Muang Thong face anxious wait for Teerasil
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Guangzhou, China : Muang Thong United face an anxious wait to see whether Teerasil Dangda will be ready to play against Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande in their AFC Champions League match.
The striker is due to arrive in China just hours before kick-off in their Group F match today. Teerasil did not travel with the team on Sunday as he was due to make a request to defer his military service on Monday. However, the conscription at Don Muang district was postponed to today, meaning the player won’t be able to join his team-mates until a few hours before his side faces a Guangzhou team coached by World Cup winner Marcelo Lippi of Italy.
“We tried to help Teerasil clear the issue with his military service and catch a flight to China as soon as possible because it’s a very important game for us. But the problem was that the conscription is now taking place on the same day as the game, so we could do nothing.
“Nevertheless, he will definitely travel to China for the game in the evening. Let’s see whether he is fit to play when he arrives,” said Muang Thong manager Kan Janrat.
Teerasil’s delayed arrival poses a big problem for coach Slavisa Jokanovic, who is plotting for his side’s first win in their debut campaign in the continent’s elite club competition. However, the Serbian, who once played for European champions Chelsea, remains optimistic that the 24-year-old will be able to play from the start against the group’s early pacesetters.
“Teerasil arriving here on match day shouldn’t be a problem. He’s very professional. Though he has to take a long flight and will have no time to rest afterwards, there are no doubts about his fitness,” said Jokanovic, who guided Muang Thong to their third league title in four years last season.
However, Muang Thong midfielder Datsakorn Thonglao acknowledged that Teerasil’s absence would deal a severe blow to his side’s chances at the Tianhe Sport Centre Stadium against Guangzhou, who top the table with four points from two matches.
“Whether Teerasil plays or not makes a big difference. There is no doubt about that. I am not saying that we don’t have other good players, but I’ve played with him for a long time and I know his game well. He’s now the symbol of our team,” said Datsakorn, whose side need to claim a positive result from the China trip to keep alive their qualification hopes, after earning only a single point from their first two matches.
