Surat Sukha ( th, สุรัตน์ สุขะ; born July 27, 1982) is a Thai retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who played as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

Personal life

Surat's twin older brother Suree was also a footballer who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or defender.

Club career

Chonburi

In Chonburi Surat played as a defender and as a midfielder. He helped his team win the

2007 Thailand Premier League The 2007 Thai Premier League had 16 teams, combining the 12 member clubs from the 2006 season, the top two clubs from Division 1, and two clubs from the Pro League 1. The official name of the league at this time was Thailand Premier League. Mat ...

Melbourne Victory

Thailand international recruited from Chonburi FC in Thailand. Surat Sukha joined

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

following a successful stint with Chonburi, where he was part of the Thai club's AFC Champions League 2008 and AFC Cup 2009 campaigns. Sukha made his international debut for Thailand in 2008 and joined Melbourne Victory for two years in 2009. Surat joined 2-time

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

champions, Melbourne Victory, for a transfer fee of ฿1.5million (A$57,700) on 14 May 2009 on a 2-year deal worth A$140,000 "I am very proud, happy and excited to be the first player (from south-east Asia) to play in the A-League." he said. He made his first appearance for his new club substituting in the 78th minute of the game on 15 August 2009 and made his first line-up at Melbourne Victory in a 1-0 win over

North Queensland Fury Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from th ...

on 20 August 2009. Melbourne Victory has secured Surat for an additional year after he extended his contract with the club until 2012.

Buriram United

In July 2011 he was released by Melbourne, after the club had agreed to an unknown transfer fee for

Thailand Premier League The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from August ...

club

Buriram PEA Buriram United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลบุรีรัมย์ ยูไนเต็ด) is a professional football club based in Buriram, Thailand. The club has played at the top level of Thai football for th ...

. It was also claimed that Sukha's family was not happy living in Australia, and this influenced his decision to leave the Victory. It was reported that he gets 300,000 baht per month at Buriram. Surat played for Buriram in the

2012 AFC Champions League The 2012 AFC Champions League was the 31st edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 10th under the current AFC Champions League title. Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea wo ...

. He also played in the 2013 AFC Champions League for Buriram. Surat won the

2013 Thai Premier League The 2013 Thai Premier League (also known as ''Toyota Thai Premier League'' due to the sponsorship from Toyota) is the 17th season of the Thai Premier League since its establishment in 1996. A total of 18 teams are competing in the league. It wil ...

with his team.

International career

On the back of performing extremely well in the

Thai Premier League The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from Augu ...

with

Chonburi Chonburi ( th, ชลบุรี, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and Mueang Chonburi District in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Bangkok, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Its name means 'city of water'. Cho ...

, Surat was called up to the full national side in coach Peter Reid's first squad announcement, He was called up with 35 other players to the 2008 T&T Cup hosted by

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

Style of play

He was a

who could also play as a defender.

References

External links

*
Surat Sukha profile
at melbourne Victory.com

at fifa.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sukha, Surat 1982 births Living people Surat Sukha Surat Sukha Twin sportspeople Surat Sukha Men's association football midfielders Surat Sukha Surat Sukha Melbourne Victory FC players Surat Sukha Surat Sukha Surat Sukha A-League Men players Thai expatriate men's footballers Thai expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Surat Sukha SEA Games medalists in football Surat Sukha Competitors at the 2003 SEA Games