Kiatisak faces old foe Salleh

National football team coach Kiatisak Senamuang is looking for another victory in his personnel duel with Malaysian counterpart Dollah Salleh when three-time champions Thailand lock horns with Malaysia in the first leg of the Asean Championship (AFF Suzuki) final at Rajamangala National Stadium today.

In 1996’s inaugural tournament, a 23-year-old Kiatisak gained the upper hand over Salleh, 10 years his senior, when he scored for Thailand in a 1-1 draw with Malaysia in the group stage, before netting in a 1-0 victory when the two sides met again in the final.

Eighteen years on, the pair face each other again – but this time as coaches. The 41-year-old Kiatisak kept his record against Salleh intact when his charges edged Malaysia in a five-goal thriller in the group stage before going on to reach the final of the biennial tournament for a record-extending seventh time.

While Kiatisak’s men sailed into the final by sweeping aside regional No 1 the Philippines 3-0 on aggregate in the semis, Salleh had to steer his side through far rougher waters.

The Malaysians first upstaged four-time champions and titleholders Singapore in the final group match to snatch a qualification spot, then lost 2-1 at home to Vietnam in the first leg of the semis before pulling off a miraculous turnaround to win the tie 5-4 on aggregate.

Having yet to find himself on the winning side against Kiatisak, Salleh made no secret of his desire to prevent his Thai nemesis from becoming the first person to win the tournament as both coach and player. The talismanic Thai coach, though, is relishing the chance to pit his wits against the Malaysian once again, after Salleh admitted he was desperate to reverse the record against Thailand. 

“I don’t have any worries about Salleh’s coaching. We first went face to face in the tournament as players, and I beat him then. When we first met as coaches last month, I won that one too. Let him say what he wants – tomorrow we will see whether he can stop us.”

 

Adisorn injury leaves a hole

Kiatisak admitted that Adisorn Promrak’s knee injury, which has ruled him out of both legs of the final, was a blow but he was adamant his side could cope without his first-choice central defender.

“It’s a pity [that Adisorn is ruled out]. He’s our main centre-half, but there’s nothing we can do after the doctor said he can’t play. We don’t want to run the risk of aggravating his injury, which could lead to him missing international games including World Cup qualifiers and the SEA Games next year.

“It also could affect his club career [so] it would be better we let him make full recovery. We still have options like Suttinun Phukhom or Tanaboon Kesarat.”

Kiatisak also has a choice to make up front: whether to keep faith with midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin, who led the frontline and scored the opener in the 3-0 win over Philippines in the semi-final second leg, or recall Adisak Kraisorn, who is available again after a one-match suspension.

“We’re still thinking about our tactics. We may use Adisak as lone striker, push Chanathip up in an advanced role again or have Prakit Deeprom as the other option. I’m exploring all the options because we need to beat Malaysia before the return leg in Kuala Lumpur.”      

Channel 7 will televise the match live from 7pm.