dead bodies all around him. He managed to grab a little kid and brought himself and the kid in safety, while having a fractured vertebra.
Despite the vertibra he was able to return on the football pitches seven months after the disaster, making him the only player who survived the crash to make a comeback. Unfortunately for him he was unable to get his old form back and was forced to withdraw from professional football. He played for several amateur sides like FC Lisse
, Holland Utrecht and the Koninklijke HFC
. He later got another chance in professional football and was signed by FC Eindhoven
. Later he would also move to FC Den Bosch, but in both occasions his injury prevented him from any outstanding performances.
After his career he became an amateur football manager and led the Koninklijke HFC to position eleven of the "Sunday 1A class" in the 2002-03 season, his first season as a manager. He managed the Koninklijke HFC for another two years, but moved to Geel Wit'20 in between (2004–05). He then moved to VV Young Boys, playing in the "Saturday 4E class" and became league champions in the 2005-06 season, resulting in promotion. A year later when the team played in the "Saturday 3C class" they would become champions again and were promoted to the second class for the 2007-08 season. At the end of the 2007-2008 season they became champions again and promoted to the first class for season 2008-2009. De Haan is following a managers education and his wish is to become a professional football manager in the near future.
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...
and currently is a football manager. During his career he served Telstar
Stormvogels Telstar
Telstar is a Dutch football club based in Velsen. The club was established after the merger of two football clubs in the town of Velsen.- History :...
, FC Eindhoven
FC Eindhoven
FC Eindhoven is a Dutch football club based in Eindhoven, North Brabant. They current play in the Eerste Divisie , and are one of two professional clubs which are based in the city of Eindhoven, the other one being PSV Eindhoven....
and FC Den Bosch. He was one of the footballers that survived 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...
on June 7, 1989. He was the only player to return on the pitch after the disaster.
De Haan was known as a talented player and started his career at Telstar
Stormvogels Telstar
Telstar is a Dutch football club based in Velsen. The club was established after the merger of two football clubs in the town of Velsen.- History :...
where he made his debut. He was the youngest footballer (18) to be 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, 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, including De Haan survived. After the crash De Haan saw dead bodies all around him. He managed to grab a little kid and brought himself and the kid in safety, while having a fractured vertebra.
Despite the vertibra he was able to return on the football pitches seven months after the disaster, making him the only player who survived the crash to make a comeback. Unfortunately for him he was unable to get his old form back and was forced to withdraw from professional football. He played for several amateur sides like FC Lisse
FC Lisse
FC Lisse is a Dutch football club from Lisse which was founded in 1981. It currently plays in the Topklasse.-History:The history of FC Lisse is linked to its Catholic religion, the first version of a football club being formed in 1911 by a local Catholic priest, called Lissese Voetbal Vereniging,...
, Holland Utrecht and the Koninklijke HFC
Koninklijke HFC
Koninklijke HFC is a football club in Haarlem, the Netherlands. It is the oldest club in Dutch history, founded by Pim Mulier in 1879. During the first years the only team played rugby but due to financial problems they switched to association football...
. He later got another chance in professional football and was signed by FC Eindhoven
FC Eindhoven
FC Eindhoven is a Dutch football club based in Eindhoven, North Brabant. They current play in the Eerste Divisie , and are one of two professional clubs which are based in the city of Eindhoven, the other one being PSV Eindhoven....
. Later he would also move to FC Den Bosch, but in both occasions his injury prevented him from any outstanding performances.
After his career he became an amateur football manager and led the Koninklijke HFC to position eleven of the "Sunday 1A class" in the 2002-03 season, his first season as a manager. He managed the Koninklijke HFC for another two years, but moved to Geel Wit'20 in between (2004–05). He then moved to VV Young Boys, playing in the "Saturday 4E class" and became league champions in the 2005-06 season, resulting in promotion. A year later when the team played in the "Saturday 3C class" they would become champions again and were promoted to the second class for the 2007-08 season. At the end of the 2007-2008 season they became champions again and promoted to the first class for season 2008-2009. De Haan is following a managers education and his wish is to become a professional football manager in the near future.