Humphrey Mijnals

Humphrey Mijnals

Personal information
Date of birth	(1930-12-21) 21 December 1930
Place of birth	Paramaribo, Suriname
Playing position	Defender
Youth career
	Gompers
	Remo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1950–1955	SV Robinhood
1955–1956	América Futebol Clube (PE)
1956–1961	USV Elinkwijk
1962–1963	DOS Utrecht
National team
1960	Netherlands	3	(0)
	Suriname	45	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Humphrey Mijnals (born December 21, 1930) is a former footballer who played international football for both Netherlands and Suriname.^[1]

Career

Mijnals' first professional international football activities were in Brazil for six months with América Futebol Clube (PE). After this he returned to Suriname. Following his transfer in 1956 to USV Elinkwijk, he received a signing-on fee of $ 15,000 while his club received a transfer fee of 3000 guilders. The club contracted more Surinamese footballers, collectively known as the "five-leaf clover".

He debuted in the Dutch football team on April 3, 1960 in a home match against Bulgaria. Mijnals, nicknamed Minna, is best known for clearing a Bulgarian attempt on goal with an overhead kick.^[2]

In total, Mijnals played just three matches for the Netherlands, including a match against Suriname, because he came into conflict with the KNVB. The conflict arose after a training trip to South and Central America; he complained about the game and selection policy to a journalist, which resulted in him being placed on the list of unwanted players by the association.

Then he played 45 times in the Suriname national football team and with the Surinamese football club S.V. Robinhood he was four times champion. In 1999, he was elected Surinamese footballer of the century. On 24 August 2008, Mijnals also received Sports Medal of the city of Utrecht.^[3]

References

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