Southeast Asia Thailand

Milovan Rajevac seen as top choice for Thailand national team vacancy

Serbian Milovan Rajevac and Brazilian Marcos Paqueta are favourites to become Thailand’s new national team coach.

According to reports, the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) will decide to go withs either Rajevac or Paqueta to replace Kiatisak Senamuang who quit last month after the national side’s heavy defeats in the 2018 World Cup qualifying round.

However, insider sources said that FAT President Somyot Poompunmuang had already chosen Rajevac.

The Serbian coach took Ghana to the quarter-finals at the 2010 World Cup and was fired as coach of Algeria last year.

The unnamed sources, according to Bangkok Post, also said that Rajevac’s salary demand was not too high, and were he to come on board, the Serbian would receive two million baht a month, the same amount the FAT paid Kiatisak.

Marcos Paqueta guided the Brazilian U17 team to the 2003 Fifa U17 World Cup title and helped Saudi Arabia qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany.

Rajevac and Paqueta are among seven coaches who have been interviewed by FAT officials.

The other five are Dragan Talajic, Winfried Schaefer, Rene Meulensteen, Jorvan Vieira and Masahiro Shimoda.

Tomorrow is the final day for applications to the job of Thailand coach and one more candidate, former China national team manager Alain Perrin, will be interviewed by the FAT officials.

The FAT is expected to name the new national team coach next Friday.