A Tribute To Tee
by Steve Darby
7th September, 2017
It’s an honour to have been asked to write about Tee. I won’t use either of his real names as I don’t want a million points in a scrabble game! Though I knew there was no hope when two Polish Journalists came to Korat to interview him as he had the longest name in International football. This is still true until he retires! I asked Tee why he had changed his name from a very long one, to an incredibly long one. As usual he just smiled and said it was to bring him luck!!
He didn’t need luck, as he was superbly naturally talented, but on top of that he worked his “socks” off. You don’t achieve his longevity in professional and international football without hard work, dedication and looking after yourself off the field.
To explain his natural talent you could just watch his gymnastic ability in warm ups and training, but to me the best reminder was in Sendai in Japan. The Thailand national team had gone to Sendai in Japan to play Saudi Arabia on a plastic pitch (don’t ask why, as the answer is beyond understanding) It was winter and there was about 2metres of snow, which of course the Thai lads were completely at home with. There were no pitches to train on so Peter Reid took the lads into a hall to do some exercises and to get rid of the travel legs.
We did about 30 minutes of hard core work and I finished it off by giving the lads a tennis ball each and asking them to bowl like a cricketer. I asked Reidy to demonstrate, as he is a decent cricketer, then said to the lads have a try! It was like something out of a circus, the lads were all over the place, balls flying in as many directions as legs and arms. Except for one player, Tee! After no practice and never having bowled before he was soon pinging the ball down on a good line and length.
If anyone think this is easy, try bowling with your opposite hand and see what happens. This showed he was a great athlete. Never mind the biceps and pectoral muscles he had.
It’s easy to talk about his great saves and his bravery, as he showed v Australia in his last game. But I think it’s important to mention his character. He was a Number 1 and saw off the challenge of many good keepers for the national team, but when he became a number 2 to Kawin, he reacted with the utmost dignity and professionalism. That is not easy and credit to him as a man and a professional.
Also if you remember Thai society is hierarchical and does not lend itself to this scenario. The easy and frequent way out would have been to retire and save face early on. But he didn’t, he behaved like a Pro and was there when his country and coaches and team needed him.
On a technical level he was excellent, I asked Nipon the Thai Goalkeeper Coach who is the best keeper coach I have seen anywhere and he agreed he was a pleasure to work with technically, but also an attitude that was perfect.
I also know Bryan Robson thought very highly of him and he had played with some decent keepers in his career!
Many Thais are criticised for not being brave and trying to play overseas. The brave ones (Zico, Tawan, Therdsak, Surachai, Anorak, Suksomkit et al) have all benefited from doing so. Tee was brave enough to play in the melting pot of Indonesia, brave indeed to be a foreign keeper. He not only survived – an achievement in itself - he also became a cult hero.
I was privileged to work with him; he always loved playing football, which makes a coach’s job easier. I hope he stays in the game in some capacity, as that attitude and ability should not be lost to Thai football
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