Muangthong United 4 Buriram United 4 - Match Report & Highlights

Do they all still hate us?

  Ten years. Ten looong years. The last time I typed a match report here, Barack Obama was US president, covid was a minor virus that had been mainly confined to Hong Kong and Everton weren't crap. Oh, how times have changed.

A few things are still the same, though. Big games at the Thunderdome retain a lively, noisy atmosphere as club shop tills ring happily, fans smash away at the drums and the media overhypes games with the most ridiculous superlatives they can muster up. The official MTUTD Facebook page still has me banned as punishment for the Fowler Out campaign of long ago and the familiar face of Mario Gjurovski is welcomed around the stadium as head coach along with former player Dagno Siaka as his assistant. Robert Procurer, once known for his involvement in the ownership and recruitment of MTU is now usually spotted at Nonthaburi United (a phoenix club of Nonthaburi FC) along with fellow Muangthong alumni Coulibly Abdoul.

I won't bore anyone with long, self-absorbed reasons why I stopped blogging and my involvement in Thai football since then, though I did talk about it here. I can summarise it by saying I've been to a few games in the last decade and I'm hoping that the forthcoming MRT station at Muangthong Thani will make it much easier to attend games regularly and maybe, maybe, get this blog running at full speed again. 

But let's get back to today's action. Our old rivals Buriram have maintained their hold on power while we have openly acknowledged that we invest less in players than we used to.  The predictable result is the "Thunder Castle" are undefeated at the top of the table while we are halfway down, but still playing some darn good football. Despite our recent poor away form, I still think this home game will be close. I only wonder if I'll have any flashbacks to the first time I saw what I thought was a "influenced" match official.  There's a guy with a megaphone outside our stand gently but firmly refusing to allow Buriram fans to enter, which instantly makes him a legend in my eyes.

The stadium is loud, with the away section having a notably feminine pitch to all its songs while the East and West stands look sold out. The north and south stands are both about two-thirds full, with lots of flags.

Mario: we will miss his fashion choices

 We line up almost the same as our previous home game - where we defeated a mediocre Korat side - with Eric Johana in attack, Brazilian Popp on the left midfield and Pathiwat in goal. The club legend and tremendous goalkeeper Kawin Thamasatchanan is now on the bench. At 33 he is not that old for a goalkeeper but injuries have affected his career. At least he's still around, though. On the touchline, Mario is looking sharp. In the last home game he appeared to be wearing his wife's leggins but this time around he's opted for a suit with white trousers. A risky move but he can make it work. On the Buriram side the squad is littered with talent: their tricky no.21 Suphanat is one to watch along with their set piece specialist (so I'm told) Theerathon Bunmathan.

The game starts and we are immediately on the font foot: pressing everything and catching the visitors by surprise. A few fast-paced crosses at both ends occurs before Johana gets a square ball, wrong foots his marker and from outside the box places a screamer around the goalie and IN! 1-0 up, the stand erupts and I can't believe we have scored so early on. A fantastic goal, too. 

Credit: 90min.com

The fast pace continues, Buriram's keeper rushes a clearance, Popp intercepts, squares it to Poramet Arjvirai who hits a shot inside the box that is deflected in. We are 2-0 up! The crowd go wild again.

The pace continues. Both benches are getting agitated with some bizarre officiating decisions. Bunmathon fouls Poramet, who ticks the free kick quickly. The ball finds Joahna down the left wing who cuts inside and smashes a third goal past their keeper. It's 3-0 after about thirty minutes against an undefeated team who, before this game, had conceded 13 goals all season. Am I dreaming?  The pace slows but only a little. BU attack down the middle and Suphanut smashes in a great half-volley from the right wing to make it 3-1 before we go in to half time. It's a lot to take in: a game full of flowing, attacking football punctuated by conflict and bizarre officiating, a 3-1 lead against the undefeated champions. The last time I sat in this block of the stadium with my son I had to bribe him with sweets to even watch. Now he's asking if he's allowed to buy a beer yet.

I'm thinking that if we can can control the first ten minutes or so of the second half, we can't screw it up. But things get even better when we break through yet again: Poramet is through but sees that Johana has more space, he squares it to the Kenyan who takes him time to place a shot and smash it home to make it four f**ing one to the Quilins! How is this happening? It's my favorite goal of the night because it sums up our desire, our effort and the unselfishness of Poramet to do the right thing.

We're on fire now but it must also be noted that Buriram have perked up. In the first half I kept commenting that they looked hungover, as if they expected to win just by turning up. Now they are breaking faster and looking dangerous. That said, Pormaet breaks through into the box yet again and gets clearly obstructed. I didn't have a good view in the stadium but watch the highlights for yourself. The MTU bench is livid but the referee refuses even a VAR check and play goes on until he gives us a softer free kick, almost by way of compensation. This really did mark the turning point in the game. For one thing, our composure started to slip and we looked shaky. For another, Buriram really turned up the heat and for yet another, the ref and officials became pathetic.

 For a while we held out through a mixture of luck and desperation but with 11 minutes left, Buriram scored. 4-2 I don't remember much about that one but shortly after it was a soft free kick but a classy free kick goal that made it 4-3. It almost seemed inevitable then that our hearts would sink and sure enough, Buriram won a corner that was knocked around before beings slotted in by Doumbouya in injury time to make it 4-4. Before that happened, a clumsy, late and dangerous challenge by a Buriram player who had already been booked was ignored by the referee and a free kick was given to Buriram for an incident that involved no contact. So a draw it was and as the officials left the pitch, beer was splashed over them and a certain MTUTD staff member (not Mario) got into a physical altercation with the referee. I don't condone any of that. 

 Wow. What a game. After ten years, how do I unpack all of this? It’s as if everything good and bad about Thai football was compressed into one single game: fast, skillful football combined with tactical naivety, great atmosphere, great value for money, bad sportsmanship, utterly incompetent officials and traffic jams outside.

 Let me start by saying that we should have defended better. However strange some of the ref’s decisions were, we would have won the game if we had defended that final corner with more composure. I’ve been supporting Southampton long enough to know a nervous defence when I see it and nervous is what we looked after their third goal.

 Now to the officials. I need to be careful to control my own bias here after what I have seen before and for all the anti-Muangthong followers out there in Twitterland, I am only too aware that incompetent officials feature in almost every Thai match. And yes, we only complain about officials when we don’t win, the same goes for your Thai team, too. Neither of these facts change the wrongs that happened today and Mario probably summarised the feelings of everyone with his comments in the post-match interview:

Credit: Thai League Central

There are two particular standouts for me. The fact that the referee did not even order a VAR check on a blatant foul in the box and his clear panic and refusal to give a second yellow card for what was a clear bookable offence. There were other moments, too but those can be overlooked. What is the cause of these terrible decisions? I truly don’t know.

Mario resigned (or was let go )earlier today, to be replaced by the familiar face of Milos Josic, who performed very well at Rajpracha (who have also returned to Nonthaburi) with a small budget. It’s sad to see Mario go as he really is a Muangthong guy. I hope he’ll be back in some way or another in future. UPDATE: Mario has now decided to stay on, meaning his resignation was probably in frustration.

For Thai football as a whole, I think sadly my observation of years ago or my more recent one in Dale’s blog holds true: Thai football saw a surge in popularity and growth but that surge could not continue forever. There are good and negative elements to any culture and in the case of Thailand, those elements can all be seen in the business of football. There’s great value and great atmosphere, but there’s also a clear refusal to address deep rotted dishonesty and bad sportsmanship. There’s food, beer and transport but there’s also disorganisation and poor communication. You’ll find friend and entertainment but you’ll also find traffic jams, a lack of logic and moments of frustration. It’s all part of the game, but at least we are blessed enough to have a game to follow.

That’s all for now, see you in another ten years. Or maybe sooner, if I can squeeze an away game in before the end of the season.

 

The 2012 MTU Blog Awards

Every season finish since I began this blog, I’ve nominated a player of the season. Normally it’s a tough choice, this year it wasn’t. There was a standout foreigner and standout local. This was clear from the moment I started asking for votes, and is so obvious there’s really no point in any speculation.

When there are clear POTY award winners at a club, its normally for one of two reasons. Either the club’s had a terrible year and one player outshone the slackers (Junhinio at Middlesborough, Pearce at Forest, etc.) or the whole squad have excelled but someone just had the little extra. In a season where we went undefeated in the league, it almost goes without saying that our whole squad have been superb this year.

So without further ado, the 2012 MTU Blog Foreign Player of the Year is....

"Super' Mario Djurvoski

When Mario signed for Muangthong I was - like most MTU fans, probably - hoping he’d fall into the category of “Foreigner who occasionally does things most Thai players can’t”. Instead, he took expectations of foreign players in to a whole new level. At times, Super Mario (I swear, the stadium announcer only started using that nickname after he read my blog) has turned in performances that would not look out of place in a game between EPL teams outside the big five. His footwork, vision and set piece ability have turned the tide on numerous occasions but what’s equally fun to watch is the sheer enjoyment this player has of Thailand and its football. Since day one, he’s loved it. Some of the attacking midfielder’s gamesmanship - like Christian before him - might irk away fans, but it would irk them far less if he didn’t have such ability to go with it.

So congratulations to Mario and with rumours of a record-length contract in he works, we should be able to look forward to more time with him. But can the same be said of the 2012 MTU Blog Thai Player of the Year.........

Teerasil Dangda

“One Man team” was a jeer that Southampton fans had to accept throughout the career of Mathew Le Tissier, but if Thai fans knew that chant, I suspect it would sometimes be directed at The Quilins when we have an off day. Obviously, a title-winning team is never going to be dominated by just one figure but it seems to be so often the case that a below-par performance, a tired looking set of players or simply a bit of bad luck is resolved by a moment of class from Thailand’s best striker. Indeed, it’s such a regular occurrence that I struggle to think of a single, clear-cut example. Cup games, home games against sides set out for a draw, big occasions, you name it, he’as popped up with a goal in the second half. He’s a well-rounded player, too. Good first touch, excellent dribbling, capable if not spectacular in the air, reads the game well, good at build up play, hard-working. There’s no obvious weak point to his game. He is, simply, class. Rumours have been swirling around him for a while and it seems very likely Teerasil will move to a bigger league soon. If so, we can only wish him all the best and be grateful that we saw him play at his peak for so long.

And so we can look towards a new season, an ever more-difficult title defence and old heroes returning and, surely, new ones arriving. Thank you to everyone who voted in the MTU Blog awards this year.

Image credits: soccersee.com (Mario) , goal.com (Teerasil)

The champions are back

Chai Nat didn’t make this easy and in fact they had the better of the opening minutes of his game in my opinion but a clinical header from Teerasil after a cross by Buntao - who’s had a great season - clinched it in the end. Muangthong United now have the longest undefeated streak in TPL history.

How did we make the switch from unsuccessful and tired title-defenders last season to the superb outfit we see today?

1 Stability.

No, this list is not in random order. By far our biggest liability of 2011 and earlier was the constant chaos off the pitch, most visible through the merry-go-round of coaching changes that occurred amidst a background of discontent in the boardroom. No club could realistically be expected to mount a serious title push when going through four coaches in one season, especially when one of those coaches was a liability on the pitch and uncaring off of it. Disputes concerning Siam Sport and possible conflicts of business interests certainly didn’t help, either. There were even concerns that people in control might be making rash moves to threaten the future of the whole club.

Relief came in a partial buy-out from SCG: Siam Cement Group. As stabilising influences go, you couldn’t ask for more than a part of the Crown Property Group with a ludicrously high turnover and efficient management strategy. And so it proved. Surely it’s no coincidence that our return to TPL form coincides with a season in which we kept the same (excellent) coach throughout, minimised off-field disputes as best we could and the boardroom remembered to keep a relatively low profile. In summary: Slavos has been allowed to do his job and he's done it very well.


Good coaching

Slavisa was allowed to do a great job

 On that note, Slavisa has brought the club back to the standards Rene used to demand. All reports say coaching sessions have been first class and Slavisa has got the best from players like Jakkaphan, Buntao and Ekapoom, who all struggled to assert themselves initially. When players don't fit his plans, he's had the good sense to know what to do about it.

Smart transfers

Of course all the stability in the world won’t be enough to win the league if your squad isn’t up to scratch. Luckily we made some excellent transfer moves. Mario Djovski, Adnan Barakat, Ri Kwang and the Thai Port trio all brought something extra to the club and showed total dedication and passion for their football. Promising youngsters like Kayem were given cover as Piyachart was recalled and some of the fringe players were released. Meanwhile, the core of a title winning squad - Kawin, Panupong, Datsakorn, Teerasila and Siaka were - kept on. Quality throughout the side. Pure quality.

One word: super

What’s that? You’re pointing a gun to my head and demanding I state which transfer was the most important? Well then I’d have to say Mario, for while we all expected a good player in this eastern-European, I don’t know if any of us expected a player that could probably hold his own training with a UEFA Cup side and show the amount of passion for Muangthong as this guy has.

Wise business

It’s a sad but true cliche that football these days is a business. When Buriram United won the treble last year the perception was that they were the new financial powerhouses. Actually we outspent them on transfers even last year, although I’m sure the cost of building their new stadium more than equaled our transfer budget. But this year our merchandise, marketing and planning have all been first class. Shirt sale revenue is the highest in the Thai league, plans are in place to expand what is already a very high quality SCG Stadium and for an entire olympic village style construction in future and wage budgets are set to capture players with the quality needed to take us to the next level. With the financial backing of SCG, I don't see how any other club could outspend us in the foreseeable future.

Of course, one bit of business that I’m relieved did not go according to plan was the signing of Del Piero. I’m convinced this would’ve been a repeat of the Robbie Fowler debacle and the money will be far better spent elsewhere.


Not playing in the ACL

As Buriram discovered this year, playing either of the Asian tournaments during a league campaign places a strain on club and players that I honestly believe is overlooked by a large number of people.  The mental and physical fatigue is clear to see in players by the halfway point in the season and in my opinion it definitely takes its share of league points away from any team. This is something we’ll have to be ready for next season but this season it was actually a refreshing break not to have extra tournaments on the fixture list.



So there you have it. From third place back to champions in five not so easy steps.

Massive credit has to go out to everyone involved at Muangthong from the directors, to the players to the rest of the staff for the unity, passion, commitment and intelligence they’ve shown this season. We’ve become - in my eyes - even stronger than the 2010 championship side. We no longer look like a club striving to punch above its weight in Asia but a club that looks ready to make a serious push for the recognition it deserves. In a season where everyone thought that Buriram’s only downfall could be the ACL distraction, we’ve actually looked far better than them or Chonburi, (though the 'Sharks' pushed  us almost all the way despite their own ACL campaign) and could yet go the entire season undefeated. That's something that’s never been done before as far as I can recall.

The only disappointment was that we still haven’t captured either of the cups but there’s always next year for that. The biggest prize is always the league title and that has come home to where it belongs.

Muangthong United are the best team in Thailand. Thank you to everyone involved.

More pictures of the incredible full time scenes to come when available.