Thai fans cheer for Vietnam at U23 Southeast Asia

*Vietnam - Indonesia: 8pm Saturday, August 26, on MetaSports.

Sakchai wore a red flag shirt with a yellow star, held the Vietnamese national flag, and sat among Vietnamese fans on Rayong Stadium on the afternoon of August 24. He shouted as enthusiastically as the crowd around him, with self-taught Vietnamese sentences on the Internet.

The final whistle sounded, and fans nicknamed "Chai" shook hands to congratulate those around them when Vietnam beat Malaysia to reach the final. He then changed to Thailand's shirt, then changed the stands to cheer for the home team in the second semi-final. Although very sad because Thailand lost to Malaysia, Sakchai still smiled and said: "It's a pity that there is no final Thailand and Vietnam. But in the final I still come to cheer for Vietnam, do my best".

Sakchai picked up a Vietnamese fan at the airport in Bangkok, took him down to Rayong, took him out and had dinner. Near midnight on August 26, he drove in the rain, traveling 73 kilometers home to Chonburi. At 10am the next morning, he was in Rayong again to have coffee with Vietnamese friends, ready for the afternoon to cheer on the final match. Sakchai is the only Thai to come out to fire on Vietnam in all four matches at U23 Southeast Asia 2023. Previously in the semi-final against Malaysia, he also invited a Thai friend wearing a red flag shirt with yellow star to play. fire for teachers and students Hoang Anh Tuan.

"I wear Vietnamese shirts to cheer for the team a lot. Some Thai fans once asked 'Have you changed your nationality?' and I just laughed. But they were just joking, cheering football is now civilized. Football helps people connect and have more friends," Sakchai told MetaSports on the morning of August 26.

When asked to predict the final result, "Mr. Chai" affirmed: "Vietnam will now beat Indonesia 3-0. Believe me".

Sakchai first came to the field to cheer for Vietnam at Asiad 2018 in Indonesia, when Park Hang-seo's teachers and students faced Korea in the semi-finals. He said: "At that time, I only knew one Vietnamese, my friend Hoang Yen, the head of the VFS fan association. But everyone was friendly and sociable, so I got in very quickly."

Sakchai then got to know some Vietnamese fans like Manh Lano, Uncle Manh Khai... often chatted through social networks. In 2019, when Vietnam went to Thailand to attend the King's Cup, Sakchai was asked to take care of the fans when he went there. He enthusiastically ran and ran, taking care of hotel reservations, moving buses to tickets.

"Don't say I'm enthusiastic. I just want to take care of my friend, my friend's parents, then my friend's friend," Sakchai replied shyly, when praised for being so enthusiastic.

At this year's Southeast Asian U23 tournament, Sakchai continuously drove between Bangkok-Chonburi-Rayong to welcome a series of Vietnamese fans and the player's parents to watch football. He even ran to buy food and flip flops for those in need.

Vietnamese fans also "reciprocate" Sakchai thoughtfully. He said he was worried "to his teeth" every time he went to Vietnam. In 2019, when he went to Hanoi to support Thailand in the 2022 World Cup qualifying match, Sakchai was taken by Vietnamese fans to Sapa to play. By 2021, Sakchai will return to support the 31st SEA Games and receive a warm welcome.

"I stayed there for 19 days, but the first 10 days I was alone, because the Thai fans hadn't come yet. However, I was welcomed by Vietnamese friends every day for coffee and took me everywhere from Ha Nam and Nam Dinh. When I went to Phu Tho, I was most impressed by the Nam Dinh fans, they loved football so much, the yard was always full, even though there was no Vietnamese team, they cheered for us, "sakchai said.

On that occasion of the 31st SEA Games, Sakchai remembered the most memories of driving a motorbike from Hanoi to Ha Nam. He went there to cheer for the Thai futsal team, finished at 3pm and immediately returned to My Dinh to watch the athletics final. Sakchai said: "On the way back, I was called back by the traffic police. At that time, I was wearing a full black mask, sticking out only my eyes, looked dangerous, so I was called. My friend in the back said 'stop dying'. , but everything went smoothly, they sympathized, let me go as soon as I presented myself as a Thai fan, to cheer for the SEA Games."

Sakchai is 55 years old this year, started cheering for the Thai team 30 years ago. He said he couldn't remember which countries he traveled to to support the team, from Southeast Asian countries to Taiwan (China), UAE...

Sakchai owns a small company that supplies sanitary ware. Before Covid-19 hit, he had 19 employees, but now there are only seven. Sakchai said he still had to hire a lot of people because he didn't do anything, just cheering football all day. He wittily shared: "Every time I go to the staff, they tell me to go away, stay in limbo. Fortunately, I also have brothers and sisters who take care of the work to help a part, only have to handle things when needed."

After chatting with MetaSports, Sakchai rushed to the supermarket, because a Vietnamese fan asked to buy a pair of flip-flops.