[Preview] The Pre-Preview For Our Champions League Opponents – True Bangkok United

The AFC Champions League (“ACL“) is upon us and although we still have to navigate a last game of the SPL season against Geylang International, I have been getting many questions from friends who ask whether I know anything about the teams. I don’t really – I am not at all an expert on Asian football, but I’ve done some digging around and consulted people much more knowledgeable than I, to bring you this pre-preview. There will still be a preview in the days leading up to the match, but that will probably centre more around who’s available and who isn’t. So without further ado, let’s dive in and talk about True Bangkok United.

The Name

True Bangkok United. Is there a fake Bangkok United? Is it like Real Madrid? Why is there an adjective in a club name? Well, True is a huge communications conglomerate in Thailand, and they are the owners of the club. Ah – that’s pretty boring. And in case you are newer to football and wondering about Real Madrid, I got you. Here’s a table to explain some quirky club names – feel free to add on to the list in the comments if you want.

Club Name	Meaning of Club Name
Real Madrid	“Real” is actually a Spanish word meaning “Royal”. Real Madrid was granted the title of “Real” in 1920 by the Spanish monarchy. Many other Spanish clubs have been granted this title too, such as Real Sociedad, Real Valladolid, Real Zaragoza.
Real Salt Lake	When I broke up with my first girlfriend, my tears formed a real salt lake. An MLS team that obviously had nothing to do with the Spanish monarchy, the owner just decided that he admired Real Madrid’s basketball and football teams, so he smacked the word “Real” on it.
Club The Strongest	A Bolivian club founded in 1908 that was originally named The Strong Football Club, but perhaps someone still felt it wasn’t big-energy enough, so boom, they went along and called it The Strongest. In 1930 they won the Bolivian league without conceding a single goal. Manifest.
True Bangkok United	Originally formed as Bangkok University FC (more on this later), they changed their name to Bangkok United in 2009, and True stepped in in 2010.

Their Coach

I did not realise this when the draw was announced, but when I was reading up on them, I found out that their coach is none other than legendary Thai midfielder, Totchtawan Sripan – more commonly known to Singaporean fans as Tawan Sripan. He has an illustrious football history in the ASEAN region and he even played in Singapore from 1998 – 2003, for Sembawang Rangers. In fact, that was his longest stint at any club.

At international level, he played 75 times for Thailand, scoring 18 goals. Notably, he also scored against Manchester City and Netherlands in friendly games.

As a coach, he has quite an impressive record. If you take a look at the Wikipedia extract below, you will see that he has been head coach of Bangkok United for the past 3 years or so. And he’s already won silverware this season, leading Bangkok United to a Champions Cup victory over Buriram.

Of course, you would have seen a little gap between March and December 2022. Here’s where another familiar name pops up. In that time, Aurelio Vidmar (our former coach of course) was the head coach and Totchtawan was the technical director. Aurelio Vidmar left the club for personal reasons.

After Vidmar’s departure, Totchtawan led the club to an impressive 2nd place finish.

Totchtawan has also won the league and cup double with Muangthong United in 2016, and was then named Coach of the Year.

He also has AFC Champions League experience – leading Muangthong United to beat Kashima Antlers, Ulsan Hyundai and Brisbane Roar, and qualify for the next round. Just look at this.

Maybe we should be scared!

Their Players

This really isn’t my forte. I cannot claim to know many of their players well enough to comment, except Heberty who is a regional legend. But he’s left to go on loan to JDT, so that’s great for us. Heberty hit 35 goals in 70 games for Bangkok United and is a player with great technique. I was scrambling around and then decided, instead of hearing from me, you guys should hear from a Bangkok United fan. So I went and trawled Twitter looking for someone who would speak to me in exchange for a beer when I go over to Thailand to watch the away game.

Lo and behold, Englishman Matt Jenkins came to the rescue. Matt was formerly a season-ticket holder at Chelsea and has been a fan of Bangkok United for 6 years. I had a chat with him, and he had this to say about the players that we are coming up against-

As a club we have had an up and down few years… Always pushing for honours but normally fading away, or having a poor run that normally kills our chances.

This season has a somewhat different feel to it. We’ve removed some of what I would call “luxury players”, and put some excellent players in the first 11 that are willing to work for the team. And it’s already paying dividends! We beat Buriram 0-2 in the season opening showpiece, the Champions Cup. And from there we have started the season unbeaten. We are also playing some good football, but more importantly keeping discipline and working with a fluid formation.

I feel looking at the group it’s something we could progress from.. That said I know little about any of our opponents, including that of Lion City Sailors. So it’s more blind optimism than detailed odds and team knowledge.

You’ll meet a strong BUFC side. With our stalwart Brazilian centreback Everton captaining the side, and organising a back four that’s pretty much all Thai / or Thai-German, sitting in front of Pattiwat the Thai national 2nd goalkeeper. Midfield normally sets up as a 3 or 4, with strong Thai influence, who run and run, again 2 or 3 here in the national side. The front line is made up of Mahmoud Eid, a Palestinian forward who drops deep and plays across the front, Willen Mota, a Brazilian who plays more centrally, and Rungrath, another Thai who offers more width and can easily slip back into midfield.

– Matt Jenkins, Bangkok United fan

Nothing I can add here unless I try to catch a Bangkok United game before we play them on 20 Sep!

Tips For Visiting Fans

Matt was also kind enough to give us visiting fans some tips. He said –

BUFC play their football inside a university north of Bangkok in the Thamassat area. The stadium is huge – far too big for a club of our size and the giant running track adds even more distance. The area is nice though! We just yearn for a more central stadium with a proper football atmosphere.

I’d welcome Lion City Sailors fans to our stadium but remember to bring your rain coats! The away end is unsheltered.

And if you guys like beers, a word of warning. Due to the team playing inside a university, beers are not freely available, so it’s very much a “bring your own” and drink them quietly before entering the ground.

– Matt Jenkins, Bangkok United fan

Conclusion

It does sound like Bangkok United are very formidable opponents, given that they play in a league that is widely recognised as being one that plays with more quality and intensity. However, I think we could have drawn way worse opponents, so I guess we are lucky? Also, the location being so close to Singapore means that perhaps more fans can consider making the away trip up!

Hope to see you guys there, I am 90% confirmed going! (the away game is on 29 November)

Written by Eddy Hirono 

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