Surat Sukha (Thai: สุรัตน์ สุขะ; born July 27, 1982) is a Thai retired[1] professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Surat Sukha
Surat with Melbourne Victory in 2010
Personal information
Full name Surat Sukha
Date of birth (1982-07-27) 27 July 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Youth career
1997–2000 Assumption College Sriracha
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2009 Chonburi 167 (5)
2009–2011 Melbourne Victory 36 (0)
2011–2016 Buriram United 56 (0)
2017 Ubon UMT United 13 (0)
2018–2019 Sisaket 24 (0)
Total 296 (5)
International career
2008–2013 Thailand 22 (0)
Medal record
Thailand under-23
Sea Games
Gold medal – first place Sea Games 2003 Football
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 01:17, 29 October 2017 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 February 2012

Personal life

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Surat's twin older brother Suree was also a footballer who played as a right-back or defender.[2]

Club career

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Chonburi

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In Chonburi Surat played as a defender and as a midfielder. He helped his team win the 2007 Thailand Premier League.

Melbourne Victory

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Thailand international recruited from Chonburi FC in Thailand. Surat Sukha joined Melbourne 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 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[3][4] "I am very proud, happy and excited to be the first player (from south-east Asia) to play in the A-League." he said.[5]

He made his first appearance for his new club substituting in the 78th minute of the game on 15 August 2009[6] and made his first line-up at Melbourne Victory in a 1-0 win over North Queensland Fury on 20 August 2009.[7]

Melbourne Victory has secured Surat for an additional year after he extended his contract with the club until 2012.[8]

Buriram United

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In July 2011 he was released by Melbourne, after the club had agreed to an unknown transfer fee for Thailand Premier League club Buriram PEA.[9] It was also claimed that Sukha's family was not happy living in Australia, and this influenced his decision to leave the Victory.[10] It was reported that he gets 300,000 baht per month at Buriram. Surat played for Buriram in the 2012 AFC Champions League. He also played in the 2013 AFC Champions League for Buriram. Surat won the 2013 Thai Premier League with his team.

International career

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On the back of performing extremely well in the Thai Premier League with Chonburi, 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.

Style of play

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He was a defensive midfielder who could also play as a defender.

References

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  1. ^ สุรีย์-สุรัตน์ สุขะ คู่แฝดที่ยิ่งใหญ่ที่สุดของวงการฟุตบอลไทย
  2. ^ "จัดหนัก! อุบลเปิดตัว สุรีย์-สุรัตน์ แฝดบุรีรัมย์ร่วมทัพ" (in Thai). smmsport. 21 October 2016. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ Victory signs Thai star, Hernandez tipped to stay
  4. ^ Surat heads to Australia
  5. ^ Thai-riffic Sukha forging new path
  6. ^ melbournevictory.com.au: Victory claims point in thriller Archived 2011-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Preview: North Queensland Fury v Melbourne Victory
  8. ^ Sukha signs Melbourne Victory extension
  9. ^ "Surat Sukha returns to Thailand". Melbourne Victory. 12 July 2011. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  10. ^ "Sukha Exits Victory For Home". FourFourTwo Australia. 12 July 2011. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
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