Witthaya Laohakul or Witthaya Hloagune previously nicknamed ''"Heng"'' (Lucky) ( th, วิทยา เลาหกุล; born 1 February 1954) is a Thai

football manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...

and former player. He was the technical director of Thai football during 2016 to 2018. He is the first Thai footballer who played for a European club at the German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

side Hertha BSC.

Playing career

Laohakul was born in

Lamphun Province Lamphun ( th, ลำพูน, ; Northern Thai: ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), lies in upper northern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Chiang Mai, Lampang, and Tak. Geography Lamphun is ...

, Thailand. His football career started with Rajpracha, a football club based in Bangkok. After that he joined

Yanmar Diesel is a Japanese diesel engine, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasure boats, constr ...

in 1977. This transfer made him the first Thai to play in Japan. When he moved to Hertha BSC in 1979, he was the first Thai in the German league

. Overall, he made only 33 league appearances in three years for the club. After moving to

1. FC Saarbrücken 1. FC Saarbrücken (german: 1. Fußball-Club Saarbrücken e. V.) is a football club based in Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third tier of football in Germany. The club began its existence as the football de ...

, it was better for him and he play at least 53 league appearances in two years, scoring seven goals. Greatest success in this period made him won the title in the Oberliga Südwest in the 1982–83 season and promoted to the

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

. After his time at Saarbrücken, he returned to Thailand to play at Rajpracha for a short time. In 1986, he came back to play in Japan again as a player for Matsushita FC.

Coaching career

In 1988, Laohakul became assistant coach at Gamba Osaka, a founding member of the J League in 1992. Returning to Thailand, he took over the

Bangkok Bank F.C. Bangkok Bank Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลธนาคารกรุงเทพ) was a defunct semi-professional Thai football club based in Bangkok from Bangkok Bank. Bangkok Bank FC was founded 1955 and played in th ...

and led the club to the first place in the

1996–97 Thailand Soccer League Between 1916 and 1995, the Kor Royal Cup was the top level of club football competition. In 1996 the Thai Premier League (official name: Johnnie Walker Thailand Soccer League) was established by the Football Association of Thailand, sponsored by wh ...

and qualification for the AFC Champions League. In 1997, he was be rewarded coach of the year. In 2004, he took over the Chonburi F.C. and next year he led Chonburi to win the

Provincial League Provincial League (formerly known as Professional League) also known as Pro League was the old regional Football league in Thailand in 1999–2008. It was founded in 1999 under the name "Provincial League" organized by Sports Authority of Thailan ...

and promote to 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 ...

in the 2006 season. Then he returned to Japanchonburifc.net
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/ref> where he managed Gainare Tottori, a club from the third-highest division, with the task to lead the club to the J League. In 2011 he joined Chonburi again as club manager but at the end of 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 ...

Witthaya resigned from his position to work as technical director.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laohakul, Witthaya 1954 births Living people

Witthaya Laohakul Witthaya Laohakul or Witthaya Hloagune previously nicknamed ''"Heng"'' (Lucky) ( th, วิทยา เลาหกุล; born 1 February 1954) is a Thai football manager and former player. He was the technical director of Thai football during ...

Association football midfielders Cerezo Osaka players Hertha BSC players 1. FC Saarbrücken players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Japan Expatriate football managers in Japan Japan Soccer League players

Thailand national football team managers

Gainare Tottori managers

Thai expatriate footballers Thai expatriates in Japan Thai expatriates in Germany

Southeast Asian Games medalists in football Competitors at the 1985 Southeast Asian Games Thai expatriate sportspeople in Germany Thai expatriate sportspeople in Japan Thai expatriate sportspeople in the United States