Army United F.C.
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| Full name | Army United Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
Gentleman Ranger (สุภาพบุรุษวงจักร) | ||
| Founded | 1916 | ||
| Ground |
Royal Thai Army Stadium Bangkok, Thailand | ||
| Capacity | 20,000 | ||
| Chairman | Gen. Teerachai Narkvanich | ||
| Manager | Gen. Surachet Chaiwong | ||
| Coach | Watcharakorn Antakhamphu | ||
| League | Thai League | ||
| 2015 | 10th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Army United Football Club (Thai: สโมสรฟุตบอลอาร์มี่ ยูไนเต็ด) is a Thai football club based in the Phayathai District of Bangkok. They play in the top division in Thai football, the Thai League. Their home stadium is known locally as the Thai Army Sports Stadium and more widely known around Asian circles as the Royal Thai Army Stadium of which has been host to numerous international youth matches due to its central Bangkok location. The club played in green shirt with white shorts and black socks.
The club was known as Royal Thai Army until November 2010. Despite finishing bottom of the Thai League in 2010 they managed to regain their top-flight status after winning Group B of the PLT Play-off 2011.
History
Army United represent the Royal Thai Army and have traditionally been Thailand's yo-yo club along with the Navy and Police clubs. Up until 2010 and the name change from the Royal Thai Army to Army United, the club lacked support and had dwindling crowds, mainly supported by Army personnel shipped in for the games.
The Army team has always been a mid ranking Thai team with their biggest successes coming in the Thai Division 1 League with a championship in the 2004–05 season and 2nd place in 2009. Both of these successes have of course come after relegation from the PLT.
The club are based in the Din Daeng District of Central Bangkok, which is the area that bases the Royal Thai Army. Up until the 2011 season, the club operated a policy of only playing home grown talent, but ditched this as the game became more professional and foreign players were brought into the team. Previously the players would work for the Army during the week and play football on weekends, somewhat different from most clubs who operated on a full-time basis.
Recent History
In the 2010 season they were reprieved from relegation after an end of season relegation/playoff system was announced to expand the Thai Premier League. They came 16th in that season and in a normal season they would have been relegated.
The 2011 rebranded Army United signed five Brazilians and surprised all expectations as they topped the TPL in the early weeks of the season. Crowds rose from a few hundred hardy souls to a season average of 5,580. Leandro Dos Santos was hitting the back of the net regularly yet the early season form petered out and Army finished in 13th position.
In 2012, most of the Brazilians had moved on but were replaced with other highly rated foreign stars. Daniel Blanco was the most impressive performer as Army flirted with the Top 6 for long periods before eventually finishing in 10th position.
The 2012 season also coincided with Army reaching the 2012 Thai FA Cup final. On the way to the final, Army were given a reprieve after they'd lost a penalty shoot out to regional league side Trat. It turned out that Trat had fielded an unregistered player and were booted out of the cup with Army reinstalled. Army United then took the scalp of runaway TPL leaders Muangthong United F.C. on the way to the final. The final itself was rather disappointing with Army losing 2–1 to Buriram United F.C..
In 2013 Season the club signed a strategic partnership deal with Thai-owned English club Leicester City F.C..
Stadium
Thai Army Sports Stadium (Thai: สนามกีฬากองทัพบก) is a multi-purpose stadium on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road in the Din Daeng district of north Bangkok, Thailand. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Army United F.C.[1] The stadium holds 20,000 and has a single stand with covered seating on one side and terracing on three sides. An athletics track surrounds the pitch. It is often used by Thai club sides in international football competitions and was used by Bangkok University FC in the 2007 AFC Champions League and Osotsapa FC in the 2007 AFC Cup. Additionally, it has been used for matches involving national sides in international tournaments hosted by Thailand where the hosts are not involved.
Honours
- Kor Royal Cup: Winner (1983)
- Thai Division 1 League: Winner (2004)
- Thai FA Cup: Runner-up (2012)
- Queen's Cup: Runner-up (1997)
Season by Season Domestic Record
| Season | League[2] | FA Cup | Queen's Cup |
League Cup |
Kor Royal Cup |
AFC Champions League |
Top scorer | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | Name | Goals | ||||||
| 1996–97 | TSL | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 60 | 50 | 54 | 8th | N/A | – | – | – | – | N/A | N/A |
| 1997 | TSL | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 31 | 45 | 25 | 9th | N/A | – | – | – | – | N/A | N/A |
| 1998 | TPL | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 35 | 42 | 26 | 7th | N/A | – | – | – | – | N/A | N/A |
| 1999 | TPL | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 11th | N/A | – | – | – | – | N/A | N/A |
| 2000 | DIV 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | – | – | – | – | N/A | N/A |
| 2001–02 | DIV 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | – | – | – | – | N/A | N/A |
| 2002–03 | DIV 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | – | – | – | – | – | N/A | N/A |
| 2003–04 | DIV 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | – | – | – | – | – | N/A | N/A |
| 2004–05 | DIV 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1st | – | – | – | – | – | N/A | N/A |
| 2006 | TPL | 22 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 31 | 38 | 30 | 6th | – | GR | – | – | – | N/A | N/A |
| 2007 | TPL | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 40 | 33 | 47 | 5th | – | – | – | – | – | Jakkraphong Somboon | 9 |
| 2008 | TPL | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 21 | 44 | 25 | 15th | – | – | – | – | – | Jakkraphong Somboon | 4 |
| 2009 | DIV 1 | 30 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 55 | 18 | 62 | 2nd | R2 | GR | R2 | – | – | Tatree Sing-Ha | 17 |
| 2010 | TPL | 30 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 27 | 54 | 22 | 16th | SF | QF | R2 | – | – | Tatree Sing-Ha | 8 |
| 2011 | TPL | 30 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 39 | 40 | 39 | 13th | SF | – | R1 | – | – | Leandro dos Santos | 18 |
| 2012 | TPL | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 34 | 38 | 43 | 10th | RU | – | R1 | – | – | Björn Lindemann | 6 |
| 2013 | TPL | 32 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 48 | 40 | 48 | 6th | R4 | – | QF | – | – | Aron da Silva | 11 |
| 2014 | TPL | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 52 | 55 | 53 | 9th | R3 | – | R1 | – | – | Raphael Botti Tanakorn Dangthong |
9 |
| 2015 | TPL | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 43 | 47 | 41 | 10th | SF | – | SF | – | – | Mongkol Tossakrai | 7 |
| 2016 | PLT | – | R1 | – | – | |||||||||||
| Champions | Runners-up | Third Place | Promoted | Relegated |
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Coaches
Coaches by Years (1996/97-)
| Name | Nat | Period | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amnart Chalermchaowarit |  |
1996–97, 2007 | Thai Division 1 League:Winner 2004–05 |
| Watcharakorn Antakhamphu | |
2008 | |
| Thanadech Phooprasert | |
2009–10 | Thai Division 1 League:Runners-up 2009 |
| Pongphan Wongsuwan | |
2011 | |
| Adul Rungrueng | |
2011 | |
| Amnart Chalermchaowarit | |
2012 | |
| Paniphon Kerdyam | |
Sept 2012 – Nov 2012 | 2012 Thai FA Cup Runner-up |
| Alexandré Pölking |  |
Oct 31, 2012 – Nov 2013 | |
| Matt Elliott |  |
Jan 2014 – Jun 2014 | |
| Gary Stevens |  |
Aug 2014 – May 2015 | |
| Issara Sritaro | |
May 2015 – October 2015 | |
| Watcharakorn Antakhamphu | |
October 2015- |
Sponsors
The following are the sponsors of Army United F.C.
- Chang
- CP
- King Power
- Thailife
- TV5
| Period | Sportswear | Title Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Grand Sport |
Acer |
| 2012–2015 | PAN |
Chang |
| 2016- |  Sakka Sport |
Chang |
Current Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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References
- ↑ Army United Clubinfo on thai-fussball.com
- ↑ King, Ian; Schöggl, Hans & Stokkermans, Karel (20 March 2014). "Thailand – List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 October 2014. Select link to season required from chronological list.
External links
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