Kiatisuk Senamuang (; born 11 August 1973) is a Thai

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former football player. He is nicknamed "Thai Zico" by fans. During his eighteen-year career Kiatisuk played as a striker and scored 251 goals in 339 appearances. The former forward played for clubs in Malaysia, Singapore, England and Vietnam as well as in his homeland. Kiatisuk also earned 131 caps and scored 70 goals for Thailand between 1992 and 2007. Between 2014 and 2017, Kiatisuk was head coach of the

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

first-team (2013–2016) and the Thailand U-23 team. Previously, in 2013, he had also been the caretaker head coach of Thailand. Kiatisuk has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Dhurakij Pundit University and Master of Business Administration from Chandrakasem Rajabhat University.

Playing career

Club career

Kiatisuk Senamuang played with

Perlis Perlis (Kedah Malay language, Kedah Malay (Perlis dialect): ''Peghelih'') is a Negeri, state of Malaysia in the northwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is the smallest state in Malaysia by area and population. The state borders the Thai ...

in Malaysia before joining an English club Huddersfield Town in 1999, which the then manager, Steve Bruce, considered merely a publicity stunt. After one season, in which he did not feature in the Huddersfield Town first team squad, Kiatisuk left English football for Rajpracha Sports Club in Thailand, later joining Singapore Armed Forces FC where he scored 15 goals in 20 games. In March 2002, he moved once again to become a star in Vietnam with Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, where he helped win the V.League 1 title several times. He returned to play for the Thailand national football team in the King's Cup.

International career

Kiatisuk played 131 international matches and scored 70 goals for the national team. Both figures are Thai national records.

Managerial career

Vietnam

After retiring from playing in 2006, Kiatisuk went straight into management with V-League side Hoàng Anh Gia Lai.

Return to Thailand

In 2008, Kiatisuk returned to Thailand to take charge of Chula United. In 2009, Kiatisuk became the head coach of Chonburi F.C. and led the club to win the 2009 Kor Royal Cup. Kiatisuk managed to finish the season in second place, with the highest points ever achieved by the club. Nevertheless, after failing to secure the domestic league title he resigned.

Second spell in Vietnam

Kiatisuk went to Vietnam again to manage his former club Hoàng Anh Gia Lai. He finished his season in the V-League in seventh place. He led Hoàng Anh Gia Lai to the final of the 2010 Vietnamese Cup but lost 0–1 to Sông Lam Nghệ An at Thống Nhất Stadium,

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

Back to Thailand again

In December 2010, Kiatisuk returned to Thailand as the head coach of Chula United in Division 1. He brought the club to third place by the end of the season resulting in promotion to the 2012 Thai Premier League. After ten games in the top league, Kiatisuk resigned from his position due to poor results: 1 win, 4 draws, and 5 losses. A month later, Kiatisuk decided to join Bangkok F.C. in the 2012 Thai Division 1 League to help the club to avoid relegation. Bangkok survived in the second league of Thailand after finishing in tenth place (in the middle of the table).

The national manager

In January 2013, Kiatisuk was appointed to be the head coach of Thailand U-23. He won 1–0 in his debut match in the friendly against Ayutthaya F.C. of Division 1 on 12 January. In June 2013, Kiatisuk was appointed as a caretaker head coach of Thailand senior team, replacing Winfried Schaefer. His debut match as head coach of the ''War Elephants'' was in a friendly against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

on 15 June 2013, which the Thais won 5–1. He was also responsible as the head coach for the Thailand U-23 team preparing for the

2013 SEA Games The 2013 Southeast Asian Games (, ), officially known as the 27th Southeast Asian Games, or the 27th SEA Games, and commonly known as Naypyitaw 2013, were a Southeast Asian multi-sport event took place in Naypyidaw, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar from 11 ...

. As head coach of Thailand U-23, Kiatisuk guided the team to 2013 SEA Games gold, adding to the four golds he won as a player in four straight Games from 1993 to 1999. He also led Thailand U-23 to the semi-finals at 2014 Asian Games and finished in 4th place. In 2014, due to his success in 2014 Asian Games, Kiatisuk was appointed to be a permanent head coach of Thailand to compete in the 2014 AFF Championship. Using mainly young players from his former U-23 side, he led Thailand to the victory with a 4–3 aggregate score against

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

in the final, becoming the only person to win the AFF Championship as both a player and a manager. In 2015, for the second round of

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia national football team, Rus ...

, Thailand was drawn in the same group as

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

. With Kiattisuk as manager, the team finished as the winner of the group with 14 points from six games. Thailand advanced to the

final round A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

of qualification. In 2016, Kiatisuk managed the Thai side to defend the title in the 2016 AFF Championship. Having won all the games en route to the final, on 14 December Thailand lost 1–2 at Pakansari Stadium against

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

in the first leg of the final. Nevertheless, Thailand managed to secure a return of the trophy with a 2–0 win at Rajamangala Stadium and lifted their fifth regional title on 17 December 2016. Kiattisuk became the third manager, after Peter Withe and

Radojko Avramović Radojko "Raddy" Avramović ( sr-Cyrl, Радојко Аврамовић; born 29 November 1949) is a Serbian retired football coach and player. A goalkeeper, Avramović most notably played for Croatian club Rijeka and English club Notts Count ...

, to successfully defend the AFF Championship title. Kiatisuk continued to coach Thailand in the final round of World Cup qualification. However, he managed to collect only one point from seven games of the qualification. Three days after a 0–4 loss to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

at Saitama Stadium 2002 on 28 March 2017, Kiatisuk stepped down from his position as the manager of the national team after four years in charge. After his spell at the national team, Kiatisuk shortly managed Thai League T1 club Port F.C. in 2017, but resigned due to poor results.

Return to Hoàng Anh Gia Lai

On 20 November 2020, Kiatisuk was appointed head coach with a two-year contract of Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, his former Vietnamese club. His first match in charge was on 17 January 2021 away against

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

. The game ended in a 1–0 defeat. On 22 January 2021, Kiatisuk won his first game in a 2–1 home win over Sông Lam Nghệ An. At the time of the cancelation of 2021 V.League 1 due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Kiatisuk's Hoàng Anh Gia Lai were the 1st place in the league table with 29 points from 12 games and qualified for the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

, but the season was voided and the title was not awarded.

Personal life

Kiatisuk is a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, like most Thais in Thailand, and was born in Udon Thani. Before he became a professional football player, he worked as a police officer, but always had a love for football. According to a friend, "his move to football was prompted by insecurity". He was given the nickname ''Zico'' by his friends, in honour of his favourite

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian football idol Zico. Kiatisuk learned Vietnamese and speaks the language fluently just after a first couple of years during his career in Vietnam. He has three daughters, their nicknames are Perth, Proud and Pearl.

Career statistics

International goals

Managerial statistics

A win or loss by penalty shoot-out is counted as a draw.
Kiatisuk Senamuang managed the team on a one-off basis as caretaker-manager.
Only FIFA approved games are counted for

Honours

Player

Thailand * AFF Championship: 1996,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, 2002 * Sea Games gold medal: 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999 * King's Cup: 1994, 2000, 2006 * Indonesian Independence Cup: 1994 *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

fourth place: 1998, 2002 Krung Thai Bank * Kor Royal Cup: 1989 * Khǒr Royal Cup: 1993 Singapore Armed Forces * S.League: 2002 Hoang Anh Gia Lai * V.League 1: 2003, 2004 *

Vietnamese Super Cup Vietnamese National Football Super Cup (), also called the Thaco National Football Super Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is Vietnamese football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous V.League 1 season and the holders of th ...

: 2003, 2004 Individual * AFF Championship Most Valuable Player: 2000 * V.League 1 Best Foreign Player of the year: 2003, 2004 * AFC Asian All Stars: 2000

Manager

Thailand * AFF Championship:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

* King's Cup:

Thailand U-23 * SEA Games gold medal:

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 ...

fourth place:

Chonburi * Kor Royal Cup:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Hoang Anh Gia Lai * Vietnamese National Cup runner-up:

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 ...

* Quang Trung Emperor's Cup: 2022 Individual *

ASEAN Football Federation The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) is an organisation within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and is an international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer in Southeast Asia. It consists of the federations of Fo ...

Coach of the Year: 2015, 2017 * V.League 1 Manager of the Month: January 2021, March 2021, April 2021, July 2022

In popular culture

Kiatisuk became the first Thai footballer along with some others to appear in a video game when he appeared in World Soccer Jikkyou Winning Eleven 2000: U-23 Medal Heno Chousen as a player of the Thailand U-23 team. His name in the game is "Senamuran" (セナムラン).

References

External links

Fan site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Senamuang, Kiatisuk 1973 births Living people Kiatisuk Senamuang Kiatisuk Senamuang Men's association football forwards Kiatisuk Senamuang Kiatisuk Senamuang Kiatisuk Senamuang Expatriate men's footballers in Malaysia Expatriate men's footballers in England Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players 1996 AFC Asian Cup players 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Kiatisuk Senamuang FIFA Men's Century Club Expatriate men's footballers in Vietnam Thai expatriate sportspeople in Vietnam Perlis FA State Football Team players Thailand national football team managers Expatriate men's footballers in Singapore Warriors FC players Singapore Premier League players Footballers at the 1994 Asian Games Footballers at the 1998 Asian Games Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Kiatisuk Senamuang SEA Games medalists in football Competitors at the 1993 SEA Games Competitors at the 1995 SEA Games Competitors at the 1997 SEA Games Competitors at the 1999 SEA Games Kiatisuk Senamuang Thai expatriate sportspeople in England Thai expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia Kiatisuk Senamuang Kiatisuk Senamuang Kiatisuk Senamuang Kiatisuk Senamuang