Anthony Petch Ampaipitakwong (; born 14 June 1988) is a retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Born in the United States, he played for the Thailand national team.

Personal life

Anthony was born in

Carrollton, Texas Carrollton is a city in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas, Denton County, Texas, Denton, and Collin County, Texas, Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 133,434, making it the ...

. His mother is

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and his father is Thai. From 2003 to 2005, Ampaipitakwong was a part of the United States U-17 national team Residency program in Bradenton, Florida.

College and amateur

While a student at the University of Akron, Ampaipitakwong helped the

Akron Zips men's soccer The Akron Zips men's soccer team is an intercollegiate Varsity team, varsity sports team of the University of Akron. As of the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, the Zips play in the Big East Conference. This move followed Akron's full-ti ...

team, coached by

Caleb Porter Caleb Porter (born February 18, 1975) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach of Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. He was previously head coach of the Portland Timbers from 2013 until 2017. He won MLS Cup in 2015 with P ...

, to their first national championship in 2010 with a win in the College Cup Final against Louisville. He was on the Hermann Trophy Watch List and was a College Soccer News Preseason All-American. He was a co-captain on a team that lost two games over two years. He was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) First Team All-American and a Soccer America MVP First Team selection in 2009. He was the winner of the NCAA Senior CLASS Award in 2010. Ampaipitakwong started all 93 games he appeared in over his four-year career at Akron, scoring 17 goals with 30 assists. In his senior season, he scored three goals and had a career high 11 assists. During his college years Ampaipitakwong also played with the

Bradenton Academics IMG Academy Bradenton is an American soccer team based in Bradenton, Florida, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team is associated with IMG Academy and the Un ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

, scoring 6 goals in 45 league appearances over four seasons with the team.

Club career

Ampaipitakwong was selected by the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

in the second round of the

2011 MLS SuperDraft The 2011 MLS SuperDraft was the twelfth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 13, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 2011 NSCAA Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. The 2011 SuperDraft consi ...

(33rd overall). He signed with the club on March 1, 2011, and made his professional debut on March 19 in the first game of the 2011

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

season, a 1–0 loss to

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

. In June 2012, Ampaipitakwong signed a 2.5 year contract with Thai Premier League side

Buriram United Buriram United Football Club () is a Thai professional football club based in Buriram. The club has played at the top level of Thai football for the majority of their existence and competes in the Thai League 1. The club was founded in 1970 as P ...

. In the second leg of the

2013 Thai Premier League The 2013 Thai Premier League (also known as ''Toyota Thai Premier League'' due to the sponsorship from Toyota) is the 17th season of the Thai Premier League since its establishment in 1996. A total of 18 teams are competing in the league. It will ...

Ampaipitakwong was bought from

Bangkok United True Bangkok United Football Club () is a professional football club based in Pathum Thani province, Thailand. Known as Bangkok University Football Club until 2009, the club was relegated from the 2010 Thai Premier League only four years afte ...

and signed a 2.5 year deal. On 19 March 2022, Ampaipitakwong came to watch the

Thai League The Thai League (, pronounced as ') or Thai League 1 (, pronounced as '), often referred to as T1, is the highest level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai L ...

game, where Bangkok United beat Chiangrai United 3–0 before bid farewell to teammates and club fans after deciding to officially retired from professional footballer and will travel back to his hometown in

, USA.

International career

Ampaipitakwong represented the United States under-17 national team. He represented the

Thailand national football team The Thailand national football team (, , ) represents Thailand in senior international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Thailand. In the regional competition, Thailand is the most successful football team in Southeas ...

, as his father is Thai. He played his first match with the Thai national team in the match against Qatar on March 17, 2013.

Statistics

International

Honors

University of Akron

* NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship (1):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Buriram United

Thai FA Cup The Thai FA Cup (), known officially as The Football Association of Thailand Cup, is a football cup competition in Thailand. Thai FA Cup is an annual knockout association football competition in men's domestic football. It was held between 1974 a ...

(1):

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Thai League Cup The League Cup () is a association football, football cup competition in Thailand. It is also known as Hilux Revo Cup for sponsorship reasons. History Thai League Cup was started by Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Motor (Thailand) in the name of ...

(1):

Kor Royal Cup Kor Royal Cup (), known as the Yai Cup () until 1963, was the highest level of club football competition which competed in the tournament in Thailand from 1916 to 1995. It was founded by the Football Association of Thailand in 1916. Department of ...

(1):

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

References

External links