Kiatisuk Senamuang facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Kiatisuk Senamuang

Senamuang with Port in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Kiatisuk Senamuang
Date of birth	(1973-08-11) 11 August 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Udon Thani, Thailand
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
1982–1990	Nampong Suksa School
1991–1992	Bangkok Commercial School
1993–1994	Dhurakij Pundit University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1995	Krung Thai Bank	145	(98)
1995–1996	Rajpracha	27	(18)
1997–1998	Royal Thai Police	25	(21)
1998–1999	Perlis	21	(22)
1999–2000	Huddersfield Town	0	(0)
2000–2001	Rajpracha	26	(18)
2001–2002	Singapore Armed Forces	20	(15)
2002–2006	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai	75	(59)
Total		339	(251)
National team
1990–1992	Thailand U20	11	(5)
1993–2007	Thailand	134	(71)
Teams managed
2006	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai
2008	Chula United
2008–2009	Chonburi
2010	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai
2011–2012	Chula United
2012–2013	Bangkok
2013–2016	Thailand U23
2013	Thailand (caretaker)
2014–2017	Thailand
2017	Port
2020–2024	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai
2024	Công An Hà Nội
Honours Men's football Representing  Thailand (as player) AFF Championship Winner 1996 Winner 2000 Winner 2002 Runner-up 2007 Representing  Thailand (as manager) Winner 2014 Winner 2016
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Kiatisuk Senamuang (Thai: เกียรติศักดิ์ เสนาเมือง; born 11 August 1973) is a Thai football manager and former player (played between 1989 and October 2007).

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 manager of the Thai senior team and, (2013–2016), the Thailand U-23 team. Previously, in 2013, he had also been the caretaker manager 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 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

Senamuang with Thailand national football team in 2006

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.

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 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.

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 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, Thailand was drawn in the same group as Iraq, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei. 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 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 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, 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 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. 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, 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, but the season was voided and the title was not awarded.

Personal life

Kiatisuk is a Buddhist, 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 Brazilian 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

List of international goals scored by Kiatisuk Senamuang

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Competition
1.	11 April 1993	Kobe, Japan	Sri Lanka	1–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	5 May 1993	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Bangladesh	4–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	7 June 1993	Singapore	Myanmar	2–0	1993 Southeast Asian Games
4.	13 June 1993	Singapore	Laos	4–1	1993 Southeast Asian Games
5.	20 June 1993	Singapore	Myanmar	4–3	1993 Southeast Asian Games
6.	9 October 1994	Hiroshima, Japan	Malaysia	1–1	1994 Asian Games
7.	12 December 1995	Chiang Mai, Thailand	Cambodia	9–0	1995 Southeast Asian Games
8.
9.	16 February 1996	Bangkok, Thailand	Finland	5–2	1996 King's Cup
10.	27 June 1996	Bangkok, Thailand	Maldives	8–0	1996 Asian Cup qualification
11.
12.	29 June 1996	Bangkok, Thailand	Myanmar	5–1	1996 Asian Cup qualification
13.	7 July 1996	Singapore	Myanmar	7–1	1996 Asian Cup qualification
14.
15.	9 July 1996	Singapore	Singapore	2–2	1996 Asian Cup qualification
16.	2 September 1996	Singapore	Philippines	5–0	1996 Tiger Cup
17.	6 September 1996	Singapore	Brunei	6–0	1996 Tiger Cup
18.	8 September 1996	Singapore	Malaysia	1–1	1996 Tiger Cup
19.	13 September 1996	Singapore	Vietnam	4–2	1996 Tiger Cup
20.	15 September 1996	Singapore	Malaysia	1–0	1996 Tiger Cup
21.	8 December 1996	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Iran	1–3	1996 Asian Cup
22.	15 March 1997	Bangkok, Thailand	Japan	3–1	Friendly
23.
24.	7 October 1997	Jakarta, Indonesia	Brunei	6–0	1997 Southeast Asian Games
25.
26.	12 October 1997	Jakarta, Indonesia	Cambodia	4–0	1997 Southeast Asian Games
27.	16 October 1997	Jakarta, Indonesia	Vietnam	2–1	1997 Southeast Asian Games
28.
29.	22 March 1998	Bangkok, Thailand	Kazakhstan	1–0	Friendly
30.	21 October 1998	Bangkok, Thailand	Turkmenistan	3–3	Friendly
31.	2 December 1998	Bangkok, Thailand	Hong Kong	5–0	1998 Asian Games
32.
33.	14 December 1998	Bangkok, Thailand	South Korea	2–1	1998 Asian Games
34.	23 February 1999	Bangkok, Thailand	North Korea	2–2	1999 King's Cup
35.	16 June 1999	Bangkok, Thailand	New Zealand	2–2	Friendly Tournament
36.
37.	30 July 1999	Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei	Philippines	9–0	1999 Southeast Asian Games
38.
39.
40.
41.	1 August 1999	Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei	Laos	4–1	1999 Southeast Asian Games
42.	8 August 1999	Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei	Myanmar	7–0	1999 Southeast Asian Games
43.
44.	6 November 2000	Chiang Mai, Thailand	Myanmar	3–1	2000 Tiger Cup
45.	10 November 2000	Chiang Mai, Thailand	Indonesia	4–1	2000 Tiger Cup
46.	12 November 2000	Chiang Mai, Thailand	Philippines	2–0	2000 Tiger Cup
47.	16 November 2000	Chiang Mai, Thailand	Malaysia	2–0	2000 Tiger Cup
48.	23 January 2001	Bangkok, Thailand	Kuwait	5–4	Friendly
49.
50.
51.	17 February 2001	Bangkok, Thailand	Qatar	2–0	2001 King's Cup
52.
53.	13 May 2001	Beirut, Lebanon	Sri Lanka	4–2	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
54.
55.	17 May 2001	Beirut, Lebanon	Lebanon	2–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
56.	26 May 2001	Bangkok, Thailand	Sri Lanka	3–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
57.
58.	28 May 2001	Bangkok, Thailand	Pakistan	6–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
59.
60.
61.
62.	13 August 2001	Singapore	Singapore	5–0	Friendly
63.
64.	6 September 2001	Manama, Bahrain	Bahrain	1–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
65.	18 December 2002	Singapore	Laos	5–1	2002 Tiger Cup
66.
67.
68.	31 March 2004	Sana'a, Yemen	Yemen	3–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
69.	9 June 2004	Bangkok, Thailand	North Korea	1–4	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
70.	26 December 2006	Bangkok, Thailand	Singapore	2–0	King's Cup 2006
71.
Correct as of 7 October 2015

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 Thailand.

Honours

Player

Thailand

• AFF Championship: 1996, 2000, 2002
• Sea Games gold medal: 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999
• King's Cup: 1994, 2000, 2006
• Indonesian Independence Cup: 1994
• Asian Games 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: 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, 2016
• King's Cup: 2016

Thailand U-23

• SEA Games gold medal: 2013
• Asian Games fourth place: 2014

Chonburi

• Kor Royal Cup: 2009

Hoang Anh Gia Lai

• Vietnamese National Cup runner-up: 2010
• Quang Trung Emperor's Cup: 2022

Individual

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

See also

In Spanish: Kiatisuk Senamuang para niños

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
• List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals
• Top international football goalscorers by country