by Sven Beyrich
It’s a bit unfortunate that there is no top-flight football played at the Siracha Stadium anymore. It was certainly not one of Thailand’s better footballing venues, but one you liked to go to on a lovely Sunday afternoon, especially if you were a travelling away fan looking for getaway.
I personally hold some fond memories, as I was there on several occasions. Not just for games on matchdays. Sometimes when I passed by I'd sneak in just to sit down on the terraces to enjoy the sunsets over the hills of Siracha, watch a training session or even play futsal on the concrete behind the main stand with my Thai friends from the “Blue Marlins” Fanclub.
So now you may ask, what makes it so special apart from my personal connection?
Well, Siracha is a small town just next to the big Laem Chabang port and situated almost between Chonburi and the notorious famous seaside town of Pattaya. If Pattaya is too much for you, but you still want to be within the reach of it, Siracha it is.
With the sea only 300 meters away, the stadium is located very close to the Gulf of Thailand and there is a nice little park where you can stroll around or sit down watching the waves of the ocean. Also, around the corner there are plenty of restaurants and one sport shop, where you can buy a lot of Thai football shirts or look at old ones hanging from the wall, like the one of Thai Farmers Bank FC.
All in all, matchdays in Siracha were very relaxing and enjoyable, although Siracha FC lost most of their home games. The most remarkable home win in the history of the club was certainly the match vs Bangkok Glass, when Siracha’s goalkeeper scored the winner in added time.
The other good things about the stadium? Well occasionally you bumped into players and coaches who were watching the games from the stands. Not only coach Haeng and Jaded, but also Michael Burne, Douglas Cardoso or players of the current women’s national team who were playing for Chonburi at that time.
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