Steve van Dorpel

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Steve van Dorpel

Full name	Steven van Dorpel
Date of birth	December 13, 1965
Place of birth	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Date of death	June 7, 1989 (aged 23)
Place of death	Zanderij Airport, Paramaribo, Suriname
Height	1.85m
Playing position	Striker
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1987-1989	FC Volendam	? (?)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Steven ("Steve") van Dorpel (born December 13, 1965 in Amsterdam - died June 7, 1989 in Paramaribo) was a Dutch-Suriname footballer. During his career he served FC Volendam. He died at the age of 23, when on June 7, 1989 he was killed in the Surinam Airways Flight PY764 air crash in Paramaribo. He was nicknamed "De parel van de Bijlmer" (The pearl of the Bijlmer), named after the Bijlmer district in Amsterdam where he lived. He was the nephew of fellow professional footballers Kevin Bobson and Etiënne Esajas and he went to the same high school as Ortwin Linger who also died in the crash..

His main skills were his strength and his pace. He joined the FC Volendam squad in 1987 and was one of the greatest talents in the Eredivisie. He scored a backheel goal against FC Den Bosch, which was continiously replayed at NOS Studio Sport. Against AFC Ajax he stunned the whole defence including Danny Blind, Aron Winter and Stanley Menzo. His achievements resulted in serious interest from teams like Feyenoord Rotterdam, FC Twente and Roda JC. Although FC Volendam did not want to let him go he was close to signing a contract with Roda JC for the 1989-1990 season.

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. His friends André and Steve Wasiman were also invited but could not make it as their team Excelsior Rotterdam could force promotion to the Eredivisie and were needed by the club. Two of his other friends Stanley Menzo and Hennie Meijer were also told to stay with their club, but ignored these demands and went as well, but both took an earlier flight. The Surinam Airways Flight PY764 crashed during approach to Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport, killing 176 of the 187 on-board, including Van Dorpel, 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.

Van Dorpel had never seen his father and was about to change his last name into his mothers name "Esajas". He was planned to meet up with his father for the first time of his life in Suriname during the Colourful 11 trip. In memoriam of Van Dorpel there is a statue behind the "Amsterdamse Poort" police station. A hall in FC Volendam's Kras Stadion is named after him.

Colourful 11 squad

Surinam Airways Flight PY764

Deaths: Degenaar • Doesburg • Van Dorpel • Fräser • Goodings • J. Haatrecht • Joemankhan • Knel • Kogeldans • Linger • Patrick • Scharmin • Veldman • Vijent • Manager: Stienstra • Survivors: De Haan • Lens • Nandlal