- Andro Knel
Football player infobox
playername= Andro Knel
fullname = Andro Charles Willem Knel
nickname =
dateofbirth =October 8 ,1967
cityofbirth =Rotterdam
countryofbirth =Netherlands
dateofdeath = death date and age|1989|6|7|1967|10|8
cityofdeath = Zanderij Airport,Paramaribo
countryofdeath =Suriname
position = Attacking Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs = HMSH, DWO, ADO andFC Den Haag
years = 1986-1989
1989-1989
clubs =Sparta Rotterdam NAC Breda
caps(goals) = 44 (1)
19 (1)Andro Charles Willem Knel (
October 8 ,1967 inRotterdam –June 7 ,1989 inParamaribo ) was a Dutch-Suriname footballer. During his career he servedSparta Rotterdam andNAC Breda . He died at the age of 21, when onJune 7 ,1989 he was killed in theSurinam Airways Flight PY764 air crash inParamaribo . 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 andFC Den Haag before making the switch back to Rotterdam when he moved toSparta Rotterdam . He made his professional debut in the 1986-87 season, aged 19.He loved
Jamaica nreggae and hisdreadlocks combined with his position of attacking midfielder made many people compare him withRuud Gullit who also had dreadlocks in those days.Bob Marley andPeter 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 managerHans Verèl brought Knel to NAC for whom the club paid 185,000guilder s (about 84.000euro 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 theColourful 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 toParamaribo-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.
References
* [http://www.androknel.nl/index.htm Official website] nl
* [http://www.derat.nl/int/nl/club/historiepersoonsinfo.asp?persid=26 Knel in De Rat] nl
* [http://www.ajax-usa.com/history/fifteen-years/1989/june-1989.html Crash report]
* Iwan Tol: Eindbesteming Zanderij; het vergeten verhaal van het Kleurrijk Elftal (ISBN 9020403664) nl
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