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Army United F.C.

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Army United
อาร์มี่ ยูไนเต็ด
Full nameArmy United Football Club
สโมสรฟุตบอล อาร์มี่ ยูไนเต็ด
Nickname(s)Gentleman Ranger
(สุภาพบุรุษวงจักร)
Founded1916; as Royal Thai Army Football Club
Dissolved2019
GroundRoyal Thai Army Stadium
Bangkok, Thailand
Capacity20,000
OwnerRoyal Thai Army

Army United Football Club (Thai: สโมสรฟุตบอลอาร์มี่ ยูไนเต็ด) was a Thai professional football club under the stewardship of the Royal Thai Army based in the Din Daeng District of Bangkok. It was one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, until it was discontinued at the end of the 2019 season after 103 years in existence.

The club was founded in 1916 and was known as Royal Thai Army until November 2010. Their home stadium was known locally as the Thai Army Sports Stadium and was more widely known around Asian circles as the Royal Thai Army Stadium, which had been host to numerous international youth matches due to its central Bangkok location. The club played in red shirts with red shorts and red socks. Despite finishing bottom of the Thai Premier League in 2010, they managed to regain their top-flight status after winning Group B of the Thai League Play-off in 2011.

History

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Army United represented the Royal Thai Army and had traditionally been Thailand's yo-yo club along with the Navy and Police clubs. Up until 2010, and the name change from the Royal Thai Army to Army United, the club lacked support and had dwindling crowds, and were mainly supported by Army personnel shipped in for the games.

The Army team had always been a mid ranking Thai team with their biggest successes coming in the Thai Division 1 League with a championship in the 2004–05 season and 2nd place in 2009. Both of these successes had of course come after relegation from the Thai Premier League.

The club were based in the Din Daeng District of Central Bangkok, which is the area that bases the Royal Thai Army. Up until the 2011 season, the club operated a policy of only playing homegrown talent, but ditched this as the game became more professional and foreign players were brought into the team. Previously, the players would work for the Army during the week and play football on weekends, somewhat different from most clubs who operated on a full-time basis.

In the 2010 season, they were reprieved from relegation after an end of season relegation/playoff system was announced to expand the Thai Premier League, and thus escaped relegation despite finishing 16th.

In 2011, rebranded Army United signed five Brazilians and surprised all expectations as they topped the TPL in the early weeks of the season, with Leandro Dos Santos scoring regularly. Crowds rose from a few hundred to a season average of 5,580. However, the early season form petered out and Army finished in 13th position.

Army United logo in 100th anniversary of the founding

In 2012, most of the Brazilians had moved on but were replaced with other highly rated foreign stars. Daniel Blanco was the most impressive performer as Army flirted with the Top 6 for long periods before eventually finishing in 10th position.

The 2012 season also coincided with Army reaching the 2012 Thai FA Cup final. On the way to the final, Army was given a reprieve after they lost a penalty shoot-out to regional league side Trat. It turned out that Trat had fielded an unregistered player and was booted out of the cup with Army reinstated. Army United then defeated runaway TPL leaders Muangthong United on the way to the final. However, Army lost the final 2–1 to Buriram United.[1]

In 2013, the club signed a strategic partnership deal with Thai-owned English club Leicester City.[2]

In 2019, Army United decided to dissolve the club, ending the history of the club after 103 years.[3][4][5][6]

Stadium

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Royal Thai Army Stadium

Thai Army Sports Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road in the Din Daeng District of north Bangkok, Thailand. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Army United F.C.[7] The stadium holds 20,000 and has a single stand with covered seating on one side and terracing on three sides. An athletics track surrounds the pitch. It is often used by Thai club sides in international football competitions and was used by Bangkok University in the 2007 AFC Champions League and Osotsapa in the 2007 AFC Cup. Additionally, it has been used for matches involving national sides in international tournaments hosted by Thailand where the hosts are not involved.

Stadium and locations by season records

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Coordinates Location Stadium Capacity Year
13°46′58″N 100°33′22″E / 13.782661°N 100.556185°E / 13.782661; 100.556185 Bangkok Royal Thai Army Stadium 15,000 2007–2019

Season by season domestic record

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Season League[8] FA Cup Queen's
Cup
League
Cup
Kor Royal
Cup
AFC
Champions
League
Top scorer
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Name Goals
1996–97 TSL 34 14 12 8 60 50 54 8th  –  –  –  –
1997 TSL 22 7 4 11 31 45 25 9th  –  –  –  –
1998 TPL 22 7 5 10 35 42 26 7th  –  –  –  –
1999 TPL 22 7 4 11 25 30 25 11th  –  –  –  –
2000 DIV 1  –  –  –  –
2001–02 DIV 1  –  –  –  –
2002–03 DIV 1  –  –  –  –  –
2003–04 DIV 1  –  –  –  –  –
2004–05 DIV 1 1st  –  –  –  –  –
2006 TPL 22 7 9 6 31 38 30 6th  – GR  –  –  –
2007 TPL 30 13 8 9 40 33 47 5th  –  –  –  –  – Jakkraphong Somboon 9
2008 TPL 30 6 7 17 21 44 25 15th  –  –  –  –  – Jakkraphong Somboon 4
2009 DIV 1 30 18 4 4 55 18 62 2nd R2 GR R2  –  – Tatree Seeha 17
2010 TPL 30 5 7 18 27 54 22 16th SF QF R2  –  – Tatree Seeha 8
2011 TPL 30 10 9 15 39 40 39 13th SF  – R1  –  – Leandro Dos Santos 18
2012 TPL 34 10 13 11 34 38 43 10th RU  – R1  –  – Björn Lindemann 6
2013 TPL 32 13 9 10 48 40 48 6th R4  – QF  –  – Aron da Silva 11
2014 TPL 38 14 11 13 52 55 53 9th R3  – R1  –  – Raphael Botti
Tanakorn Dangthong
9
2015 TPL 34 11 8 15 43 47 41 10th SF  – SF  –  – Mongkol Tossakrai 7
2016 TL 31 8 6 17 34 46 30 16th R3  – R1  –  – Josimar 16
2017 T2 32 10 9 13 53 57 39 9th R3  – R1  –  – Marcos Vinícius 18
2018 T2 28 7 13 8 38 41 34 8th R2  – R1  –  – Erivelto 14
2019 T2 34 15 10 9 56 43 55 5th R2  – QF  –  – Tanakorn Dangthong 16
Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated

Coaches

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Coaches by Years (1996–2019)

Name Nat Period Honours
Amnart Chalermchaowarit Thailand 1996–97, 2007 Thai Division 1 League:Winner 2004–05
Watcharakorn Antakhamphu Thailand 2008
Thanadech Phooprasert Thailand 2009–10 Thai Division 1 League:Runners-up 2009
Pongphan Wongsuwan Thailand 2011
Adul Rungrueng Thailand 2011
Amnart Chalermchaowarit Thailand 2012
Paniphon Kerdyam Thailand Sept 2012 – Nov 2012 2012 Thai FA Cup Runner-up
Alexandré Pölking Brazil 31 Oct 2012 – Nov 2013
Matt Elliott Scotland Jan 2014 – Jun 2014
Gary Stevens England Aug 2014 – May 2015
Issara Sritaro Thailand May 2015 – October 2015
Watcharakorn Antakhamphu Thailand October 2015 – November 2016
Thanis Areesngarkul Thailand November 2016 – March 2017
Rangsiwut Chaloempathum (interim) Thailand March 2017 – July 2017
Daniel Blanco Argentina July 2017 – November 2017
Nascimento[9] Portugal November 2017 – June 2018
Adul Luekijna Thailand June 2018 – October 2018
Daniel Blanco Argentina October 2018 – November 2019

Honours

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Domestic competitions

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References

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  1. ^ "บุรีรัมย์-อาร์มี่แถลงพร้อมดวลชิงถ้วยเอฟเอคัพ". Archived from the original on 22 August 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ ""อาร์มี่-เลสเตอร์" จับมือพันธมิตร ยกระดับทีมสู้ศึกไทยพรีเมียร์ลีก".
  3. ^ "ลือสนั่นอาร์มี่ยุบทีม-ส.บอลยันยังไม่มีจม.แจ้ง". 28 November 2019.
  4. ^ "ปิดตำนาน "อาร์มี่ ยูไนเต็ด" บิ๊กแดงสั่งยุบทีม เหตุขาดทุน ไม่คุ้ม เกรงใจสปอนเซอร์". 29 November 2019.
  5. ^ "บิ๊กแดง สั่งยุบทีม อาร์มี่ ยูไนเต็ด เซ่นผลงานห่วย อดขึ้นชั้น ปิดตำนาน 103 ปี". 29 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Gen Apirat suspends Army United football team". Bangkok Post.
  7. ^ Army United Clubinfo on thai-fussball.com
  8. ^ King, Ian; Schöggl, Hans & Stokkermans, Karel (20 March 2014). "Thailand – List of Champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014. Select link to season required from chronological list.
  9. ^ "อาร์มี่เปิดตัวกุนซือโปรไลเซนส์ ประเดิมคุมซ้อมทางการ". Archived from the original on 7 November 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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