The SCG Muangthong United FC (Thai: สโมสร ฟุตบอล เอ ส ซี จี เมืองทอง ยูไนเต็ด) is a professional football club from the Thai town of Pak Kret in Nonthaburi Province in Bangkok . The club plays in the Thai League , the highest league in the country. The club is owned by the Siam Sport Syndicate . Within three years, the club made it from the third division to champions of Thailand. In 2012 the Siam Cement Group (SCG) became the main sponsor and also acquired the naming rights to the club and stadium.
1989 to 2009: Founding and promotion to the Premier League
The relatively young association was founded in 1989. Muang Thong Thani ("Gold City") is a satellite city built in the late 1980s in the province of Nonthaburi, approx. 25 km north of central Bangkok, with thousands of apartments in up to 30 -story high-rise buildings. The club only became known to soccer fans in Thailand in 2007. The club won the Thailand Division 2 League that year and was promoted to the 2nd division. With the probably attractive football in Liga Zwei, the aim was to march through to the Thai Premier League (TPL). From the first day of the game, the club was on a promotion place and did not give it up until the end of the season. As a sovereign master of the second division you rose to the TPL.
Even before the start of the season, the club signed many new and well-known players from Thailand. Despite a successful start to the season, Attaphol Buspakom signed a new coach in April 2009 . As expected by all experts, the club played at the beginning and was in the top five of the table at the summer break. One of the success factors is a cooperation with Arsenal FC and Lierse SK from Belgium. From that club, Lierse SK, the Thai star player Teerathep Winothai was signed for the summer break . At the same time, Ronnachai Rangsiyo , from champions FC PEA , moved another storm talent to Muangthong. On matchday 20, the club took over the top of the table for the first time and did not give it up until the end. At the end of the 2009 season, the club was able to celebrate its first championship with a three-point lead. However, things did not go so well in the Thai cup competition . In the third round, Muangthong entered the competition to be eliminated immediately. They suffered a 1-0 defeat against local rivals Bangkok Glass . In the league's annual awards, the club won in three categories. Attaphol Buspakom was named coach of the year, goalkeeper of the year Kawin Thammasatchanan and defender of the year Jetsada Jitsawad .
From 2009 on
Shortly after the end of the 2009 season, there were the first signings. The Twin Qilins stayed true to their thirst for action from the previous year. By February 2010 a total of eleven new players had been signed. In addition to some additional players, there were also star players in the league. With Christian Kouakou came a young player from RSC Anderlecht. Kone Mohamed was the top scorer of league rivals FC Chonburi with 14 goals in the 2009 season . On January 21, 2010, the commitment of the ex-Bundesliga player Berkant Göktan was announced. There were also two more new signings in the same week. With Datsakorn Thonglao , the captain of the Thai national team and one of the best midfielders in Southeast Asia was signed . He previously played in Vietnam with Hoàng Anh Gia Lai . Nothing was officially known about the transfer fee. But his former employer called for a transfer fee of 200.00 US dollars . With the Belgian Rene Desaeyere a new coach has also been signed. The 62-year-old was most recently in the 3rd Belgian League for KV Turnhout . The previous trainer Attaphol Buspakom was promoted to technical director. This means that the club has had a new head coach every year since 2007.
As champions of the Thai Premier League, the club was eligible to qualify for the 2010 AFC Champions League . There Muangthong met the master of Vietnam's SHB Đà Nẵng . Muangthong won the game played in Vietnam 3-0 and met FC Singapore Armed Forces in round two . The game brought no decision after 90 minutes plus overtime, so a penalty shoot-out had to bring the decision. The club from Nonthaburi lost it 4: 3. Both Datsakorn Thonglao and Berkant Göktan were not yet eligible to play in either game, as the registration deadline had expired on December 30, 2009.
Stadion
SCG Stadium
The club plays its home games at the SCG Stadium . The stadium originally offered around 5,000 spectators. Unlike most stadiums in Thailand, it does not have a tartan track . Due to the great success and increasing audience interest, the stadium was expanded to 15,000 seats during the season with the help of tubular steel stands. After the end of the 2009 season, work began on putting the existing plans for a stadium expansion into practice. The first drafts were designed for a capacity of around 15,000 spectators, but this was later changed to 25,000. As one of the few stadiums in Thailand, it will also have VIP areas.
The association managed to develop a very large fan base in a short time. The fans are very numerous at away games. Games against Chonburi FC and Bangkok Glass FC are among the highlights of the season. In the 2009 season new attendance records were set for the league. For the first time there was even advance ticket sales for the games against Chonburi FC and Bangkok Glass FC. This should slow down the expected onslaught of cards. This was a novelty for football in Thailand. The core of the fans of Muangthong consists of the "Ultra Muangthong" . They were also the first to bring the ultra movement into the stadiums of Thailand. Large banners, flags and double brackets characterize the fan group, as does a “vocalist” with a megaphone.
The club's environment is considered extremely professional. The newcomer to the Thai Premier League is in no way inferior to previous class leaders Chonburi FC in terms of marketing and merchandise and is even about to overtake him. The club's owner, Siam Sport Syndicate , is one of Thailand's largest sports media companies . The company sponsored the Thai Association Cup in 2009 and also has the rights to the live broadcasts of the Thai Premier League .
Pongsak Phol-Anan
Alexandre Gama
René Desaeyere
Henrique Calisto
Robbie Fowler
Slaviša Jokanović
Winfried Schaefer
Jeong-hwan Yun
Jesse Curran
Yaya Soumahoro
Mario Gjurovski
