Former Thai football star Kiatisuk Senamuang is in Hanoi coaching his team, Chonburi of Thailand, as they clash with Hanoi ACB at Hang Day Stadium in their 2009 AFC Cup Group G qualifying match Tuesday.

Seven members of the Thai national team are on the Thai side, with all of them attending the match in Hanoi, while the Vietnamese side has only one national team member in Thanh Luong – who can’t play because of an ankle injury. However, Le Duc Tuan of Hanoi ACB said the team is not afraid of Chonburi.

Kiatisuk found success as a player and has enjoyed similar success as a coach. He says it has not been easy, but he deserves the success that has come to him because he has always worked hard and fulfilled all his responsibilities.

Asked what he thinks about Vietnamese football, the 1993-2007 Thai national player said it has improved much at the national level, but at the club level it has not seen much progress.

Kiatisuk, who was dubbed Thailand’s “Zico” after the Brazilian legend who achieved world-wide fame in the 70s and 80s, played for Vietnam’s Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) from 2002-2007 and helped the club to two consecutive V-League championships in 2003 and 2004.

Talking about his former Vietnamese club, Kiatisuk said HAGL is in the middle of the table and is not performing like the managers and fans have come to expect. Yet he said club owner Doan Nguyen Duc wants to return the club to the heights it enjoyed in 2003 and 2004.

Reported by Lan Phuong