The Story of the 2007 Season
by Dale Farrington
At the start of the 2007 season nobody could have predicted that Chonburi FC would be crowned as champions of Thailand. We had finished the previous season - our first in the top flight - in 8th place. A respectable position but with the league now expanding to 16 clubs the new year would surely see us end up comfortably in mid table again.
The opening couple of matches didn't really give us any clues either. An uninspiring first day victory at home to Suphanburi was followed by a 2-1 win at Narm Gai Jon Stadium (surely the hottest ground in the country!) against TOT. The latter we very nearly threw away by sloppy defending in the closing minutes only to grab an undeserved late winner ourselves.
The following week we were completely outplayed and outclassed by an impressive BEC Tero side who looked like they'd be challenging for the title at the end of the season. However, after this defeat we strung together an eight match unbeaten run picking up 17 points in the process. This run included the match that, as far as I'm concerned, changed the face of fan culture in Thailand.
We were trailing 2-0 at home against Thai Honda when it started to rain. Everybody who had been sitting at the front of the stand had to move back to get under cover. It was impossible to sit when everyone was cramped together so we all had to stand. With the rain falling, a drop in temperature, the floodlights on and a large crowd of mainly men squashed together, I was transported back to my youth on the terraces at Oldham. I remember thinking at the time that this was just how it used to be in England but without the nastiness. The crowd too seemed to sense something was different and roared the Sharks on to a memorable 3-2 win. From that day on the atmosphere at Chonburi would be very special indeed and the rest of the country would soon catch up.
The rain also played a major part in our next match. We had travelled in large numbers to Nakorn Pathom for a 4:00pm Wednesday afternoon kick off. The game kicked off in bright sunshine but midway through the second half, with Chonburi leading 1-0, the heavens opened. I have rarely seen rain like it. And I have never seen a football match played in such conditions. However, the full ninety minutes were played out and by the final whistle the pitch was completely under water. And, it was still raining!
We all huddled together in the away stand not daring to make a run for the bus. After about 30 minutes of non stop rain someone opened the door to the team's dressing room and we scampered across. We spent the best part of an hour sheltering in there with all the players and the backroom staff. Eventually the rain eased enough for us to get back on the bus. The driver somehow managed to drive safely through the flooded streets of Nakorn Pathom and we were finally on our way home.
The unbeaten run was finally ended by a 0-1 home reverse against PEA. However, the following week a huge away following saw the Sharks play the best football we had played so far. A 3-0 thumping of Osotspa left us near the top of the table going in to the mid-season break. We could all enjoy the rest knowing that the best was yet to come and that a top four finish wasn't beyond us.
When the season resumed at the end of August just 4 points separated the top 4 teams so it was important that we got off to a good start. Our first match after the break was an away trip to the Thai Army Stadium for a game against title rivals, Tobacco Monopoly. We were accompanied on our trip by a crew from ESPN/Star Sports who were filming our adventures for their "Football Crazy" show.
The fans were in good voice on the way up and were full of confidence, refreshed and re-invigorated after the break. The team too seemed to have benefitted from the short lay off and tore into their opponents in a manner that suggested our first leg performance hadn't been a fluke With an emphatic 2-0 win under our belts we returned home in the knowledge that we were still second, behind Tero, only on goal difference and now had a four point cushion between ourselves and Krung Thai Bank, who had replaced the beaten Tobacco Monopoly in third. It was the perfect way to present Chonburi FC to a wider Asian audience.
Our next two matches were back to back encounters with mid table outfit, BKK University. There was a collective rubbing of hands in anticipation of the six points that we would be collecting. However, as with most things, it didn't quite go according to plan. During a mad twenty minute period in the first half of the away game we conceded three goals, and could have conceded more, as the hundreds of visiting fans looked on in astonishment. A goal early in the second half gave us renewed hope but the comeback didn't materialise and we slunk back home to lick our wounds.
After another week off for internationals we had our chance to exact swift revenge against those upstart students. Ninety minutes later we were again wondering, "What went wrong?" A 0-1 reverse had severely dented our title hopes and we had slipped to third, two points behind a Krung Thai Bank team which was rapidly building up a headful of steam.
It didn't get any better in the following weeks. A 2-2 draw away against Suphanburi and a dull 0-0 home draw with TOT weren't exactly the kind of results that potential champions should be producing. But, fortunately for us, none of our rivals had been able to capitalise so after four games without a win we still trailed the leaders (KTB) by just two points.
Our next home match was a mid-week fixture against Nakorn Pathom. It was also my birthday. Now, I'm not suggesting for one minute that that evening's performance was for my benefit but it certainly gave me a day to remember. The players had suddenly rediscovered their touch and the confidence came flooding back as we took apart the hapless visitors, who couldn't have complained if we'd scored 10. In the event it was a fine 3-1 victory. In context of the whole season this was probably our most important result. Had we lost, who knows what may have happened but with a win under our belts we launched ourselves on a run of five straight victories.
There was then a slight blip, a 1-1 home draw with a stubborn Army team, but we were soon firing on all cylinders again; thrashing PEA 4-0 away, beating the Navy 1-0 in Sattahip, a 1-0 home win v Osotspa and a 2-0 triumph in Ratchaburi against the Police. This meant that going into the penultimate game of the season, at home against our nearest rivals KTB, a win would give us the championship.
It was to be a remarkable occasion. Once again ESPN/Star Sports had despatched a film crew to record the event for prosperity and they weren't to be disappointed. Over 10,000 people, double our regular attendance, had somehow squeezed into the Chonburi Municipal Stadium and the atmosphere was (oh, go on) electric. The match certainly lived up to its billing. In spite of missing a penalty Chonburi had surged into a two goal lead by the break and were looking good to make history as the first provincial club to win Thai football's biggest domestic honour. Our chances were further increased when the visitors were reduced to ten men. It was within our grasp now. Of course, it wasn't to be that simple. Feeling that they had nothing to lose, KTB threw everybody forward in an effort to salvage something from the game and keep alive their own faint hopes of lifting the trophy.
This new bold attacking policy paid off, and soon not only were they level but they were looking the likelier side to go on and win it. With my nerves, and those of 10,000 other Chonburians, in tatters the coolest man in the ground, Pipob On-Mo took it upon himself to put us all out of our misery by firing home a late winner. The crowd erupted and the celebrations began in earnest with firecrackers and flares being let off in every part of the ground. The final whistle prompted a good natured pitch invasion and we had done it. A fitting end to what had been a wonderful season.
However, we still had one final home match to play. The following Tuesday we entertained Tobacco Monopoly in an event for which the phrase "anti-climax" could have been invented. In their infinite wisdom FAT had decreed that all final round matches should kick off on the same date and at the same time, on its own, a sensible piece of scheduling. However, when the date is Tuesday 27th November and the time is 4:00pm you begin to question the wisdom.
I'm sure that if we'd wanted too we could have applied to change the time but in the event we duly went through the motions in front of about 5 or 600 people who were more interested in watching Sek Loso and his band set up behind one of the goals in preparation for that evenings concert. The match ended in a 2-1 defeat for the newly crowned champions therefore bringing an end to a 13 match unbeaten run. A rather low key end to an impressive campaign but it took me a couple of days to shake off the hangover I got as a result of the party.
Having followed the club since the very beginning I had a huge sense of pride for what we'd achieved. However, this wasn't just Chonburi's victory. It was to change the face of Thai football. Suddenly other provincial clubs were starting to sit up and take notice. "If Chonburi can do it, why can't we?" The TPL was no longer the preserve of the company clubs and armed forces teams but now town teams from outside the greater Bangkok area could realistically compete and actually stand a chance of winning something.
Chonburi had shown the way. Build up a local fan base, run the club properly and all this could be yours. What we have seen happen in the past ten years is as a direct result of this small team from the provinces taking Thai football by the scruff of its neck and giving it a good shaking.
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