Army United

 

Army United FC, who were known as Royal Thai Army FC until December 2010, was a professional football club based in the Din Daeng district of Bangkok. The club was originally formed in 1916 and always had a team competing in Thai football.

Most of the clubs players were members of the Army playing at the impressive 20,000 capacity Thai Army Sports Stadium. They folded at the end of the 2019 season owing to changes to the constitution of such sporting entities and their funding.

When the Thai football league system was modernised, Army were in the Premier League. However they were relegated in 1999 and they remained in Division One until 2004-05 when they won the title. Three seasons in the top flight followed before a further relegation was suffered.

This time the team went straight back up at the first attempt in 2010 helped by the goals of Tatree Sing-Ha. In 2011 the club abandoned its policy of only fielding players from the army as the game in Thailand became more professional.

At the same time, Army Welfare Development was formed, playing in the Khǒr Royal Cup before being elected to the Regional League 2 in 2015 as Royal Thai Army FC to offer an outlet to purely army employees.

'The Gentlemen Ranger' reached the FA Cup Final in 2012, but lost out to Buriram United under the stewardship of Paniphon Kerdyam. During the run, Army were given a reprieve from a penalty defeat to Trat when it was realised that the Regional League side had fielded an unregistered player and were kicked out of the competition.

Former Scottish international defender Matt Elliott was in charge of team affairs between January and June 2014, before the ex Tottenham Hotspur and England defender Gary Stevens took over.

Stevens lasted until May 2015 when he was replaced by Issaro Sritaro, who in turn was replaced by fellow Thai and former team boss Watcharakorn Antakhamphu. 

His tenure saw the team go on a poor run which saw them in the final relegation place with three rounds remaining when the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej marked the end of the season with league places at the time being counted as final. Thus Army were relegated.

The 2017 campaign in the newly rebranded second tier Thai League 2 (T2) kicked off with Thanis Areesngarkul in charge of team affairs, but a poor run of results saw him replaced by Col. Kittichet Mahothorn in March 2017.

Daniel Blanco took over team affairs in July 2017; remaining in charge until the end of the season before departing to Krabi. The former Portugal international midfielder Nascimento arrived as the new head coach for the 2018 season.

He was replaced in June 2018 by Adul Luekijna who remained in place to take the side to an eighth-place finish before Daniel Blanco was appointed as head coach for the 2019 campaign. The side finished fifth in the table as Tanakorn Dangthong led the scoring prior to the club folding.

My visit

Royal Thai Army 1 Bangkok United 1 (Saturday 24th April 2010) Thailand Premier League (att: c1,200)

My report written for Scarborough Athletic FC fanzine, Abandon Chip.

Owing to the erupting Icelandic volcano, I was unfortunately detained in Bangkok for a week longer than scheduled. Not wanting to cry over spilt milk and ever looking to broaden my footballing education, I decided that Saturday 24th April 2010 should be spent watching a local game.

I had planned to go to the game in the Premier Division between BEC Tero Sasana and top of the table Chonburi at the Thephasadin Stadium. Unfortunately this venue was next to the old National Stadium in an area of the city disrupted by violent political clashes involving the military and the red shirt protestors. This led to the game being postponed.

Not to be deterred, I hit on a plan B. I took off after lunch with Steve and the other intrepid stranded traveller, Neil Eggar, I found a taxi and set off. My companions gave me the wind up before I set off. My chosen game was to be Army v Bangkok United. They laughed as they said I’d probably picked a grudge match. 

The driver wasn’t sure of my destination so I gave him a station on the underground where I thought I could walk from. After a little conversation in very broken Thai and English, he revealed he was a reserve in the Army and showed me his ID card. 

He reckoned he knew where the stadium was. I also knew vaguely as I’d passed it before on my way to Harrow International School where I help co-ordinate a cricket tournament each November.

My man was spot on and he pulled into a service station just short of the stadium off the expressway a full hour before kick off. I spotted a local in a Bangkok United shirt who luckily spoke English nit noi (a little) and he directed me to the ground. 

A five minutes later saw me entering the sports campus. The guard seemed very friendly which was encouraging. I knew the stadium had a track round the pitch and one side had a roof from research so I wandered round to that side. All around were basic cafes which also served beer.

Outside both clubs had souvenir stalls, but I resisted. I decided to enter the ground and I paid 80 baht (just short of £2) for a seat in the Main Stand. I had the bottle from my water removed by courteous guards. Upon entry I found I was in the home fans section. A VIP area separated us from the away fans further up the touchline. 

There were school children on the far open side. It had been my intention to gain entry into there at some point to take photos and to get on the live TV coverage while speaking to my mates on my mobile while they looked on from home.

The fans were very enthusiastic making loud noises with drums, hooters and the plastic sticks which are found at games. 

Their support never abated. The crowd was mainly aged between 14 and 30 and it has to be said that it was a pleasure to be in the company of the many females. They were certainly more aesthetic than my usual mates at a game. 

A leader got the “Tra Kong Chak”, as Army are known, fans going with a megaphone and nearly everyone joined in. If only I knew what they were chanting so I could have!

The game was very entertaining, assisted by a good ref who worked well with his assistants. Army were bottom of the league but they had the better of the play, eventually going ahead. I was really getting into it by now and I was even greater enthused by finding beer for 30 baht (80p) at half time. 

Even better was when I could take one back upstairs for the second half. It was most welcome as it was thirsty work just watching. I noticed that the sub has to go to the fourth official and show his official TPL ID to sanction a change.

United grabbed an equaliser about ten minutes from time. The same tell tale which is found anywhere in the world signs echoed through the stand: a second or so silence followed by the roars of the away fans who numbered around 300. The total gate probably crept over 1,000. 

I was sick for my new found friends who had been most welcoming with their warm smiles. Full time saw something I am very much in approval of. The teams went across to their opposing supporters and bowed; known as wai-ing in Thailand. 

It is a traditional greeting like shaking hands in western culture). In return the opposing fans applauded the players. Very civilised and far nicer than the abuse they would suffer elsewhere. It IS a game after all.

At full time I went back to a bar that was showing the last half hour of the Man Utd v Tottenham match and got stuck in. Some locals tried to have a conversation but expressions and body language spoke louder than words. 

I went back to the club shop and purchased an excellent quality Army team shirt for 450 baht, which was less than a tenner!. I finished off my beer and went for a taxi back to Steve’s house in Minburi.

The games kick off in Thailand at a perfect time. I was home twenty minutes into the 3pm kick offs from back home with each game being shown live on different channels.

If ever you are in the Land of Smiles, please make an effort and go and watch a local game. You will see 100% commitment offering excellent value for money. 

You will generally get a cheap meal and beer and you can buy a team shirt for £10; which showed just how much all clubs in the western world were ripping off genuine fans. You will also get a warm welcome and your support will be appreciated.

Make sure you do it! To see a brief video I took at the game, click here:

To read about my confusing visit to watch Royal Thai Army FC in 2016, click here:

Udon Thani

Udon Thani FC was a professional football club that was formed in 1999 by the inaugural Chairman, Mr.Sathaporn Kotabut, in the northeastern Thailand city of the same name. The club was dissolved at the end of the 2022-23 owing to financial issues.

The club entered into the Thailand Provincial League; which was the third tier of Thai football at the time, for the 1999-00 season finishing in fourth place. The club continued competing in the same competition for a further three campaigns.

The best finish came in 2001 as ‘The Orange Giants’ finished fourth once again. Udon Thani withdrew from competitive football between 2005 and 2008 before re-emerging as a club playing in Regional League Division 2 North Eastern Region.

Home matches were played at the Institute of Physical Education Udon Thani Stadium, as the team weighed in with a third-place finish in 2009 with coach Phithaya Santawong at the helm. Two mid-table finishes followed as several coaches had spells in charge of the team.

Another third spot arrived in 2012 with Ousmanou Mohamadou leading the scoring under the stewardship of the Korean Park No Bong before the returning Santawong took control once again to take control for the 2013 campaign.

Two consecutive runners-up berths followed in 2013 and 2014 as Oyewole Yemi Joseph and then Tomiwa Bolarinwa banged in the goals under coaches Santawong, Voottivat Daengsamerkiat and  Somkait Fongpach.

Promphong Kransumrong scored on an incredible 32 occasions in 2015 as Udon Thani finished in third place as Worradet Phuprapri, Hannarong Chunhakunakorn and Somkait Fongpach were employed throughout the season by a frustrated owner.

The club moved to the Udon Thani Rajabhat University Stadium for the 2016 campaign, and the change worked, as Udon Thani romped to the league title as striker Natthaphat Somsri led the way under the tutelage of coach Choketawee Promrut.

This led to the team qualifying for the knockout Champions League playoffs to strive for promotion. Nara United were defeated before Udon Thani went out to local rivals Nongbua Pitchaya on away goals.

The 2017 season saw the league system re-organised in Thailand, with Udon Thani being placed in Thai League 3 Upper Region. A runners-up place under Paniphon Kerdyam, and fired by the goals of Valci Júnior led to a place in the playoffs.

Trang were defeated on away goals to send the club up to the second tier Thai League 2. The club returned to the Institute of Physical Education Udon Thani Stadium under the team management of Uthai Boonmoh.

The Thai coach was replaced by Darren Read in April 2018 who lasted just a couple of months before Watcharapong Klahan took over. The team ended in a disappointing seventh place as Paniphon Kerdyam was appointed head coach ahead of the 2019 season.

The club moved into the newly built SAT Stadium, a few miles northwest of the city in Sam Phrao for the new campaign. Bruno Correa led the scoring for the Orange Giants as they ended in seventh place before the Thai League reverted to the European calendar for the 2020-21 season.

Jakarat Tonhongsa had been put in charge of the team during the long break but departed to Muangthong United and was replaced by Jetsada Jitsawad as the season got underway. In a season of struggle, João Paulo Sales top scored.

Another Brazilian, Thales Lima starred in 2021-22 as the side improved their league standing. The club went through an alarming number of coaches, as Sirisak Yodyardthai, Fernando Sales, Daniel Blanco, Jörg Steinebrunner and Reuther Moreira all had spells in charge of the team before the appointment of Chalermwoot Sa-ngapol.

New ownership caused much upheaval, especially when it was revealed that the money that was claimed to be in place wasn’t there. The club moved back to their previous home in the city for the 2022-23 season. Paniphon Kerdyam, Mavi Lopes, and Akbar Nawas in a couple of spells, led the team that finished bottom of Thai League 2 despite the goals of Greg Houla.

Udon Thai FC was dissolved after the end of the season and didn’t take its place in Thai League 3.

My visits

Udon Thani 1 Army United 1 (Sunday 8^th April 2018) Thai League 2 (att: 4,534)

There is nothing I enjoy more in life than visiting new places. The amazing Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes had drawn to an end the previous evening and I was ready to relax and enjoy myself without any alarm calls for the final few days of my trip.

My good pal Steve Walker was to join me on another adventure and I’d done all the bookings in eager anticipation a few weeks previously. Just taking the journey down to Udon Thani proved to be an interesting experience.

My mate turned up at my hotel the worse for wear, after enjoying a few too many bars in great company. We boarded the small plane with just two seats on each side of the aisle for the flight southeast. He was still merry and wouldn’t shut up for an hour's flight. We were about the only westerners onboard.

We quickly got a cab into town where we found our excellent UD Residence Hotel and grabbed lunch at the impressive Good Corner and a quick recce of the area before a siesta. We reconvened and plumped for the brilliant Restaurant Da Sofia.

The pizza was as good as I could remember tasting and the service first first-class. We headed to the Day & Night bar area where the locals were most helpful. After a couple of beers at incredibly agreeable prices, it was time to hail a tuk-tuk to the match.

A vehicle was commandeered for us; presumably with the driver knowing where he was going. If only things were so simple in Thailand! We were about to have a tour and my patience was severely tested.

I was pretty sure that we were heading in the wrong direction, but I left it to our pilot. This was not one of my greatest ever decisions. Within fifteen minutes we’d fought through the heavy traffic to arrive at a municipal facility with a stand, but definitely no professional football.

We headed down a side road where the driver got out and spoke to some locals; two of whom wore Udon Thani replica shirts. Surely they would know? All was looking well as we joined the cross-city traffic, some more were decked out in club colours.

All of a sudden, for reasons best known to himself, our driver took a left turn. He looked back to us with pride, only to be met resounding “mai” from the pair of us. He’d taken us to the former home at Udon Thani Rajabhat University.

Off we went again. He obviously had two options on his list. Time was getting on, so I was more than a little relieved to see the shining floodlights of the correct stadium from the main Thanon Pracha Raksa.

We did a left down Ban Lueam to the entrance of the Institute of Physical Education. We jumped out and gave our new close smiling friend a substantial tip on top of the arranged fare. We must have been in a good mood!

I’d contacted some western fans of the club through their Facebook page and was aware that the club got good attendances. Indeed, the stadium had been extended in recent weeks. Rather than going in the best seats, we decided to go with the masses on the far side.

On the way around we saw fans playing instruments and generally getting into a party atmosphere. Thai's really did make an effort around the match. The ever-amiable Steve ended up playing the tambourine with one group!

To see the atmosphere outside and during the game, click here for a homemade video.

Our tickets cost 80 Baht (around £1.70) which allowed us access to any of the three sides opposite the main area. Water costs just a few further Baht. It was encouraging to see so many youngsters in attendance. The fair pricing made it affordable.

Initially, we tried to get in the main area down the side, but it was absolutely mobbed from around thirty minutes before kick-off. We ended up in one of the new sections near the corner flag, with a tree of all things restricting the view slightly.

The Main Stand had covered seating on the far side. Opposite were open deep steps to allow sitting, with extensions on either side. The ends around the running track had open deep steps, with the visiting fans being plonked in a small section in the corner.

The Army fans were well regimented. It was as though they were still on duty. They remained silent but then chanted in unison; whereas the home support had several little groups around the arena all playing their own instruments and singing their own songs.

The match got underway and soon became clear that it wasn’t going to be a classic. Army’s tactics were extremely obvious. They’d come north to frustrate the hosts and to try and grab a winning goal. Udon Thani did not look to have many ideas how to counteract this tactic.

The hosts Milan Bubalo looked most disappointing. We quickly came to the conclusion that Udon were not playing with enough width to try and get around the disciplined United defence. Indeed, it could have been the Bangkok side who took the lead.

On ten minutes Brazilian midfielder Diego Lima saw a header go just over the bar. Udon were frustrated when they thought they’d sprung the offside trap. We thought it a poor decision at the time, and later highlights confirmed it.

Army came close again halfway through the opening period, as Brazilian forward Erivelto saw his effort go narrowly wide. The half closed with a challenge that bordered on an assault on Army’s Brazilian skipper Rodrigo Frauches. The referee either didn’t see it or made a shocking decision not to take action.

At the interval, we decided to move places and sat behind the goal Udon were hoping to attack. The view wasn’t the best, but we were around a decent atmosphere as fan groups on either side of us tried to raise their side.

The first half had been frankly awful, and we were hoping for some quality after the restart. It was Army who took the lead three minutes after the break. A free kick went wide and found Frauches who lobbed it back into the box where Erivelto headed home.

Udon keeper Witsanusak Kaewruang went down as though shot by a sniper when he had made a real mess of things from the cross. He hadn’t impressed us too much, and his actions smacked of trying to restore his pride.

We thought that would have been a call for Army to defend even more resolutely, but Udon levelled things up ten minutes later. A very good inswinging cross from Kasidech Wettayawong found the head of Danusorn Wijitpanya to glance home.

Army responded with a fine move and low cross from Tossakorn Boonpeng for Suradet Thongchai to stoop and head goalwards, only to be denied by Kaewruang who made a decent stop to redeem himself.

Udon returned fire when a fine jinking run put in a forward who struck the post; alas from an offside position. A long-range effort from an Army player caused confusion for Kaewruang after it deflected off one of his defenders.

The match was into the fourth minute of stoppage time when United’s Kanok Kohyangphueak was shown a harsh red card for a robust challenge. His side had one last opportunity to snatch all three points when Erivelto’s misguided free header nearly set up Diego Lima.

We headed back to the main road and then started walking down Thanon Pracha Raksa towards the city centre when we flagged down a tuk-tuk heading in the other direction. We were soon dropped at Central Plaza and headed back to Day & Night.

We went on to have a fantastic evening in a vibrant and most agreeable area for nightlife. It certainly received the thumbs up when we gathered our thoughts the following morning.

Udon Thani 2 Customs United 2 (Sunday 7^th April 2019) Thai League 2 (att: 2,985)

It was back down to Udon from Chiang Mai after a most enjoyable Sixes competition. I was in absolute top form and Steve was in far better nick on arrival than the previous year. Our flight arrived at 3pm leaving not much time before kick-off.

We checked into our rooms at @Home at Udon before heading to the bus station to sort out our arrangements for Tuesday morning when he headed to Buriram. This was not as straightforward as it sounds; as there was no direct service.

A meal was taken at The Good Corner as we digested the news and tried to think of alternative options. Never mind. There always had to be a way to get there. I had other priorities, like how we would get to the newly built SAT Stadium and back.

After depositing our dirty laundry, we went to the Central Plaza to get a taxi. We managed to sort a fare for the 15km journey. Steve tried to negotiate it in such a way that our driver would receive more for a return journey than the way out if he picked us up.

He chatted away on his phone but in the end, he decided that he couldn’t take us back. We were pushing it for the start. The national anthem was audible as we were dropped in the car park. After purchasing our 80 Baht (£2) tickets, we went upstairs to the Main Stand.

SAT Stadium was certainly an improvement from the Institute of Physical Education Udon Thani Stadium, but surely the location would prove problematic to attract crowds? I guess that nearly every Thai has access to a car or motorbike/scooter?

Our stand had a roof and was raised well above pitch level, running most of the full length of the touchline. The centre section was for VIP’s. Opposite was a similar-sized structure, only open to the elements.

A running track surrounded the pristine playing surface, with no spectator accommodation around either of the curves around the goals. If ever required there was lots of room for expansion beyond the current perimeters.

The match was not dissimilar to Udon’s game with Army United on our previous visit. The home side was playing too narrow and struggling to forge out any opportunities of note. Their best chances were to get wide, but they didn’t do it nearly often enough.

The hosts certainly had more of the pressure and played some good stuff without any real end product against their bottom of the table opposition. The fans on the far side were doing their best to raise their side; albeit in clusters of different supporter groups.

Warut Supphaso wasted a decent chance when he fired across goal when played in before skipper Prakit Deeprom fired a speculative shot over the bar. As often happens, a side is punished for not taking advantage of their dominance.

In first-half stoppage time, Customs were awarded a free kick wide on the left which Anusorn Sricaloung planted past home keeper Kittipun Sansuk, who made a shocking misjudgement to let the curling effort over his head and in to make it 1-0 at the break.

We decided to have a walk at the interval and watch the second half from the far side. Who knows, we may have bumped into some other Farang fans who could offer us a ride back, or at least offer us advice. The stadium certainly wasn’t on a regular bus route!

We surveyed the numerous catering outlets. Fried maggots? No thanks! In the end, we grabbed a bottle of water each for 20 Baht and a bowl of Dim Sum, which was outstanding value with seven pieces in sauce costing just 20 Baht.

The middle sections were pretty busy, so we took up a spot near the end of the open stand, just above one of the splinter fan groups, with plenty of locals smiling and intrigued at the presence of two westerners.

Udon continued to press but were undone on the break on fifty minutes as the Cameroon striker Isaac Mbengan capitalised on some reluctant defending to double Custom’s lead with a rasping left-foot drive. The away following of around a hundred fans opposite were ecstatic.

Big Brazilian forward Bruno Correa had come on for Udon just before halftime and began to use his physical presence and nous to good effect. His flicked header helped his side back into the game just before the hour mark as Jetsada Badcharee scored at the back post.

Udon poured forward looking to get at least a point out of the game. Attacks were thwarted, and players on both sides went down too easily trying to fool the referee. The board went up for additional time. Steve and I were on the verge of leaving to look for a taxi.

Then the ref was indeed fooled; at least it looked like it from our position. He pointed to the penalty spot for the softest of handball decisions against a dejected Chakrit Rawanprakone. Correa made no mistake with his kick to make it 2-2.

There was no sign of any taxis anywhere around the perimeter as we made our way out. The security by the stadium entrance onto the main 2410 road couldn’t help. We started to walk along the road, praying to see a taxi. Our hopes were not high.

Then out of nowhere, we received a huge boost. A large car pulled up. A gent in a Udon shirt asked where we were going? His English was certainly better than our Thai as he told us to get in. Suk was to become the hero of the hour.

He took us all the way back to the Central Plaza and we had a lovely chat. He was a lecturer at one of the local colleges who loved English football, with Liverpool being his team. He went well out of his way having rung his wife to tell her he’d be late home.

Suk couldn’t understand why we were at the game. He drove along in a state of disbelief as I explained my hobby and the other Thai clubs that I’d visited for matches. He was over the moon that we’d checked out his club. It seemed like a form of honour.

He refused to take anything in return for his astonishing kindness. It epitomised why I love Thailand and its people so much. We’d experienced a lift from a Muang Thong in Bangkok several years previously in Bangkok, but this time it really was appreciated.

Steve and I went on our way, enjoying yet another top night in Udon and its various establishments. The following day we sourced out the train option to Buriram as well as sampling some fantastic food in the Sports Bar on Soi Samphan.

Udon hadn’t let us down. In fact, it could have done with being a little less inviting when I got the taste on the Monday evening, but that’s another story.