Ratchaburi Football Club ( Thai: สโมสรฟุตบอลจังหวัดราชบุรี ) is a Thai professional football club based in Ratchaburi province that currently plays in

Thai League 1 The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from Augu ...

. Ratchaburi has the nickname ''The Dragons'' which can be seen in the club official crest.

History

Establishment and early years

Ratchaburi Football Club was founded in 2004 and then joined Thailand Division 2 League 2006. Ratchaburi able to win the Thailand Division 2 League title, get the right to compete in the

2007 Thailand League Division 1 The 2007 Thailand League Division 1 was played in two groups of 12 teams. The top two teams of each group were promoted and the bottom five teams of each group were relegated as the Thai football league system was in the process of being restructu ...

. The League Division 1 season 2007 has a total of 24 teams participating in the competition, divided into 2 groups, 12 teams each and at the end of the competition, the top five of each group will be relegated to the competition. Thai League Division 2, the club did not perform very well, finished the season with the last place in the group A table. In 2008, Ratchaburi Football Club made the seventh place out of the 11 participating teams, causing the team to relegate, but due to the

Football Association of Thailand The Football Association of Thailand under Patronage of His Majesty the King ( th, สมาคมกีฬาฟุตบอลแห่งประเทศไทย ในพระบรมราชูปถัมภ์), or FA Thailand for s ...

reshaping the competition in the season 2009 makes Ratchaburi continue to compete in the Thai League Division 2

2009 Regional League Division 2 2009 Regional League Division 2 was contested by the five regional league winners of the 3rd level championships of Thailand. Five teams met on a home and away basis, with the top three teams gaining promotion to the Thai 1st Division for the 20 ...

is the first season to compete in a 5-region zone system, Ratchaburi Football Club is organized in the Central and Eastern region. The club finished the season with 9th place out of 12 participating teams.

Dragon's breath

In 2010, the Nitikarnchana family decided to take over Ratchaburi Football Club, which was then in the Regional League Division 2. In 2011 they won the Central-East Division before earning promotion to Division 1 after winning Group A of the Division 2 playoffs. Prior to the 2012 season, Ratchaburi Football Club was sponsored by the

Mitr Phol Group Mitr Phol Group is Thailand's and Asia's biggest sugar and bio-energy producer. Mitr Phol Sugar Corp is a privately owned group of companies, mainly owned by the Vongkusolkit family. As of 2014, Mitr Phol is ranked as the world's fifth largest s ...

and announced the change of the club's name to Ratchaburi Mitr Phol FC, with Sorraaut Klinprathum as the club's president, Boonying Nitikarnchana as the club's vice president and Thanawat Nitikarnchana is the team manager and

Somchai Maiwilai Somchai Maiwilai ( th, สมชาย ไม้วิลัย, born 27 June 1970) is a Thai football manager,2012 Thai League Cup final where they lost 4–1 to Buriram United. The final was most remembered for the farcical circumstances that Ratchaburi faced as they didn't have any substitutes on the bench due to having several ineligible loanees from opponents Buriram United. Ratchaburi never stood a chance as Buriram won the final at a canter.

Promotion to the top flight

In the following season, the Dragons flew through the first division winning the title on their way to the TPL. In the first season of the Ratchaburi Mitr Phol in top-tier league is considered unsuccessful, ranked 15th out of the total of 18 teams, but due to the problem of scrambling for the rights of the team between Sisaket F.C. and Esan United escalate, The Thai League company decided to increase the top 20 teams in TPL, resulting in the

Thai Premier League The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from Augu ...

competition in 2013 season, there was only one relegation team, Pattaya United (17th place). In 2014 season, Ratchaburi Mitr Phol reacted by appointing former

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...

manager Ricardo Rodríguez as their new manager for the new

2014 Thai Premier League The 2014 Thai Premier League (also known as Toyota Thai Premier League due to the sponsorship from Toyota) is the 18th season of the Thai Premier League since its establishment in 1996. A total of 20 teams are competing in the league. The season ...

season. The Dragons finished comfortably in 4th place.

Move to Mitr Phol Stadium and recent years

After participating in the top league for 3 years, Ratchaburi Mitr Phol has a project to build its own football stadium. The stadium started construction in 2015 and opened for the first time in mid-2016. In 2016 the club moved to new ground, Mitr Phol Stadium and the club appointed Robert Procureur as the club technical director. In 2016, Following the death of King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; ( Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Grea ...

, the

cancelled the remaining league and cup season on 14 October 2016, with three rounds remaining. The Dragons finished in 6th place. Philip Roller 20191102

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

The Dragons continued to progress under Pacheta's stewardship, and with a team containing half blood players

Philip Roller Philip Roller ( th, ฟิลิป โรลเลอร์, born 10 June 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back or a right winger for Thai League 1 club Port. Born in Germany, he represents the Thailand national team. ...

and

Kevin Deeromram Kevin Deeromram ( th, เควิน ดีรมรัมย์, born 11 September 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a left back for Thai League 1 club Port. International career On 6 June 2017, Deeromram made the debut for Thai ...

reached league finish as 6th place as well as reaching the semi-final of the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

losing 0–1 to Chiangrai United at Supachalasai Stadium. In 2018 Thai League, a dismal run of form saw the team slip to the bottom of the league table. The Dragons finished the season in 12th place with 43 points, they were one point adrift from safety. In 2019, after beating

Buriram United Buriram United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลบุรีรัมย์ ยูไนเต็ด) is a professional football club based in Buriram, Thailand. The club has played at the top level of Thai football for the ...

in the semi-final, The Dragons reached the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

Final for the first time in their history. In the final, played at

Leo Stadium BG Stadium is a three-sided football stadium in Thanyaburi, Pathum Thani, Thailand, holding 10,114 spectators. It is the home of BG Pathum United of the Thai League 1. The stadium has been certified by the International Football Federation ( ...

, Ratchaburi Mitr Phol lost to

Port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

0–1, with a goal by Sergio Suárez scored in second half. Ratchaburi made it becoming the runner-up of the competition. In 2020, Ratchaburi qualified to

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

for the first time in club history after get the position of top four in the table.

Academy

Ratchaburi Mitr Phol opened its first youth academies in 2016 under the name ''The Dragons Academy''. In 2017, Ratchaburi Mitr Phol have appointed Douglas Cardozo as Head of Youth Development.

Stadium

From 2007 to 2016 the club was used

Ratchaburi Provincial Stadium Ratchaburi Provincial Stadium ( th, สนามกีฬากลางจังหวัดราชบุรี) is a stadium in Ratchaburi Province, Thailand. The stadium holds 10,000 people. It is currently used mostly for football ...

that own by the city council as their home ground that causes problems with difficult and incomplete applications. So that, In June 2016 the club was built Mitr Phol Stadium that located in the town of Huai Phai, Ratchaburi Province to be new home ground and it directly own by the club and the stadium held 10,000 seats.

Stadium and locations

Season-by-season record

Continental record

Players

First-team squad

Out on loan

Club officials

Currently Coaching staff

Manager History

Somchai Maiwilai Somchai Maiwilai ( th, สมชาย ไม้วิลัย, born 27 June 1970) is a Thai football manager,Prapol Pongpanich Prapol Pongpanich (18 September 1952 – 3 February 2012) was a Thai football coach.Somchai Maiwilai Somchai Maiwilai ( th, สมชาย ไม้วิลัย, born 27 June 1970) is a Thai football manager,Iván Palanco * Ricardo Rodríguez * Àlex Gómez *

Josep Ferré Josep María Ferré Ybarz (born 26 November 1983), commonly known as Coco, is a Spanish football manager. He is the current head coach of Philippines national team. Coaching career Ferré began his coaching career in the academy of CE Europa. ...

* Pacheta *

Christian Ziege Christian Ziege (; born 1 February 1972) is a German football manager and former player. He most recently coached FC Pinzgau. A defender, he started his playing career at FC Bayern Munich, where he won two Bundesliga titles and a UEFA Cup b ...

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* Lassaad Chabbi *

Manolo Márquez Manuel "Manolo" Márquez Roca (born 7 September 1968) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Indian Super League club Hyderabad. Playing career Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Márquez repr ...

Francesc Bosch Francesc D'Asís Bosch Farnés (born 2 May 1988) is a Spanish football manager, currently the assistant manager of the under-16 team of FC Barcelona. Career Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Bosch worked as an assistant manager at Thai side Ra ...

Marco Simone Marco Simone (; born 7 January 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. As a player, he was a striker and winger. He most prominently played for Milan, with whom he won four Serie A championships and two UEFA Cha ...

Somchai Maiwilai Somchai Maiwilai ( th, สมชาย ไม้วิลัย, born 27 June 1970) is a Thai football manager,Nuengrutai Srathongvian Nuengrutai Srathongvian ( th, หนึ่งฤทัย สระทองเวียน; ; born 1 January 1972), also known as "Coach Nueng" ( th, โค้ชหนึ่ง), is a Thai former footballer and field hockey player and who is th ...

* Chaitud Uamtham *

Somchai Maiwilai Somchai Maiwilai ( th, สมชาย ไม้วิลัย, born 27 June 1970) is a Thai football manager,Miloš Joksić Miloš Joksić (; born 26 March 1968) is a Serbian football manager. Career In July 2012, Joksić resigned as manager of Phuket in Thailand. He later returned to Serbia and served as manager of Mladenovac in 2013. In June 2016, just a month aft ...

* Seksan Siripong *

Somchai Maiwilai Somchai Maiwilai ( th, สมชาย ไม้วิลัย, born 27 June 1970) is a Thai football manager,Xavi Moro Xavier 'Xavi' Moro León (born 22 May 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central midfielder who is the manager of Thai League 1 club Ratchaburi. Club career Born in Paris, France, to Spanish immigrants, Moro amassed Segund ...

Honours

League

Thai Division 1 League Thai League 2 ( th, ไทยลีก 2), commonly known as the T2, formally called Thai Division 1 League, is the second-tier professional league in the Thai football league system. The top 3 are promoted to Thai League 1 at the end of the ...

: **Winner:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Regional League Division 2 Thai League 4 ( th, ไทยลีก 4), commonly known as the T4, was the fourth level association football league in Thailand. In 2009, it was divided into five groups by geographic region. Each group contained 16 clubs except for the Southe ...

: **Winner: 2011 * Regional League Central-East Division: **Winner: 2011

Cups

: **Runners-up:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

**Champions: 2016 **Runners-up:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

External links

Official Facebook
{{Thai League T1 Thai League 1 clubs Association football clubs established in 2004 Football clubs in Thailand Sport in Ratchaburi province 2004 establishments in Thailand