Robert Pires is in line for a shock return to football with Thai Premier League champions Muangthong United. The 37-year-old midfielder is currently training with his old team Arsenal after being released by Villarreal. It appears Pires is unlikely to follow in the footsteps of Sol Campbell, who was given a short term contract by Wenger last season after training with the team on a similar basis. However the former French international is desperate to prolong his playing career and could be tempted by the prospect of joining one of the top teams in South Asia. Robert Procureur, the General Manager of Muangthong United, is hoping to sign Pires in time for the next season which starts in March, “I have been searching for new players from Europe to join our squad next season. I knew Robert Pires from when I visited Arsene Wenger a few years ago and I have already discussed with some people from Arsenal the possibility of bringing Pires to the Thai Premier League. At the moment we are interested in and will try hard to convince him to join Muangthong United,” he said. Muangthong United recently won the Thai Premier League for the second successive season and are also in the final of the Thai FA Cup. They reached the semi finals of the AFC Cup, the Asian equivalent of the Europa League, and are looking to add at least one high profile player to the squad. The club have also been strongly linked with Dwight Yorke and Jesper Blomqvist but Procureur feels that Pires would be the perfect signing, “He is 37 years old but I feel he still has the ability to play as last season he was in the Spanish league with Villarreal. He is a world class player and if he can join us next season it will be a great boost to our team,” he said. Wenger claimed at a at a press conference last month that Pires, who won the Premier League twice and the FA Cup three times during his six year spell at Arsenal, would still be capable of playing Premiership football, “Robert Pires can still play in the Premier League. Robert is a fantastic player still today and he loves to play, so anybody who signs him will make a good deal. If we were short, I would sign Pires but we are not short on the offensive side, so we do not need anyone in that department,” he said With offers from Premiership teams not forthcoming the player, who says he will retire if he has not found a club by the end of January, might well be tempted to finish his playing career in the east. English football and in particular the English Premier League is hugely popular in Thailand. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra famously purchased Manchester City in 2007 in what was widely regarded as a populist and politically motivated move. It is testament to the esteem in which elite English clubs are held in his homeland that Shinawatra felt associating himself with a mid table team could help to bolster his ailing reputation. A Thai led consortium called Asian Football Investments recently purchased Championship side Leicester City and recruited former Manchester City and England manager Sven Goran Eriksson in a bid to take the team back to the Premiership. Thai companies are increasingly trying to get in on the act and Chang Beer is the official shirt sponsor of Everton while Singha Beer has signed a sponsorship agreement with both Manchester United and Chelsea. In previous years there was a feeling that the domestic league in Thailand was being largely overlooked due to fan’s fixation with English football. There are signs that this is changing with attendances at Thai Premier League games on the increase and a handful of wealthy Thai individuals looking to invest in local teams. Muangthong United are at the forefront of this revolution thanks to a recruitment policy which has seen them combine some of the finest footballers in Thailand with a handful of outstanding African players. The success which former Muangthong United favourite Yaya Soumahoro has enjoyed in Belgium is evidence of the diminishing gap between Thai and European football. The Ivory Coast midfielder, who was the most outstanding player in the Thai Premier League, signed for Gent in the summer and has made an instant impact in the top tier of Belgian football. His former team mate Kawin Thamsatchanan could be set to follow in his footsteps. He has been invited for a trial at Manchester United at the instigation of Thailand manager Bryan Robson. The Thai football season is coming to an end and Muangthong United are braced for the exit of several first team players with a number of European clubs hovering. The club are hoping that at least one high profile footballer will move in the opposite direction and Pires is currently top of the list. © James Goyder & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Robert Pires Thai football

I’m not entirely certain that I’m staying in one of the more reputable hotels in Bangkok. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure how many hotels usher you in through a side entrance because they are building a highway out the front. I can think of at least one. Still, I appreciated the thoughtfulness of the staff when I arrived back from Thailand’s recent clash with Australia. “Sawat dii,” they all said, clasping their hands in unison. “Congratulations on the victory!” “Thank you!” I replied, smiling jovially and no doubt looking slightly demented. “Mind you, I didn’t actually play myself. I just watched!” Cue worried faces from the bemused staff. Nevertheless their demeanour was an improvement on the behaviour of Bangkok’s notorious cabbies. Taxi’s in Bangkok are a bit like elections. There’s always one around the corner, and you just know they are going to be useless. Catching a taxi after Australia had thumped Thailand proved a difficult proposition. “Hello, will you take me to the Hotel de Concrete, please?” I would ask. “Get out,” the cabbie would reply, evidently hoping for a larger fare, although I’m not sure where he expected to go – the planet Mars, perhaps? My next tactic proved equally unsuccessful. Hailing a cab on busy Ramkhamhaeng Road, I simply sat down and refused to move until the driver took me to my salubrious destination. This had the effect of further grid-locking the capital’s already choked streets, as my cabbie and I locked horns in a tense stand-off for control of the meter. It took the driver behind us stepping out to retrieve what I presume was a baseball bat for me to flee the scene. Maybe I shouldn’t have been wearing my Australia jacket. Or maybe I should have offered a bribe that would have bought more than a small cheeseburger at the local food emporium. At any rate, Spot-The-Aussie was proving a popular spectator sport as hordes of Australia fans hopped frantically from one taxi to the next. Eventually, two young men wandered over. “Where are you going?” they enquired. I raised a quizzical eyebrow, somewhat concerned by the prospect of making an unscheduled trip to the Cambodian border. Then I handed them my crumpled directions. “Ah, the Hotel de Concrete!” they chuckled. “No taxi driver will take you there! You need to take the bus.” I looked in my wallet. Not a single Thai coin to be found. I knew I’d live to regret buying so many spicy chicken wings from the street-side vendors before the match. “Will they take this?” I said sheepishly, holding out a 50 Baht note like the clueless tourist that I am. Lin and Toto - as they told me their names were, reached deep into their pockets and handed me several small coins. I was touched. I tried to give them my 50 Baht note, but they would have none of it. Leaping onto the moving bus in a style reminiscent of Indiana Jones - at least in a scene where he doesn’t trip on the stairs and nearly fly head first out the window, I began to ponder the lessons learned on my trip back to the hotel. I learned that the majority of Thai’s are friendly and compassionate and willing to help – even after their national team has just lost a match that saw them knocked out of a major international tournament. Perhaps just as importantly – at least for anyone planning on attending a match at Rajamangala Stadium in the near future, I learned another crucial lesson that I am willing to share with you, valued reader, right now…

Australia have progressed to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup after they defeated Thailand 4-0 at a rain-soaked Rajamangala Stadium . Coach Graham Arnold rang in the changes ahead of this match, and it was one of the newcomers in Michael Beauchamp who opened the scoring for The Socceroos, heading home his first ever goal for the national team after twenty-one minutes. Captain Mark Viduka then scored twice, before substitute Harry Kewell added a fourth in stoppage time at the end of the match as Thailand's tired legs gave way. The scoreline was harsh on the tournament co-hosts, who pushed Australia for eighty minutes of this encounter and who tested Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer on several occasions. Despite the unflattering scoreline, Thai coach Chanvit Polchovin spoke glowingly of his side, which ultimately finished the group stage level on points with Australia - albeit with an inferior head-to-head record and goal difference. Polchovin told reporters that he hoped Thailand's performance in the competition would inspire local fans to pay more attention to the domestic scene, with Thai fans well renowned for supporting teams in the English Premier League. A vociferous crowd of 46,000 predominantly Thai fans roared on their team, and Thailand went agonisingly close when Kiatisuk Senamuang only just failed to connect with Suree Sukha's low cross into the penalty area. By then Thailand were already a goal behind, with 1.FC Nürnberg defender Beauchamp having risen highest to head home a Luke Wilkshire free-kick midway through the first half. It took until ten minutes from time for Australia to make the game safe, with skipper Mark Viduka scoring a tremendous solo goal, taking a cross from substitute Tim Cahill on his chest before twisting passed the Thai defence and picking his moment to fire beyond Kosin Hathairatanakul in the Thai goal. Just three minutes later Cahill and Viduka combined again, with the Newcastle United striker heading home to take his goal tally for the tournament to three. Liverpool midfielder Harry Kewell - on as a substitute for the final half hour, then sealed proceedings with a goal in stoppage time, gallopping down the right hand side before slotting the ball passed the luckless Kosin. Australia's reward is a quarter-final showdown with Japan, just over a year after The Socceroos beat Japan 3-1 at the FIFA World Cup in Germany . Japan captain Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi claimed before the tournament that Japan were "burning for revenge," and Japan will have the chance to avenge that defeat when these two old foes clash at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi on July 21. Australia v Iraq Copyright © Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com

Friday the 13th, 2007 is a day that will dwell in infamy for Australian football fans. I pondered the depths of their despair as I tramped along the dusty perimeter of Rajamangala Stadium in the aftermath of Australia’s 3-1 defeat to Iraq, where I stumbled upon a group of young Thai’s playing street-ball in the expansive forecourt of Thailand’s national stadium. Their movement was fast and fluid – they played purely for the love of the game. Their football was in stark contrast to Australia’s. There’s nothing fun about being an Australian football fan at the present moment in time.

Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium finally came alive with the sounds of Thailand's win over Oman on Thursday night. Listen to the crowd go wild as Thailand's second goal goes in Listen to the Thai drummers in the stadium Sounds by Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com Rather unhelpfully there are two "National Stadiums" in Bangkok. Rajamangala National Stadium lies on the outskirts of Bangkok in a suburb called Huamark. There are virtually no transport links, which might explain why so few fans have attended the games so far at Rajamangala . Supachalaisai "National" Stadium is adjacent to the National Stadium Skytrain Station near Siam Square in central Bangkok. Hotels in Bangkok - Bookings Hotels in Kuala Lumpur - Bookings Hotels in Jakarta - Bookings Hotels in Hanoi - Bookings Hotels in Ho Chi Minh - Bookings

Substitute Pipat Thonkanya came off the bench to fire Thailand to their first ever victory at the AFC Asian Cup finals, scoring a second half brace as the hosts shocked a lacklustre Oman. Thailand dominated the visitors but had to wait until the seventieth minute for Thonkanya to tap home at the far post, following a superb cross from fellow substitute Teeratep Winothai. Eight minutes later some route one football caused pandemonium in the Omani box, as Winothai flicked on goalkeeper Kosin Hatthairattanakool long clearance, allowing Thonkaya to race through and smash a volley beyond Ali Al-Habsi in the Oman goal. The result was arguably good news for group rivals Australia, with suggestions that Iraq and Oman might ease up in their clash leading many Australian fans to cheer on the underdog Thai's.

The Asian Cup is in full swing, but where are the fans? The 14th Asian Cup has kicked off amidst a blaze of fantastic football. Thailand and Iraq played out a pulsating 1-1 draw, whilst the highly fancied Australia were embarrassed by a rampant Oman, despite conjuring a fortuitous 1-1 draw of their own.

Rain mars Asian Cup opener Thailand and Iraq kicked off the 14th AFC Asian Cup with a 1-1 draw in front of a half-empty Rajamangala National Stadium. Thailand opened the scoring through a disputed sixth minute penalty, however Iraq hit back just after the half-hour mark through captain Younis Mahmood's flicked header. A wild, monsoonal downpour threatened to see the match postponed, as Rajamangala Stadium was bucketed by a ferocious storm two hours before kick-0ff. The driving rain kept thousands of Thai fans at home, with officials claiming that over 35,000 tickets had been pre-sold, and a further 10,000 expected to buy tickets at the gate.

Bangkok gears up for Asian Cup kick-off The most hotly anticipated Asian Cup on record is set to kick-off in Bangkok, when co-hosts Thailand take on Iraq at Rajamangala National Stadium in the tournament opener on July 7. The sixteen team extravaganza will kick-off under grey skies in the east of the Thai capital, with the oppressive humidity expected to play into the hands of the energetic Thais. Thailand coach Chanvit Polchavin has been in a bullish mood in the build-up to the competition, claiming that his team has "no one to fear." Iraq, meanwhile, have seen their preparation for the tournament hampered by the on-going conflict currently ravaging the war-torn country. Nevertheless the physically imposing Iraqis will be aiming to make their fourth successive quarter-final appearance at this tournament, with their opener against Thailand setting out to be a classic case of brain versus brawn. Thailand's star striker Teerathep Winothai has called on locals to pack the 60,000 capacity Rajamangala National Stadium, as the Thais look to get off to the best possible start in a group that also contains Oman and Asian Cup debutant Australia. Copyright © Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com Hotels in Bangkok - Bookings Hotels in Kuala Lumpur - Bookings Hotels in Jakarta - Bookings Hotels in Hanoi - Bookings Hotels in Ho Chi Minh - Bookings