ATW90. Thailand Part 1.

This is the first in a series of posts I am making, which will be extended to create a book, Around the World in 90 Minutes.

Please send any comments or inaccuracies to atw90@leohoenig.com

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For the foreigner arriving from Europe, heat and humidity is the first problem, so I pushed myself into acclimatisation with a walk to the FA offices at the stadium to confirm my accreditation. It was a full hour’s walk, although I was expecting less. I then walked part way back to the hotel, finally giving in to the desire to take a taxi after taking a few pictures of the local temple.

Later, with a heavier bag, I did take a taxi back through the traffic to the stadium. The lengthy jams appear to be part of traffic chaos, but it is relatively organised, except the mopeds and bikes that weave their precarious route through the queues. At most junctions, traffic entering from each direction is given free reign, but then the red lights show for a long time as the other directions get their turn. Many have a timer showing the countdown to the lights change, and the lights are obeyed, although drivers will put their foot down to beat the countdown.

The Rajamangala is a big bowl of a stadium, with the stands quite low behind the goals, where ugly concrete blocks sections for the scoreboard and to hold the flame (from the 1988 Asian games). The stands rise to the centre and really appear to jut out into the night sky.

The Thai football team, as a display of respect for the King’s passing, play in a black kit.

Despite being bottom of the group, with World Cup elimination already confirmed, there is a fair and noisy crowd supporting Thailand. Separate singing sections at each end of the ground, with a smaller one in the middle of the uncovered side, means the noise resounds around the stadium, reaching a crescendo for each Thailand attack. We see a few of these in the first half, as Thailand look the stronger, Teerasil Danga forces a couple of good early saves from Kassid in the visitors’ goal, and later a couple of free kicks come close. But it is Iraq that take the lead, a ball down the right, which is pulled back rather than crossed, leaving Justin Azeez in space. The American born (both parents from Iraq) player shoots for his first national team goal in three years – or to put it clearer, his last since the last time time Iraq visited Thailand.

That match, also part of this World Cup qualifying campaign finished 2-2, while my first even visit to the stadium (in 2007) saw the same two teams share a 1-1 draw. The goal against ten minutes before the break is not enough to quieten the home fans, but it does seem to affect the team badly.

Thailand came out strongly for the second half, but did not get the early breakthrough they were looking for. Again they were making most of the attacking moves, but there is a question over which passes they elect to try – especially when close to the goal, they seem to believe they can play through the blocking player, when there routes to go round.

Thailand equalised with a bit of good fortune. An attempt to clear the ball was charged down on the left, and the ball passed to substitute Tristan Do on the right. His shot is off target, but takes a massive deflection off Ahmed Ibrahim.

The Thai support cheer every player going off for a substitution, and they even give a round of applause as Thitiphan Puangchan trudges off after received his second yellow card, meaning his team faces the last 18 minutes with ten men.

They have a lesser opinion of their opponents, and do try to affect the referee into evening up the numbers, but he has other thoughts, and no protest on or off the field stops him awarding a penalty, from which Saad puts Iraq 2-1 up.

A little bit of gamesmanship creeps in, as Thailand made a substitution to delay the penalty, while Iraq followed suit when Theerathon was waiting to take a free kick. The difference being the penalty was scored, the free kick which needed to be cross drifted into the keeper’s reach.

Iraq end up 2-1 winners, which means Thailand will finish bottom of the group.

Despite losing, the Thai team make a slow lap around the pitch at the end of the game, stopping to receive appreciation from each of the singing groups. It is quite something to see a group of fans singing something in Thai, to the tune of Rod Stewart’s “Sailing” with their scarves raised, with the team waiting several minutes for the song to complete, and then going to see other sections

The crowd is 22604, which shows a vast improvement on ten years ago, when only 12000 watched the same two teams in the Asian Cup opener, my other visits in that cup were neutral matches with quite poor crowds.

When I read about the match in the paper, there is a lot of talk about the team showing improvement. The cynic in me immediately thinks that it is easy to improve if your base is low enough, and anyway they have to say this, early in the reign of a new coach. The much-travelled Serbian coach, Milan Rajevac took over in April

I wondered a little about the state of Thai football, so before the game I had a short talk with Patit Suphaphong, the Deputy General Secretary of the FA of Thailand. I asked about the obvious disappointment to the administration, that while Thailand has installed a successful professional football league in recent years, this is not reflected in the FIFA rankings. Naturally, a little defensive on this, Suphaphong said this administration has only been installed for a short time, and they are planning to make sure the National team gets good fixtures to improve the rankings, and they are planning ahead. “We have to accept that in the past, the planning was not done properly, so that is why the ranking went down. I think with the new administration and with good planning, we have a lot of major tournaments in the next few years like Asian, I think that will help us”. I questioned the Asian Cup record, “This is the biggest tournament in the next three years”. South East Asia comes first, but is clearly not thought of as priority, (Thailand are the holders). “South East Asia, we cannot be callous, we will retain our quality, retain out championship, but we are aiming for Continental status at the Asian cup”

I asked if it would help the team if more of its players could play in other countries. Of the current starting XI, only one (Channathip) is currently playing outside of Thailand, having recently joined J-League side Consadole Sapporo on loan. The captain, Teerasil Dangda is the only other one to have experience abroad. He is one of three Thai players that Shinawatra took to Manchester City when he became owner. As they could not get work permits to play in England, they were shifted out, and Teerasil managed a few games in Switzerland for Grasshoppers’ second team. He also spent half a season with Almeria in La Liga, (the last time they were in the top flight).

Suphaphong said “we are trying to give the best option to all the players, we encourage them to go abroad, to make sure they come back with the best experience”. He agreed that the success of the Thai National League works against this. The players can earn a good wage without travelling, so the desire to move abroad is not there.

Leaving the stadium, I find a lack of taxis for hire, and tuk tuks are not to be seen in this part of the city. Hence, I take the risk and board a bus. On board, a fellow passenger helps by asking the driver if the drives all the way down the road to my hotel. My original thought was to hope it went much of the way, allowing me to find taxi or walk. As it was, with help, I got to the bus stop close to my hotel.

From Bangkok, I make my way to Trat for a Saturday match, with my half way stop in Rayong, also my destination for a game on my return. I feel happy enough to drive outside the city, and the full route I am to take is either dual carriageway or toll motorway. Only in the towns does one have to worry much about the other vehicles.

When I visited Thailand on business in the early nineties, the league was not organised as such and instead there was a series of tournaments, one of which was considered to be the Thai Championship. Some of these, including the championship one were played between club sides. The major tournaments were all played over a period of around two weeks, using the old National stadium.

Others were played between Provincial teams, and while the finals of these tournaments would be held in major cities (mainly Bangkok), they could have qualification games in regional centres. I think I only found out about the one in Rayong because the field it was played on was on the route between the factory and a small resort we stayed in on that first trip.

Still, my choice of matches was heavily influenced by having seen Rayong play Trat in my first ever match in Thailand, back in January 1990. I only got to the old National stadium a month later, for the annual King’s Cup – an invitational international tournament

Trat is considered to be the border town closest to Cambodia – but it is still nearly 100 km from the border. It is a smallish town, with several rather splendid temples, and some interesting street lights, which reminded me of Liver Birds.

The ground is about a mile out of town. It would be difficult to find public transport as the open mini trucks that serve the locality have no signs, and few speak English, so explaining where you want to go is difficult.

The ground is straight forward, a tarmac track, with stands on each side. The home support seems to select the far side, while the small group of visiting fans were caged at one end of the main stand. Both groups of supporters did their best to keep up a chant throughout. The players did their best to keep them quiet. The Songkhla supporters said they had driven from Bangkok, (about 4 hours) which seems more plausible than travelling from Songkhla province in the South of the country, which would take around 18 hours. This fitted in with something I had seen many years back when watch Persija (a Jakarta team) play one from Aceh, from the furthest away tip of Sumatra. Groups of people who have come to the capital for the improved job opportunities look for the chance to gather as a community, and the local football team playing a match provides such an excuse. I would think this section of Songkhla support see their team frequently, as the Thai second division is biased towards Bangkok area teams.

Songkhla supporters get their voices ready before the game

Songkhla have a curious football heritage, having moved from Buriram in the North East of the country after the controversial politician who runs the club now known as Buriram United moved them out of the capital and into is political heartland. It appears that the owner of Songkhla (then known as Buriram FC) did not object. But then she was (and is) married to the owner of Buriram United. By road, Buriram to Songkhla is 1356 km.

The Foreign contingents play an important part in professional football in Thailand. Although the salaries appear well enough to prevent many Thai players becoming foreigners elsewhere, the foreigners still get the bulk of the budget, and are expected to perform to match. There are two categories of foreigner. Asian or Foreign. Asian means a player who comes from a country which is affiliated to the Asian Football Confederation (and hence includes Australia, but not Kazakhstan or Israel), Foreign means a non-Thai player from anywhere else. I am told the rule is 3 Foreign + 1 Asian + 1 ASEAN. ASEAN means the Association of South East Asian Nations, which consists of ten countries, including Thailand. Naturally, you can play an extra Asian in the place of one of the true foreigners, and an extra ASEAN in place of any type of foreign, having said that, the list on Wikipedia only shows four ASEAN players in the division, and three of these are from further afield but have gained an ASEAN passport. I note that Kelsey Alves is in the list, a Brazilian who I saw play in Vietnam ten years ago, now having a Vietnamese passport

Unlike some countries, not only can you sign more foreign players than are allowed to play at any one time, but also you can start with a full contingent and keep a foreign player on the bench as well, only bringing him on after another player has been substituted. I should have asked about red cards in this respect. Songkhla’s Japanese defender Hyun Whoo was not available in the game I saw, being suspended for his third red card of the season.

Trat go for Brazilian players, having two in the starting line-up, and another two on the bench, with their own Japanese defender, Yoon Siho playing throughout. Apart from the missing Whoo, Songkhla’s more cosmopolitan contingent of foreigners came from Georgia, Belize, Portugal and Spain, with the last of these starting on the bench

The game started slowly, and while it was clear Songkhla were playing as 4-1-4-1 with all the foreigners in the midfield 4, the home tactic was not so clear. In the end had it down as 4-2-3-1 with a Brazilian as forward, and another as left wide. It appeared that the preferred tactic was to attack down this left wide channel, but the first clear chance in the 16^th minute was a cross from the other side. It took a good save to stop Felipe’s header. A few minutes later a move down the left resulted in a hurried clearance.

By this time, the visitors appeared to have lost the midfield battle, and could not get approach the home back four with anything other than a single player, the overall pace of the game slow, interrupted by players going down and demanding treatment, and with passages of play.

The main group of home fans were in the centre of the stand opposite to the main one. They were almost uniformly kitted out in the same dark shirts, and had a continuous drum beat, with claps and chanting. The away fans, who I had seen in the car park and had apparently travelled from Bangkok in two mini-buses were kept in a secure corner at the end of the main stand. A small group from each side, with flag bearers were introduced from the field at half time.

The home side took the lead in the first minute after the break, the ball running down the right side of the field, allowing Tardelli to come in from the other side and glance in a header from a central position.

At the end of the game, we see the ritual, each set of players went to receive applause and show appreciation to both sets of supporters, their rivals first and then their own, who would sing at this point. I could not hear Songkhla’s song, but Trat were singing to the tune of “Over the Rainbow”.

The following afternoon, I retrace my steps as far as Rayong. Seeing as I had seen signs and supporters of Trat in the town before the game, but no signs in Rayong on the Friday, I head back to the town centre, after a brief pause to spot a small temple amongst the houses. However, I draw a blank here, there is nothing to show that there will be not one, but two football games in the evening around the city.

The area around the Rayong Provincial stadium turns out to be the same area as I saw a game in 1990. At that time, there was very little development around here, while now the city has grown, and development continues right up to the stadium. The small beach resort I had stayed in has been replaced by new resorts, and there are now rows of small bars and restaurants right along the beach.

There are at least plenty of supporters milling around outside the stadium. I spy three nice young ladies with my name on their T-shirts and get a photo with them. In Thailand, I share my name with a very moderate lager.

The open space, on which a marquee erected for the occasion was the only facilities, has been built up into a modern sports complex. The first parts of the construction would have started soon after my last visit to the area. I believe the old pitch is now under a sports hall, while there is also a swimming pool, with a stand for spectators and the main stadium. The track was laid in the mid-90s and looks as if it has not been renewed since. The stands have been updated, with a new covered stand on the west side being only a few years old, while the open seats to the East have been extended at both ends.

Almost all the spectators had to sit on concrete seating, but I managed to grab a real seat and move it to the press bench. I can easily walk in free, but at 100 baht, (£2.50), I consider that buying a ticket is a requirement.

Rayong are a mid-table club, a few places in the table below. Again, you know the foreign players will be influential, and I think the fact that visiting Air Force Central had more and better foreigners was the deciding factor. For Rayong, the pick of the foreigners was Seiya Sugushita from Japan, while they also started Harrison Cardoso (Brazil) and Ivan Boskovic (Montenegro), they had a Cameroonian on the bench, but he had no influence on the game when he appeared. Air Force named two Japanese players, along with Bruno Cesar (Brazil) and Aleks Kapisoda (Croatia) – all starting, with no extras on the bench.

Air Force make a dominant start, with Bruno Cesar dominating the defenders, out muscling them and hitting the post early, only just failing to get a good contact with the rebound. This persuades Rayong to keep their defenders on him, and the overlook Kayne Vincent on the left wing, who ghosts in to give Air Force a lead in the 15^th minute. Ten minutes later, it is 2-0, and this time Bruno is the scorer. Rayong are not out of it though, and a few minutes later we see the skills of the blond haired Japanese Seiya Sugishita as he flicks the ball and goes around his defender, and places a perfect ball for Anuchit to balloon over the bar. A few minutes later, another chance as a header from Nirut is well saved.

Once Rayong have possession though, they push upfield and every ball out of defence was a threat, they could easily have scored a third before half time, but again the finishing shot was very amiss. The art of hitting the volley high into the night sky is alive and well in Thai football.

Fan clubs of Rayong (above) and Air Force

After the first few attacking moves of the second half by Air Force look threatening, it is Rayong who pull a goal back, hitting in from wide right, a goal which will have embarrassed the visiting keeper, who really should have been able to gather it as it flashed past in front of him

As the game moved on, we again got more time-wasting tactics with lengthy injury breaks, and officials that were not quick to act to keep a flow, and only a cursory additional minute added for at least five lost. Even the match commissioner, who left his glass box and placed a seat close to mine appears to agree.

Two minutes into injury time, and Rayong think they have an equaliser. A shot from around 30 yards hits the underside of the bar and down to the ground before bouncing outwards. As it comes away, the nearest player is appealing for the goal, and forgetting that all he has to do is get his head to the ball before the defender to put the issue beyond doubt, and the ball is cleared for a corner.

The match commissioner, runs back to his box to watch the replay. I try to follow, but that is not allowed. He comes out and affirms that the referee is correct, and it did not go in.

One of Rayong’s Farang supports, Karddin Kent has introduced me to the CEO of Rayong, Adul – and at the end of the game he is watching the replay on his mobile phone, convinced it is a score and that the linesman should have seen it. I tend to agree with the first point, but not the second.