Udon Thani
FC is a professional football club that was formed in 1999 by the inaugural
Chairman, Mr.Sathaporn Kotabut, in the north eastern Thailand city of the same
name.
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 finished 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 knock out Champions League 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 play-offs.
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 north west of the city in Sam Phrao for the new campaign.
Udon Thani
FC will play in Thai League 2 (T2) in the 2019 season.
My visits
Udon Thani 1
Army United 1 (Sunday 8th 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 south east. He was still merry and wouldn’t shut up
for a hours flight. We were about the only westerners on the flight.
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 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 severely tested.
I was pretty
sure that we were heading in the wrong direction, but I left it to our pilot.
This was not my greatest ever decision. 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. Thais 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 home made video.
Our tickets
cost 80 Baht (around £1.70) which allowed us access in any of the three sides
opposite the main area. Water cost 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 half way through the opening period, as Brazilian forward Erivelto
saw his effort go narrowly wide. The half closed with a challenge that bordered
on 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 at 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 heading 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
MOF Customs United 2 (Sunday 7th 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
straight forward 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. 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. Purchasing our 80 Baht (£2) tickets, we went upstairs
into 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 motor bike/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
round 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 were playing to 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 to 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 half time 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,
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 an 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 as we had a lovely chat. He was a
lecturuer 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 an 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 than can be
read about here on the Buriram page.
A good review of my beloved Giants. I was at the previous two home games, the local derby had a crowd of over 9,300. They have the potential to be one of the biggest teams in Thailand but will probably continue to frustrate us. Rom Rak Udon..
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