Schaefer shoved aside as Thailand coach

Winfried Schaefer

Football Association of Thailand president Worawi Makudi yesterday gave strongest hint yet that the association was about to part ways with beleaguered coach Winfried Schaefer, by saying former national captain Kiatisak "Zico" Senamuang would take charge of the team for next month's friendly with China.

The 63-year-old German's future has been the subject of intense media speculation for months, with the Thai side suffering an extended slump in form since failing to reclaim the title in the Asean Championship in December, going down to a 3-2 aggregate loss to Singapore in the final.

With the Thais showing no sign of reversing the downward trend in their performances, which has left them on the brink of elimination in the Asian Cup qualifiers, it seemed only a matter of time before the FA decided to part company with Schaefer.

But his exit now looks imminent after Worawi revealed he was considering promoting Kiatisak, who is currently in charge of the SEA Games squad, to coach the senior team on an interim basis, starting with a friendly against China on June 15.

"At the moment, we're thinking about putting Kiatisak in charge of the team temporarily because he knows both the Thai Premier League and League One players well. He'll coach the side for the warm-up with China as well as a proposed friendly with Myanmar. For the Asian Cup qualifiers, we have to wait until after the [FAT presidential election] before we decide who to bring in for the post. We are not short of choices as we believe we have many people who would be able to do the job," said Worawi.

Schaefer took over the national post in July 2011 following the resignation of former Manchester United and England captain Bryan Robson. He has one year left on his contract.

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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/05/18/schaefer-shoved-aside-as-thailand-coach/