BEC-Tero Sasana gunning for top 5 place in Thai Premier League

The Fire Dragons, who dominated the league between the 2000 and 2012 seasons, are keen on redeeming their pride as they open their campaign against Samut Songkram FC on Sunday.

“Our goal is to finish in the top five. Our philosophy is to invest in young players and give them a chance to play. We have done that with the likes of Chanathip Songkrasin, Narubodin Weerawatnodom, Peerapat Notechaiya and Thanaboon Kasarat,” said Robert Procureur, the team’s general manager.

“Unlike some other teams, we have limited financial resources, but we believe in creating young players. Our goal is to finish among the top five in the league and to win a cup,” added Procureur, who signed many new foreign players including Ariza Makukula, who has four caps for Portugal. “Makukula is probably one of the high-profile players in the Thai League. He has played for various clubs in La Liga, Benfica in Portugal, Bolton Wanderers in England. We have also landed Daiki Iwamasa, a centre back who will soon be making a big impact on Thai football.”

Continuing in his role as head coach is Jose Alves Borges, who joined the club in the second half of last season. Rangsan “Captain Aon” Wiwatchaichok has been named club captain for another season. The squad consists of both young and experienced stars such as Thanaboon Kasarat, Narubodin Weerawatnodom, Sho Shimoji, Chayapat “Boy” Kijpongsrithada, Anucha Kijpongsri and Ghanian winger Gilbert Koomson.

Team manager Tanya Vongnak introduced other members of the squad such as Rangsan; Daiki Iwamasa, a player from the J-League; Chanathip “Messi J” Songkrasin, and Koomson. 

“We are making improvements to the 72nd Year Stadium, our home ground, especially the drainage system and lighting. We have joined hands with Bangkok Christian this year to run the football academy. In the past few years, we have had young players from the school playing for our first team. This year we have a rising star, Jaturong Pimkoon, who shone during the pre-season, as well as Janerobb Sumpaodee. These two have a good chance of playing for the first team in the second half of the season if they are able to maintain their performances,” Tanya said.

Under the concept “We Are Tero”, which emphasises team spirit and the club’s glorious history, all three of the club’s 2014 kits were officially introduced at the press conference yesterday. The concept behind the 2014 home kit is the “Golden Fire Dragon”. The kit comes in the club’s colour - red, with golden stripes inspired by the scales of the dragon. The away kit features a white design and the third kit is dark blue. BEC-Tero goes into the season with strong support from a number of companies such as FB Battery, Muang Thai Life Assurance, Leo Beer, Air Asia, Black Canyon and ThaiTicketMajor. Channel 3 will be the main sponsor of the club.

The club’s home ground for the season is the 72nd Year Stadium (Minburi) with Bangkok Patana International School serving as the training ground. Fans can now book tickets via ThaiTicketMajor with a special offer for customers who buy a set of tickets featuring the five BEC-Tero Sasana games against SCG Muang Thong United, Supanburi FC, Buriram United, Bangkok Glass and Chonburi FC. Customers who buy this set of tickets will receive a special discount for BEC-Tero Sasana’s shirts.