Playing at Anfield 'an amazing experience' for Thanat Thanik team

For Thanat Thanik team players, it was a dream come true. When they made their once-in-a-lifetime trip to Liverpool, they never expected that they would get a chance to play at Anfield. Their joy knew no bounds when the club legends lined up to coach them and watch “Captain Marvel” Steven Gerrard-led Liverpool win the final match of the season against Newcastle.

The team from Chiang Mai represented Thailand in the final stage of the futsal competition in Standard Chartered Trophy 2014: Road To Anfield. They flew to Liverpool last week to attend the competition that was played at Liverpool’s home ground.

“It is the dream of all young boys to play at Anfield. It was really an amazing experience,” said Gun Kaewsawangnapa, a 23-year-old player of the team.

He said he got a firsthand experience of how crazy the British are about football and how they spend the weekends with their families watching their favourite team play.

Apart from the terrific experience of playing at Anfield, the Thai players said the tournament gave them useful insights on pursuing their career.

Karn, who is Gun’s twin and also the team captain, said the futsal competition taught him the different styles of foreign players and how disadvantaged Thai players are in terms of physique when compared to European and African players.

Gun said Thai players need to improve their speed and strength with more practice and training. He said he would share his experience with his team-mates at home after his return.

Nattawut Sansook, 26, thanked Standard Chartered Bank for giving young Thai players like his team an opportunity to compete and travel to UK.

“If we had not had this chance, we would have never known how foreign players play football,” he said.

The tournament was part of the “Standard Chartered Trophy: Road to Anfield 2014” campaign to find one team from one country to play in Liverpool. This year, 98 participants from 14 countries participated. The tournament is run in partnership with Standard Chartered Bank, the main sponsors of Liverpool FC. 

The participants also had an exclusive coaching session, led by club legends John Barnes and Robbie Fowler, in preparation for the finals.

During the competition, the Thai players won the respect of their rivals. They had the burden of defending the title that was won by “We Kick” of Thailand last year. The Thanat Thanik team’s performances were impressive with six wins in the first round. They scored 14 goals and let in only two goals.

However, the trophy went to Vietnam while the Thai side finished third.

The participants also got a chance to watch Liverpool’s final game of the season against Newcastle at Anfield last Sunday.

“It’s was like living the dream. Watching my beloved team Liverpool playing at Anfield gave me goose bumps. I was so impressed, I couldn’t hold back my tears during the match,” Nattawut, a lifelong Liverpool fan, said.

For him, the most impressive moment of the trip was listening to the Kop singing “You will never walk alone” before and after the game.

Liverpool finished in second place, two points behind champions Manchester City, but Nattawut said he has no regrets about the final outcome.

 “We the Kop love our team no matter whether they win the championship or not,” he said. 

Before the players left Liverpool, they spent the night at the closing ceremony where Barnes and Fowler presented them with medals and trophies. 

Barnes, who spent a decade at Anfield between 1987 and 1997, said he saw a news report that the then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was trying to sign him. He said he was surprised because unlike the United players, he was not a superstar. “All I know is as a Liverpool player I need to learn how to be down to earth and keep a humble relationship with the Liverpudlians,” the legend said. 

 

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