Thailand's biggest football name, Teeratep Winothai, is aiming to kickstart his A-League dream by starring against the Socceroos this July in the Asian Cup. Speaking exclusively to Adan Ormond at au.fourfourtwo.com, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder says a stellar performance against the Australians this July in Bangkok will put him firmly in the window for an A-League berth. "To be fair, I want to play in the A-League. I want to improve. I don't know much about the league but I know there are a lot of Thai people in Australia and they love their football ... I hope that I play well. I think I will."
Winothai is a former Crystal Palace trainee who burst onto the football scene in 1999 when he was selected in the Thailand U-17 squad as a 14-year-old. He was signed by Palace and spent three years in London. There was even talk of Manchester United being interested in him but he returned home in 2004. Since then he's scored regularly for the national Olympic team and the national side.
"Moving to Australia is important for me to take the next step in my career. Here in Thailand, it's just semi-professional football. The refereeing isn't very good and they don't promote the games very much," said the striker for BEC Tero Sasana in the Thailand Premier League.
He believes that it will be the Socceroo captain who will be holding up the Asian Cup trophy next July. "The best teams in the tournament are Japan, South Korea and Australia ... who I think will win it."
Winothai is a former Crystal Palace trainee who burst onto the football scene in 1999 when he was selected in the Thailand U-17 squad as a 14-year-old. He was signed by Palace and spent three years in London. There was even talk of Manchester United being interested in him but he returned home in 2004. Since then he's scored regularly for the national Olympic team and the national side.
"Moving to Australia is important for me to take the next step in my career. Here in Thailand, it's just semi-professional football. The refereeing isn't very good and they don't promote the games very much," said the striker for BEC Tero Sasana in the Thailand Premier League.
He believes that it will be the Socceroo captain who will be holding up the Asian Cup trophy next July. "The best teams in the tournament are Japan, South Korea and Australia ... who I think will win it."