TRIBE TALK: Albert Mingphakanee, Muang Loei United Board Member

Please talk a little bit about your role at Muang Loei. How did you get involved at the club? 

My role right now is as a member of the board of management in Loei. I am taking care of foreign documents, like documents for foreign players who come in and doing marketing for the club. Most people there only speak Thai, so if for example, a foreign player comes in, I will have to communicate and arrange things like where they live, where they stay. Because this is my first year, and they have never experienced this before, I can bring in some Leicester City players or some new players who haven’t played in the Thai League but want to prove themselves. That’s what I’m good at, and I have brought these strengths to my position. 

You are only 20 years old, how has your age affected you in performing this role? 

For me, age does not define anything. Football is football, and it’s what I love. I’m not doing this for the fame or for the money, I’m doing it for the team I love, I’m doing it for the growth of Muang Loei, and I’m doing it for the people. I put other people before me, and I think that if I have something that can prove to them, I don’t think age is a boundary or a limit to define who I am as a person.

How does the level of T4 football compare to T1? How is similar or different to the type of football you watched growing up? 

We all grow up in an era where we watch big teams that do so well. But in reality, once you step in and look at the [lower divisions], you’re expectations have to drop too. You can’t use that same expectation to judge, because of the money level and the intensity of it. But in T4, the intensity of the game is much faster. It’s all about strength, fitness, and not much about technical ability. The majority of T1 teams use technical skill and tactics, but in T4 it’s more about [things like] the ability to dribble, your skill, your strength, your mentality, because there are a lot of tackles. 

A lot of players in T4 are hungry, because their life depends on it. If they don’t have this job, they won’t be able to play [professional] football. Everything depends on this. They have to play their best because this is the thing that helps them support their families. They know that [if they play better], the bigger teams will come and scout them. And they will have a better chance to go up. 

To add on to that, about your players being scouted, does Muang Loei lose a lot of players every year, and how do you deal with that? 

I mean for the academy players, we produce a lot of youngsters. The majority of scouts that come are from T2 and T3, they come and watch our players. If they like them, they have to come through the club. We lose a lot of players over the course of the year because we understand that the players have different goals in mind. We aren’t going to keep them here just because we want them to stay. We are open to everything. If they are not happy with the position of the team, we [are happy to] let them go because the players, their environment and their happiness are very important. If a bigger team wants them, we are all happy to let them go. If one day they want to come back, we can still have a good time together and they can join us back again. 

Muang Loei have beaten two of the most recognizable and best supported teams in the country already, in Udon Thani FC (T2) and Suphanburi (T1) in your League Cup run. How did you manage to pull off those victories? 

To be honest, we went into the game without any goals. Because we believed in our players too. We believe that they all have hunger, and they all want to do their best because if we win, that is something they can be proud of. For a T4 team to beat a T2 and T1 team is something they should be proud of. So I always tell my team to play their best, and play like it’s their last. Because you never know, if you play well, someone can see you and you can become a top player one day. So do your best because maybe right now, nobody cares or knows who you are, but if you play well, people will see the value in you. 

For some players, this was their first chance to play against such a big team, and they want to show themselves and showcase what they can do. I think that is the hunger we have in this team, and it’s why we compete against sides from T2 and T1. 

Bangkok United are your next opponents. They on great form and are fighting for the T1 title. How is your team preparing for this match? 

Like I said, we will prepare our team the best way we can. We will not stress our kids out because we want them to have fun with football, rather than giving pressure to them by saying they have to win this game. Because every game, for them, is all about having fun. It’s not [right] for them to stress about ‘if we lose, what are we going to do next?’ Because it’s not the end of our [work] if we lose or win, it’s good for us, and it’s not going to make us sad because we have other goals we want to accomplish. If we don’t win this, it’s ok because we still have the [T4 championship] to go, and we look forward to that. So, we will try our best. A football is a round ball - you never know what can happen. Like with Suphanburi, we didn’t expect so much, and we won.

So is it kind of like ‘we have a lot to gain, but not so much to lose?’ 

For them, for Bangkok United, they are all about winning. But for is, if we win, we gain that. If we lose, we still gain experience for our players, and they still have the chance to play against a big team and some super-star players. That is what they gain. 

Everybody right now is every pumped up about the game. Everyone is looking forward to playing this match. Because, Bangkok United, they’re second in the league! From T4 to the top… During the draw for the league cup, we were open-minded. We wanted to get a big team. It’s all about the experience for us. 

What are your long-term ambitions for the club? What about your personal long-term ambitions? 

The ambition for the club is that we want to get to T3 first. Like I said to everyone, all of the board members and everyone on the team, no matter what happens, this year is about proving ourselves and it’s a chance to bring the team up. Losing it not a big deal for us, as long as we are together and as long as we play as a team, I will be happy about it. 

Our longer-term ambition is that we want to make it to T2 in the next 3 years.

For my personal goal, I just want to show Thai football that no matter how old you are, you can still manage (a team) or do something big. Don’t make your age become something that prevents you from continuing on [and pursuing] your goals. If you love football, do what you love, because the opportunity will come. Like me, who would have thought that at 20 years old someone would trust your ability to help run a team. I didn’t really think that someone would hand me an opportunity like this, and for me this is big. Nowadays, the majority of young people have ambitions and goals, but there is a lack of opportunity to do it. I just want to show with my case that I am able to do it, so don’t be scared. Young people don’t be scared to be able to speak out and to do what you dream of.