Can Somyos get the ball rolling?

Somyos, the 17th and latest man to take the Thai FA helm, is not the first to have done so apparently without prior knowledge of the strategic difference between the 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 playing systems.

How hard can it be, anyway, for someone who was once responsible for making hundreds of thousands of policemen shoot when they should, to help a couple dozen Thai footballers shoot and defend better? Somyos used to be involved in crucial matters of life and death, so football should be a piece of cake, shouldn’t it? 

The problem is, as the late, world-renowned Liverpool coach Bill Shankly once said, “football is much, much more important than life and death”. Whether you agree with that or not, aren’t you surprised by the fact that Somyos’ name has somehow overshadowed those of the Thailand starting XI? Can any of you name four or five Thai international players without resorting to Google?

That’s my point. We all know Argentina’s Lionel Messi is one of the world’s best players, but we (and most Argentines, for that matter) don’t give a hoot who chairs Argentina’s football association. The same goes for Cristiano Ronaldo. Ask 10 Portuguese and I doubt any could name their football chief. Well, maybe Argentina and Portugal are a bit too far away. What about England? Do most Englishmen know who their soccer supremo is?

In contrast, Thailand makes sure its national football association chairman is important. For all the wrong reasons, of course. Over the past few weeks, news of the tumultuous FAT election has been dominated by reports of bribery, shady proxies, conspiracy, disunity and the threat of Thai football being cast out of the international scene. To be fair to Somyos, he was just one small piece of a confusing picture that football-loving Thais can hardly be proud of.

If we want to avoid judging this book by its cover, Somyos deserves the benefit of the doubt in this new territory. His campaign pledge, “Fair”, sounded impressive, but no more so than those spelled out by his rivals for the job. The question now is whether he can walk the talk. Mind you, that should be easy to gauge. While we need to look at many things over a long period of time to tell if the national police force is operating effectively, it only takes a couple of games to see where Thai football is heading.

It’s no secret what’s holding Thai football back. Poorer countries have been to the World Cup, so diet or nutrition can’t be our excuse. Smaller nations have held aloft the ultimate prize in football, so the “pool of talent” shouldn’t be our issue. Oppressive governments around the world have seen their national-team players do better than the Thai team, so domestic politics isn’t be that important. We are a football-crazy people, so the “passion” is assured.

The truth is that Thai football always aims high but shoots low. And those shooting too low are not the players themselves but those involved in the sport’s development. The drive to unearth fresh local talent only ever gets into gear when big foreign clubs visit. Domestic initiatives are sporadic at best. Meanwhile the growing fanbase for the local game thanks to Thai Premier League hype is being threatened by divisiveness, nepotism and even corruption.

Last but not least, the bad things about Thai football may end up alienating the people who matter most. More Thai kids are watching local football than ever before, but they can be easily turned off by what they see, hear or read. They don’t whine like adults, but the last thing Somyos needs is for the younger generation to become disillusioned and disinterested.

The former top cop has shouldered a heavy burden, but he was aware of the heat before he entered the kitchen. “You are as good as your last game” is a phrase familiar to all footballers. To translate it for Somyos, honeymoons in football are very, very short.

Football can be a cruel comedown for its administrators. Idolised as one of the world’s best players, Michael Platini has since suffered a spectacular fall from grace as president of European soccer’s governing body Uefa. He will likely now be remembered as a football executive banned for taking back-handers rather than as a midfielder whose peerless poise and silky skills lit up fields all over the world. How and why he went down this road will always be a mystery to football fans.

Too much prestige has been attached to football, but the only real glory comes with the one shot that decides who lifts the trophy. Thailand has never really focused on finding and grooming the player who can make that shot. Somyos has won an election on the all-too-familiar promise to locate that player and maximise his potential. The new Football Association chairman had better roll up his sleeves right now.