COMMENTARY
TOR CHITTINAND
Worawi Makudi is under pressure for results. |
A mere one point gained after six matches in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers proves just how far Thailand are behind the Asian powerhouses and even mid-ranked nations in the region.In the first group stage of Asia's qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup, or the last 20 teams, Thailand faced Japan, Bahrain and Oman but could only get one point in Bahrain.
The Thais could only score five goals and conceded 14 and their dreams of securing their first World Cup berth again failed to materialise.
Now that Australia are a member of the Asian Football Confederation and other powerhouses have become stronger, it is much more difficult for Thailand to reach the World Cup finals.
Thailand's best result in the World Cup qualifying round was a place in Asia's last 10 team in 2001 when Englishman Peter Withe was coach.
At that time, Thailand finished bottom of their group without a win but at least they got four draws including one against Iran.
Thailand's next tournament is the Asean Football Championships (formerly Tiger Cup) in December when they co-host the event with Indonesia.
It could be a tough assignment for the Thais who finished second after losing to Singapore in a two-legged final two years ago. Thailand and Singapore each have won the tournament three times.
Chanvit Phalajivin quit as Thailand's national coach after the World Cup failure and former England internaitonal Peter Reid will succeed him.
Reid and former Germany's assistant coach Holger Osieck were the frontrunners to replace Chanvit but Football Association of Thailand (FAT) president Worawi Makudi picked Reid because Osieck turned down his offer.
Osieck, who was recommended to Worawi by German football supremo Franz Beckenbauer, was probably a better choice than Reid.
Osieck has a much better CV than that of Reid.
He was Beckenbauer's assistant when Germany won the 1990 World Cup.
He took Canada to win the Gold Cup in 2000. He guided Uwara Red Diamonds to clinch the AFC Champions League last season although he was recently fired by the Japanese club after a poor start to the J-League season.
But Reid is more well known here than the German. He should also know something about the culture of countries in this part of the world as he is a guest pundit for Singapore-based ESPN/STAR Sports.
Whether Reid is a good coach is highly debatable. He has coached Manchester City, Sunderland, Leeds and Coventry as well as England's Under-21 side - with little success.
Reid, or any other coach, will have a mammoth task to bring success on the big stage to Thailand because there are many problems to solve.
For a start, the local league must be strong but the Thailand Premier League is not.
It's a shame that local sides have to qualify for the AFC Champions League next season because the Thai league does not meet AFC's requirements.
We always have a target but have never had concrete plans to reach the goal. For example, every four years, we hear football bosses say that we will reach our first World Cup finals.
We often try to find a good coach for the full national side but we have never talked about hiring good coaches to groom junior players.
Thailand are not too bad at junior level but players fade when they grow up, probably because they do not have proper guidance.
It is not only a good coach for the national team that we urgently need at the moment but also wholesale changes to the entire system.
Worawi has to do something to win back the fans' faith and put the national team on the right track. He must act fast to save Thai football from plunging further - and his own job.
If he does not achieve results, he could be in trouble when his term as FAT president ends next year as it has been reported that a powerful football figure will attempt to dethrone him.
Tor Chittinand is the Bangkok Post football writer.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Next
