Prayut fumes as entire country's attention shifts to Mika

We appear to have a new king of the football hill with Mika Chuonsee, who’s also played for Wales, stealing the hearts away from his pal Charyl Chappuis of the national football squad.
Mika, 25, sprang to everyone’s attention when he was called to bolster the Kingdom’s ambitions on the pitch in the King’s Cup tournament. His luk khrung looks certainly don’t hurt his popularity. Now he’s right up there with favourites Chappuis and midfielder Chanathip “Messi Jay” Songkrasin.
Mika’s first appearance in the Thailand jersey drew loud cheers when he bagged a goal at a friendly against Khon Kaen United. He’s no stranger to Thai fans, having played professionally for Bangkok United, a Premier League club, since 2009. But excitement is keen since he’s seen as a future star and lands on the national team just as it hits top form and is enjoying tremendous fan support.
Mika starting playing when he was a kid growing up in Wales and basically breathes football. Playing for Wales at the under-17 level, he got to know some of the guys who are now superstars, like Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale of Real Madrid.
And the old chums stay in touch. Mika’s goal in the friendly for Thailand warranted congratulations from Ramsey via Instagram. “Thanks mate,” Mika replied, and the exchange was widely shared among Arsenal followers. Mika tells FM99 sports radio it was “nice” of Ramsey to do that, but now his traffic on Instagram has gone through the roof. “I told him he should have sent me a personal message!”
Youth spent in a foreign land cost Mike nothing in terms of his ability to speak Thai. He’s fluent in the language and has no trace of an accent. Cue the scouts from show business and advertising? Yes, they’re interested, but Mike isn’t. With the Kingdom’s pride and his own career ambitions at stake, he says, he doesn’t want to be distracted by other responsibilities. “I love football more than anything in my life. I thank them all for their interest, but for now I really want to pursue my dream.”
Wales, schmales, he explains – he’s always wanted to play for Thailand. “And now I have that chance and I vow to do my best. Thai football has developed really fast and, in terms of quality, it’s second to none in the region. I have a lot of friends who would have liked careers here, but I told them that the standard has gone up so fast!”
Asked what position he prefers to play on the national squad, Mike says he doesn’t care – centre back, holding midfield, right back, whatever. “My favourite position is holding midfield, but for the national team I can play anywhere the coach thinks I’m best suited.”
That attitude, his drive and – yes, indeed, the hunkiness – have won Mika a lot of fans outside Bangkok United. More that 60,000 people are now following him on Instagram and he’s still humble enough to respond to most comments. “I’ve given up on Chappuis and will now root for you,” was one of the recent comments, but Mike left that one alone.
Suffice it to add that – sorry, girls – both he and Chappuis are taken.