International Academy Surpassing Expectations

They continue to break new ground on the educational front thanks to their studies at Ratcliffe College, particularly with their English skills, while their progression seems to know no bounds out on the football pitch. 

Last week’s 4-4 draw with Tottenham Hotspur saw the young Thais go toe-to-toe with an Academy side renowned for producing great talent, while their final challenge required them to adapt to an altogether different style of play. 

They faced an all-Spanish opponent in the form of the Next Stars, who boasted a host of talent from age groups older than the current International Academy group, but once again the Leicester City side showed their quality, sharing seven goals with their opponents. 

“It was a really good game to finish off the season,” said coach Alistair Heath. “The goals we scored were good and contributed to a really good game. It was possibly a bit more open than we’d like, but everyone can be really pleased with the efforts that they put in. It was a fitting game to go out on. 

“I think this game would be a great advertisement for how we’ve done over the last six months. They’ve learned a lot on and off the pitch, which includes educational things at college too. 

“They’ve grown together as a group but they’ve also grown individually as well with having to understand how to play football in England against different styles, and I think they’ve done extremely well. 

“They’ve shown and proven time and time again that they are capable of pitting themselves against these teams in an English style. That’s not easy to do but they’ve done it extremely well and they can go back home knowing that they’ve put a really good effort in. They’ve got it all to do again when they come back in September and there’s no reason why they can’t push on when they do come back.” 

The team certainly put the work in on the pitch. Despite going behind to the Next Stars twice in the first half, they responded brilliantly to peg back their opponents. 

After conceding on just four minutes, Tawatchai Kammungkun showed great awareness in the box to pick out team-mate and striker Phuwananrt Khamkaew in the box, who finished with aplomb into the far corner. 

Failure to properly clear a corner saw the boys staring down a 2-1 deficit on 20 minutes but again Khamkaew kept his nerve to finish under pressure after a cutback from Anan Surattanasin. 

The game looked to be heading towards a draw until two quick-fire goals in just four minutes gave the visitors a 4-2 lead, and while Surattanasin did pull another back in stoppage time, Next Stars clung on for the win. 

It was still another highly impressive outing for the talented young group, and for their coaches there can be no doubt that they’ve surpassed all expectations with a brilliant first six months in England. 

Alistair added: “When they first arrived we didn’t know what to expect. Obviously they had some ability because they were picked from a big group in Thailand, but from the start of the season they’ve certainly exceeded what we thought they could do. 

“They’ve shown a number of things that we knew they were capable of doing, but weren’t sure whether they could do it in such a short space of time. But they’ve certainty shown that they’re capable of producing performances of a very high level in a six-month period. The difference now compared to our first game back in January is huge; they are just impossible to compare. 

“Their professionalism over the last six months is there for all to see. They’ve had to look after themselves. They’re away from their families too so they could treat this however they wanted to treat it, but they’ve treated it exactly as we’d have liked them to. 

“They’ve taken on board everything we have had to say to them as well as in an educational sense at college. All round they’ve shown that they have the qualities to come back and push on again in September.”