Kiatisuk Senamuang (Thai: เกียรติศักดิ์ เสนาเมือง; born 11 August 1973) is a Thai football manager and former player (played between 1989 and October 2007).
He is nicknamed "Thai Zico" by fans. During his eighteen-year career Kiatisuk played as a striker and scored 251 goals in 339 appearances. The former forward played for clubs in Malaysia, Singapore, England and Vietnam as well as in his homeland. Kiatisuk also earned 131 caps and scored 70 goals for Thailand between 1992 and 2007.[1]
Between 2014 and 2017, Kiatisuk was manager of the Thai senior team and, (2013–2016), the Thailand U-23 team. Previously, in 2013, he had also been the caretaker manager of Thailand.[2]
Kiatisuk Senamuang played with Perlis in Malaysia before joining an English club Huddersfield Town in 1999, which the then manager, Steve Bruce, considered merely a publicity stunt.[3] After one season, in which he did not feature in the Huddersfield Town first team squad, Kiatisuk left English football for Rajpracha Sports Club in Thailand, later joining Singapore Armed Forces FC where he scored 15 goals in 20 games. In March 2002, he moved once again to become a star in Vietnam with Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, where he helped win the V.League 1 title several times. He returned to play for the Thailand national football team in the King's Cup.
International career
Kiatisuk played 131 international matches and scored 70 goals for the national team. Both figures are Thai national records.
After retiring from playing in 2006, Kiatisuk went straight into management with V-League side Hoàng Anh Gia Lai
Return to Thailand
In 2008, Kiatisuk returned to Thailand to take charge of Chula United. In 2009, Kiatisuk became the head coach of Chonburi F.C. and led the club to win the 2009 Kor Royal Cup.[4] Kiatisuk managed to finish the season in second place, with the highest points ever achieved by the club. Nevertheless, after failing to secure the domestic league title he resigned.
In December 2010, Kiatisuk returned to Thailand as the head coach of Chula United in Division 1.[5] He brought the club to third place by the end of the season resulting in promotion to the 2012 Thai Premier League. After ten games in the top league, Kiatisuk resigned from his position due to poor results: 1 win, 4 draws, and 5 losses.[6]
A month later, Kiatisuk decided to join Bangkok F.C. in the 2012 Thai Division 1 League to help the club to avoid relegation.[7] Bangkok survived in the second league of Thailand after finishing in tenth place (in the middle of the table).
The national manager
In January 2013, Kiatisuk was appointed to be the head coach of Thailand U-23. He won 1–0 in his debut match in the friendly against Ayutthaya F.C. of Division 1 on 12 January.[8]
In June 2013, Kiatisuk was appointed as a caretaker head coach of Thailand senior team, replacing Winfried Schaefer. His debut match as head coach of the War Elephants was in a friendly against China on 15 June 2013, which the Thais won 5–1.[9] He was also responsible as the head coach for the Thailand U-23 team preparing for the 2013 SEA Games.[10]
As head coach of Thailand U-23, Kiatisuk guided the team to 2013 SEA Games gold, adding to the four golds he won as a player in four straight Games from 1993 to 1999. He also led Thailand U-23 to the semi-finals at 2014 Asian Games and finished in 4th place.[11]
In 2014, due to his success in 2014 Asian Games, Kiatisuk was appointed to be a permanent head coach of Thailand to compete in the 2014 AFF Championship. Using mainly young players from his former U-23 side, he led Thailand to the victory with a 4–3 aggregate score against Malaysia in the final, becoming the only person to win the AFF Championship as both a player and a manager.[12]
In 2016, Kiatisuk managed the Thai side to defend the title in the 2016 AFF Championship. Having won all the games en route to the final, on 14 December Thailand lost 1–2 at Pakansari Stadium against Indonesia in the first leg of the final.[13] Nevertheless, Thailand managed to secure a return of the trophy with a 2–0 win at Rajamangala Stadium and lifted their fifth regional title on 17 December 2016. Kiattisuk became the third manager, after Peter Withe and Radojko Avramović, to successfully defend the AFF Championship title.[14]
Kiatisuk continued to coach Thailand in the final round of World Cup qualification. However, he managed to collect only one point from seven games of the qualification. Three days after a 0–4 loss to Japan at Saitama Stadium 2002 on 28 March 2017, Kiatisuk stepped down from his position as the manager of the national team after four years in charge.[15]
After his spell at the national team, Kiatisuk shortly managed Thai League T1 club Port F.C. in 2017, but resigned due to poor results.[16]
Return to Hoàng Anh Gia Lai
On 20 November 2020, Kiatisuk was appointed head coach with a two-year contract of Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, his former Vietnamese club.[17] His first match in charge was on 17 January 2021 away against Saigon. The game ended in a 1–0 defeat.[18] On 22 January 2021, Kiatisuk won his first game in a 2–1 home win over Sông Lam Nghệ An.[19]
At the time of the cancelation of 2021 V.League 1 due to COVID-19 pandemic, Kiatisuk's Hoàng Anh Gia Lai were the 1st place in the league table with 29 points from 12 games and qualified for the AFC Champions League, but the season was voided and the title was not awarded.[20]
Personal life
Kiatisuk is a Buddhist born in Udon Thani. Before he became a professional football player, he worked as a police officer, but always had a love for football. According to a friend, "his move to football was prompted by insecurity".
He was given the nickname Zico by his friends, in honour of his favourite Brazilian football idol Zico.
Kiatisuk learned Vietnamese and speaks the language fluently just after a first couple of years during his career in Vietnam.
He has three daughters, their nicknames are Perth, Proud and Pearl.
Career statistics
International goals
List of international goals scored by Kiatisuk Senamuang
1 A win or loss by penalty shoot-out is counted as a draw.
2 Kiatisuk Senamuang managed the team on a one-off basis as caretaker-manager.
3 Only FIFA approved games are counted for Thailand.
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