Director of the Football Association of Thailand: "It will be a disaster if Thailand does not win the AFF Cup 2018"

Up to now, not only the Technical Director of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) Witthaya Laohakul, but alsoTSecretary General Pisan Jundilok was also removed from his position following the poor performance of the youth teams and internal turmoil. The U23 Thailand team, the Olympic team and most recently the U16 Thailand team all suffered disastrous defeats in 2018.

Only 3 Thai players who won the championship 2 years ago participated in the AFF Cup 2018. Photo: Internet

Especially when the information that some members of the U.16 Thai team used drugs was revealed, the families of these players were angry and criticized FAT fiercely. Thai media said that if the Thai team did not win the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018, it is likely that even President Somyot Poompunmuang would remain in office.

Lost 4 pillars

AFF Cup 2018 is not a tournament managed by FIFA, so Thailand national team head coach Milovan Rajevac cannot call up the four stars who are playing abroad, including: goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan (OH Leuven, Belgium), Chanathip Songkrasin (Consadole Sapporo, Japan), Teerasil Dangda (Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Japan) and Theerathon Bunmathan (Vissel Kobe, Japan). Remember that Chanathip was the best player of AFF Cup 2016 and with 6 goals, Teerasil Dangda was the top scorer of this tournament.

The other player is goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan, who is struggling at Belgian second division club OH Leuven. The team owned by this Thai owner is in a dire situation with only one win after 7 matches. Of course, they will not accept letting go of the player in this dire situation. The person chosen by Mr. Rajevac to replace Kawin is most likely Sinthaweechai, a goalkeeper quite familiar to Vietnamese audiences. This 34-year-old goalkeeper retired from the national team 3 years ago and recently decided to return when the Thai team was in trouble.

To reduce the pressure on FAT, Mr. Rajevac affirmed: "We will try our best at the AFF Cup 2018. Every tournament has its own pressures. Regarding the decision to select personnel for the two upcoming tournaments, I think the Asian Cup 2019 is more important than the AFF Cup. Therefore, the Thai team will need the best players for that playground." The Serbian strategist promised to do his best to help the Thai team defend the championship.

The 64-year-old coach believes that not calling up 4 stars playing abroad to participate in the AFF Cup 2018 will bring the "War Elephants" an opportunity to test new faces. In addition, the Thai team also needs to create a new wind by combining young players with those who have played a key role in the national team to serve new goals.

Chanathip Songkrasin (left) is a bright star of the Thai team, but is absent from the AFF Cup. Photo: Internet

Home advantage

At the AFF Cup 2018, the Thai team is in a group with Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Timor Leste, which is considered difficult because except for Timor Leste, the other 3 opponents are investing heavily in their national teams. Most notably, the Indonesian team is known as the "second-place king" of the AFF Cup. They have reached the final 5 times but have all had to accept defeat against Thailand (2000, 2002, 2016), Singapore (2004) and Malaysia (2010). In the face of such persistent disappointment, the team nicknamed "Garuda" is determined to enter the AFF Cup 2018 with the goal of winning the championship for the first time.

Due to Timor-Leste's home ground not being secured, the national team of only about 1 million people had to move to Bangkok to play against Thailand. The schedule is in favor of Rajevac and his team, they only have to play 1 away match against the Philippines, and 3 home matches against Timor-Leste, Indonesia, and Singapore in the battle for the top spot in Group B. If they win Group B, Thailand will have the advantage of playing the second leg of the semi-finals at home.

In fact, despite the absence of four key players, the Thai team is still the number 1 candidate for the AFF Cup. The current AFF Cup champion has lifted the gold cup 5 times, finished 3 times runner-up, and 1 time in the 11 times this tournament has been held. Public opinion in Southeast Asia believes that the Vietnamese team is a tough opponent that will not allow Thailand to be crowned champion for the third consecutive time in this regional tournament. Coach Park and his team are having impressive achievements in the youth tournament this year.