From Reading FC to the World Cup: Brian Tevreden hoping to see Suriname overcome Bolivia next March | OneFootball

Back in 2016, Brian Tevreden was brought in by Reading FC’s Thai owners alongside newly appointed head coach Jap Staam. The Royals had been in the Championship for a few seasons after relegation in 2013 and the owners were hoping to see the side back in the promise land. Tevreden and Stam came close, losing the worst play-off final in history on penalties to Huddersfield. Sadly, this was as good as it got for the pair.

Reading would change owners near the end of that season, with Dai Yongge taking over and putting the fans through years of dire football and failure as they were relegated to League One. By then, Tevreden was long gone. He had been moved by Yongge to their sister club KSV Roselare in 2018, a role he only took on for a year. Roselare would go bust under the leadership of Yongge, and Reading were not far off suffering the same fate under his terrible leadership.

Yet, Tevreden had shown he could spot talent during the first year at Reading. His next venture in football is on the verge of a historic World Cup qualification. Tevreden is now the Chief Executive Officer at Suriname, who will play Bolivia next March for a place in the play-off final. If they can beat their South American opponents, they will play either Jamaica or surprise package New Caledonia for a place at the World Cup.

Tevreden recently sat down with ESPN to talk about the upcoming fixture and Suriname football. Since the end of the qualification campaign, Tevreden has had to find a new head coach for the national team. Stanley Menzo stepped down and in his place has come the experienced Henk ten Cate. Ten Cate certainly has pedigry, having been a coach at Barcelona when they won a Champions League. Of the new head coach, Tevreden said ‘Henk is truly a football animal. The great thing about Henk is that he still considers this an honor, and that’s a credit to him’.

In many ways, Tevreden’s role at Suriname is similair to the one he did at Reading. Talent identification is something that both Suriname and Curucao have done in recent years, finding players eligible to represent the country and convincing them that it would be worth their while. The former Reading man has been able to convince Danilho Doekhi of Union Berlin to represent the country, although FIFA approval is still required for this to be complete.

Another concern for Tevreden is the small amount of time that the new head coach has to work with the players, as well as the jet lag for those coming over from Europe. Tevreden spoke in the interview about how they are already working with a company that will prepare the players for dealing with jet lag. Clearly, Suriname are focused on ensuring that the squad is fully prepared for the clash with Bolivia and realising history.

There had been reports in Bolivia that Suriname wouldn’t be allowed to compete in the play-offs due to government interference, something that Tevreden has called ‘complete nonsense’. It appears unlikely that anything will come of this, and come March a Suriname side will be facing Bolivia in Mexico hoping to pass the first hurdle on their way to an unlikely World Cup appearance.

Back in 2017, Tevreden almost helped deliver a promotion for Reading, something that would have been historic for the club as giving the fans a third taste of Premier League football since being founded in 1871. Many would agree that, if Tevreden can help oversee Suriname’s qualification to the World Cup, this will easily be the greatest achievement of his career.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson