Kiatisuk Senamuang

Club career

Kiatisuk Senamuang played with Perlis in Malaysia before joining an English club Huddersfield Town in 1999, which the then manager, Steve Bruce, considered merely a publicity stunt. After one season, in which he did not feature in the Huddersfield Town first team squad, Kiatisuk left English football for Rajpracha Sports Club in Thailand, later joining Singapore Armed Forces FC where he scored 15 goals in 20 games. In March 2002, he moved once again to become a star in Vietnam with Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, where he helped win the V.League 1 title several times. He returned to play for the Thailand national football team in the King's Cup.

International career

Kiatisuk played 131 international matches and scored 70 goals for the national team. Both figures are Thai national records.

Vietnam

After retiring from playing in 2006, Kiatisuk went straight into management with V-League side Hoàng Anh Gia Lai.

Return to Thailand

In 2008, Kiatisuk returned to Thailand to take charge of Chula United. In 2009, Kiatisuk became the head coach of Chonburi and led the club to win the 2009 Kor Royal Cup. Kiatisuk managed to finish the season in second place, with the highest points ever achieved by the club. Nevertheless, after failing to secure the domestic league title he resigned.

Second spell in Vietnam

Kiatisuk went to Vietnam again to manage his former club Hoàng Anh Gia Lai. He finished his season in the V-League in seventh place. He led Hoàng Anh Gia Lai to the final of the 2010 Vietnamese Cup but lost 0–1 to Sông Lam Nghệ An at Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City.

Back to Thailand again

In December 2010, Kiatisuk returned to Thailand as the head coach of Chula United in Division 1. He brought the club to third place by the end of the season resulting in promotion to the 2012 Thai Premier League. After ten games in the top league, Kiatisuk resigned from his position due to poor results: 1 win, 4 draws, and 5 losses. A month later, Kiatisuk decided to join Bangkok in the 2012 Thai Division 1 League to help the club to avoid relegation. Bangkok survived in the second league of Thailand after finishing in tenth place (in the middle of the table).

The national manager

In January 2013, Kiatisuk was appointed to be the…

International goals

Scores and results list Thailand's goal tally first.

Kiatisuk is a Buddhist, like most Thais in Thailand, and was born in Udon Thani. Before he became a professional football player, he worked as a police officer, but always had a love for football. According to a friend, "his move to football was prompted by insecurity". He was given the nickname Zico by his friends, in honour of his favourite Brazilian football idol Zico. Kiatisuk learned Vietnamese and speaks the language fluently just after a first couple of years during his career in Vietnam. He has three daughters, their nicknames are Perth, Proud and Pearl.