Bangkok

Naga Corp’s Kop Isa was relishing an invitation to train with Thai Premier League club Bangkok Glass, with their head coach Surchai Jaturapattarapong officially welcoming the 19-year-old striker on Tuesday evening.

Kop Isa linked up with the likes of Thai national team stars Teeratep Winothai (nicknamed Leesaw), Supachai Komsilp and Peter Lang during a two-hour session that took in shooting and passing drills.  

The young Cambodian said that the Thai players’ movement was faster and more technical than he’d experienced with his team-mates back home, while noting that it was the first time he’d trained under floodlights.

“Speed and intensity of training was higher than in Cambodia. Players understood each other very well,” said Kop Isa.

Coach Surchai asserted that the Thai top tier is now the best league in Southeast Asia in terms of standard, salaries and organisation, eclipsing those of Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

“However, compared to the J-League and K-League [of Japan and South Korea], it still has a huge gap,” added the coach.

Teeratep, the 2008 Striker of the Year, wished to send the following message to Cambodian youngsters aspiring to be professional athletes: Train hard, eat well, rest well.

For more information about this story please contact our sport editor Dan Riley