Peter Reid relished the rough and tumble of a Merseyside derby.
And the pugnacious midfield soldier loved nothing better than rubbing Liverpool’s noses in it
Now boss of the Thai national side, the Everton legend is hoping to get one over on the old enemy once again.
And after squaring up to the Reds at Goodison, Anfield and even Wembley – this time he’s hoping to triumph in unfamiliar territory.
The Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok is some 6,000 miles from Reid’s native Huyton.
But he is quietly confident that his Thai side can claim a shock victory over last year’s Premier League runners-up when they meet on July 22.
Reid, who made 159 appearances and scored eight goals during a trophy-laden time at Goodison, believes his new team are capable of atleast scoring against Liverpool, a feat they achieved when the Reds beat Thailand 3-1 in their previous visit in 2003.
Despite pretty much dominating South East Asian football for decades, Thailand have struggled to make any significant impact at a higher level.
In 35 years of trying, the national side has failed to take part in a single World Cup competition and their attempts at qualifying for next year’s tournament in South Africa proved equally futile as they sank to a bottom place finish in Group 1, managing just one point from six games.
However, since Reid’s appointment as national coach in September 2008, Thailand have captured silverware at the T&T Cup in Vietnam, a three team round robin tournament with hosts Vietnam and North Korea.
The former Sunderland and Leeds United manager, who surmounted some minor early difficulties, such as pronouncing most of the players’ tongue-twisting names (he referred to them by their shirt number), appears to be relishing the prospect of building a Thai side capable of competing for a World Cup place in 2014.
And he anticipates the coming friendly against Liverpool with a degree of quiet confidence. “Liverpool are a strong team with many talented players,” said the ex-England midfielder. “But in football anything can happen, like the US beating Spain in the Confederations Cup.
“I hope we can do the same against Liverpool.
“We are at an advantage because we see Liverpool play regularly but they have never seen us play.”
He’s certainly right in the unknown quantity element.
Of the current Thailand squad, just two players are contracted to clubs in Europe. Peter Läng plays his football at Schaffhausen in Switzerland.
However the other – 24-year-old striker Teeratep Winothai of Belgian side Lierse, is not entirely unknown to audiences on Merseyside.
‘Leesaw’, as he is nicknamed, broke into the Thai national side during their King's Cup campaign in 2005 when he was on the books at Everton.
The youngster played out just three months of what was intended to be a nine-month stint at Goodison, returning to Thailand on the basis that he felt he was learning nothing on Merseyside.
To add insult to injury, Teeratep went on to give a man of the match performance against David Moyes’ men in a pre-season friendly for the Thai National under-23 side of that year, a game that Everton eventually lost on penalties and one which left the Blues manager furious.
Rafael Benitez is likely to be just as unimpressed if Reid’s side can live up to his pre-match hope and score a major upset.
Liverpool’s squad will be joined by all of their international big guns next week.
After Sunday night’s match at Rapid Vienna, Spanish stars Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina, Albert Riera and Xabi Alonso will join up with the Reds squad, as Liverpool’s pre-season preparations crank up a gear.
Liverpool face the Thai national side next Wednesday afternoon.
And the pugnacious midfield soldier loved nothing better than rubbing Liverpool’s noses in it
Now boss of the Thai national side, the Everton legend is hoping to get one over on the old enemy once again.
And after squaring up to the Reds at Goodison, Anfield and even Wembley – this time he’s hoping to triumph in unfamiliar territory.
The Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok is some 6,000 miles from Reid’s native Huyton.
But he is quietly confident that his Thai side can claim a shock victory over last year’s Premier League runners-up when they meet on July 22.
Reid, who made 159 appearances and scored eight goals during a trophy-laden time at Goodison, believes his new team are capable of atleast scoring against Liverpool, a feat they achieved when the Reds beat Thailand 3-1 in their previous visit in 2003.
Despite pretty much dominating South East Asian football for decades, Thailand have struggled to make any significant impact at a higher level.
In 35 years of trying, the national side has failed to take part in a single World Cup competition and their attempts at qualifying for next year’s tournament in South Africa proved equally futile as they sank to a bottom place finish in Group 1, managing just one point from six games.
However, since Reid’s appointment as national coach in September 2008, Thailand have captured silverware at the T&T Cup in Vietnam, a three team round robin tournament with hosts Vietnam and North Korea.
The former Sunderland and Leeds United manager, who surmounted some minor early difficulties, such as pronouncing most of the players’ tongue-twisting names (he referred to them by their shirt number), appears to be relishing the prospect of building a Thai side capable of competing for a World Cup place in 2014.
And he anticipates the coming friendly against Liverpool with a degree of quiet confidence. “Liverpool are a strong team with many talented players,” said the ex-England midfielder. “But in football anything can happen, like the US beating Spain in the Confederations Cup.
“I hope we can do the same against Liverpool.
“We are at an advantage because we see Liverpool play regularly but they have never seen us play.”
He’s certainly right in the unknown quantity element.
Of the current Thailand squad, just two players are contracted to clubs in Europe. Peter Läng plays his football at Schaffhausen in Switzerland.
However the other – 24-year-old striker Teeratep Winothai of Belgian side Lierse, is not entirely unknown to audiences on Merseyside.
‘Leesaw’, as he is nicknamed, broke into the Thai national side during their King's Cup campaign in 2005 when he was on the books at Everton.
The youngster played out just three months of what was intended to be a nine-month stint at Goodison, returning to Thailand on the basis that he felt he was learning nothing on Merseyside.
To add insult to injury, Teeratep went on to give a man of the match performance against David Moyes’ men in a pre-season friendly for the Thai National under-23 side of that year, a game that Everton eventually lost on penalties and one which left the Blues manager furious.
Rafael Benitez is likely to be just as unimpressed if Reid’s side can live up to his pre-match hope and score a major upset.
Liverpool’s squad will be joined by all of their international big guns next week.
After Sunday night’s match at Rapid Vienna, Spanish stars Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina, Albert Riera and Xabi Alonso will join up with the Reds squad, as Liverpool’s pre-season preparations crank up a gear.
Liverpool face the Thai national side next Wednesday afternoon.
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