My exclusive interview with Kevin Aamlid
Kevin was a fourteen year old schoolboy when Chonburi won the league. Here's his account of the historic night.
Q - Who did you go to the match with?
A: I went to the match with my mum, dad, my brother and one of my dad’s friends.
Q - What was the mood like in the car on your drive up to the ground?
A: I was more anxious than everybody else if I am honest. I was really hoping that Chonburi, the province that I grew up in, finally had something to be proud of. As for the rest of my family, this was their first Chonburi match, I was really hoping they would enjoy it so we could come back more often. Prior to this, in order for me to watch the Chonburi matches I had to stay over at Harry Webb’s, a friend of mine, who went to the matches regularly. So I was really hoping that my parents enjoyed the game so much so that we could also come to the match regularly. Another reason I was nervous was because the previous home games that I went to before ended goalless, so I was hoping for a much better performance this time in such an important game.
Q - Where did you sit inside the stadium?
A: Sit?! Ha, ha! The stadium was so full and we arrived pretty late, so we stood by the corner flag behind the barricades. Then as the match kept going on, me and my brother, Matthew, decided to hop the rails and sit right next to the substitute benches. We had no worries as to what the security guard would say at all so we just climbed over and sat on the concrete pavement near the substitute bench. The view was definitely much better from there. If anyone wanted to do that today, the security guard would definitely evacuate them from the premises and the club would probably get a fine on top of that. But back then, the security at the grounds was much more flexible.
Q - How did it feel to be inside a packed ground for the first time in our history?
A: It was awesome! I personally believe that because of this particular game against Krung Thai Bank, the money started pouring into Thai football. I remember that you had told me at the previous home game to come early for this match, that it would be packed and they would add more seats in the stadium. I didn't believe it till I saw it. It was probably an atmosphere that Chonburi Football Club has still not seen again.
Q - What were your expectations before the game?
A: My knowledge on Thai football was little to none at that time. I couldn't even name players on other teams, except for Ney Fabiano, who played for Thai Tobacco Monopoly. So the only thing I wanted in this game was a win and nothing less.
Q - How do you think the team played on the night?
A: Not very well, since we gave away a 2 - 0 lea,d but glad we ended up winning the match, 3-2!
Q - Which particular players stood out for you?
A: Pipob obviously, for scoring the winner! What a great moment that was. The “Thai Nakamura”, Arthit also contributed heavily to the game, with some fine crosses and passes. Kone Mohammed in particular worked really hard in that match (too bad that years later he went on to sign for Muang Thong!).
Q - Was there any point when you thought we were going to throw it away?
A: Yes. When Krung Thai bank scored their second goal. The Chonburi players looked lost from there, whilst the Krung Thai Bank players looked very motivated.
Q - At what point did you know we'd done enough and would be crowned champions?
A: The moment Pipob scored the team’s third goal All we needed from that game was a draw to be crowned champions and I knew for sure that there was no way Krung Thai Bank would steal the game from us after that important third goal.
Q - What did you do at the final whistle?
A: Rushed onto the pitch like everybody else and started celebrating with the fans and some of the players. As I had said earlier, this was my dad’s first game and he loved it, every goal we scored there were fireworks and flares. I was so glad he enjoyed that game. At the end of the match, the fans made a circle, holding around each other necks and started singing and jumping. They got my dad to join in that circle of joy as well! I found that particular funny, but from that moment my brother and I knew that we would be coming back to the games for sure.
Q - How did you celebrate that night?
A: Not so much celebrating, I had school the next day! My dad kept going on and on about how much he enjoyed it and the same for my brother. I was happy with the fact that I had recruited Chonburi FC supporters within the family!
Q - What sort of reaction did you get from your friends at school?
A: As I have mentioned, Thai football wasn’t very big at the time, only Harry Webb and I could talk about the matches. If we mentioned it, the others would laugh us off and tell us just to watch the English Premier League or something. To be honest I was the same in the beginning... Until i went to my first game. I fell in love with it. It’s one of those things, you had to go see it for yourself to understand the joy and passion that comes with it. I have taken many friends to watch the matches over the years and they have enjoyed it very much. Which proves my point.
Q - What did it mean to you as a Chonburi fan to be the first provincial club to win the TPL?
A: It was great! My mum had represented Chonburi in the Thailand provincial games in bowling before so it obviously meant something to her as well, Chonburi province making a name for itself in sports. From the moment Chonburi FC won the league, the futsal team managed to become a powerhouse in the sport as well, managing to become two time Asian Champions League winners. This moment wasn't just historic for football, but it was a historic moment for the whole province of Chonburi.
Q - How important do you think Chonburi's title win was for Thai domestic football as a whole?
A: Really important for the rise of Thai football. Before this win most of the teams were "company" teams based in Bangkok and most of the time they had very few fans coming to support. Seeing Chonburi get a packed stadium, managed to light a fire in Thai football, hence provincial teams started to pop out of nowhere and the supporters of those regions came along with it. The club owners and the sponsors obviously saw a financial opportunity right away. Of course this did not work out for everyone.
