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Leicester City: Thailand celebrates karma-driven triumph of ‘Siamese Foxes’
Pirom Methaveerapong went to sleep in Bangkok a confident man, but still set his alarm for 4am this morning so that he would be among the first in Thailand to hear the news.
Mr Pirom duly checked the result of the Tottenham-Chelsea game online, grinned broadly and went back to sleep for a few hours.
Leicester City’s remarkable underdog story has been embraced by football fans around the world.
But nowhere is this truer than in Thailand as this year’s heroics of the Thai-owned club have attracted new legions of followers in a county where loyalties have traditionally been with Liverpool and Manchester United.
“I had no doubts,” the businessman and football fan told The Telegraph after waking up for a second time. “I always expected that Leicester would be the champions because I believe in Phra Prommangkalachan.”
Phra Prommangkalachan was told the result almost as early by his junior monks as he woke before dawn for his morning ritual of meditation and prayers at Wat Traimit Withayaram Woraviharn (Golden Buddha) Temple in Bangkok’s Chinatown.
The assistant abbot has been leading delegations of Buddhist holy men in saffron robes to the East Midlands since the club was bought in 2010 by Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, a Thai billionaire.
There they bless the pitch and players before kick-off and then spend the match meditating in shrine room installed inside the stadium by Khun Vichai, a long-time devotee of the monk.
The trips organised by the duty free magnate have acquired added profile during the last year as Leicester City transformed from relegation near-certainties to title winners.
Phra Prommangkalachan, 64, told The Telegraph on the eve of the weekend games that he had no doubt that the club would be champions.
“This is not about magic,” he said. “We can only offer spiritual support.
“Khun Vichai is a very strong and devoted Buddhist who has done many good works “His good deeds help generate support which becomes power for Leicester City Football Club. The club is benefitting from that good karma.”
Khun Pirom will be among a group of temple devotees who accompany the monks to Britain for Saturday’s home game with Everton.
And as Thais woke up to the news, few were in any doubt that the spiritual support channelled by the monks has been a key ingredient in the success of a team marketed here as the Siamese Foxes.
“Leicester, champions, champions,” chanted a group of motorcycle taxi drivers listening to the headlines on a radio, to the bemusement of some passing office workers heading to work, apparently oblivious to the drama.
“This is a great day for Thailand,” said Somchai Wiratanawit, a fruit stand vendor. “This success was a result of so many things. The team, the owner and the monks of course.
“Look at the players and how they have outperformed everyone else – their fitness, their dedication, their strength,” said Mr Somchai. “That’s the role the monks played.”
And the victorious team will visit Thailand “soon” to celebrate their triumph and show off the trophy, the owner’s son and club vice-chairman told Thai television.
Aiyawat Srivaddhanaprabha, known to all by his nickname “Top”, called in from England in the early hours of today to share the news with the Channel 3’s sports report.
He thanked the Thai fans for their support from afar for the team. “It’s very impressive,” he said.
The celebrations in Thailand were put on temporary hold after the team’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Sunday left them just short of the title for another 30 hours.
Mr Vichai had thrown a free viewing party for fans to watch the game on giant televisions in the plaza outside his King Power business headquarters.
Several hundred gathered in the sweaty humidity of a Bangkok evening to cheer on a team many barely knew existed a couple of years ago. Just as many were shut out on the streets as the space rapidly reached capacity.
Thousand are expected to converge on the complex to watch Saturday’s game with Everton – a match that will now turn into a worldwide celebration.
And when they do take their summer victory lap to Asia, Leicester’s owner and stars are certain to be greeted by a sea of blue shirts in a country that has taken the team to its heart.
In a country that is currently enduring sharp divisions and tough economic times under a ruling military junta, Leicester’s triumph has is a welcome and unifying morale-booster.
It has also thrown a very positive light on Thailand after days of coverage of the beating of an elderly British couple and their son in the seaside resort of Hua Hin.
The squad will be visiting Thailand soon, “Top” said, and their visit would include a team trip to sign the visiting book of King Bhumipol, the country’s revered but ailing monarch.
The club will also be certain to ensure there is no repeat of the fiasco on their summer tour of Thailand last year when they were celebrating the great escape from relegation.
That trip ended in scandal after a video emerged of three young Leicester City players using racially offensive language in a sexual orgy with prostitutes.
The three players were quickly shipped out, as was the father of one of them – then manager Nigel Pearson. His replacement Claudio Ranieri has overseen this season’s fairy-tale on the pitch.