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Icons of the ASEAN Championship

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11 Nov 2024

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Some of Southeast Asia’s finest talents will be in action as the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ 2024 kicks off with the opening matches in the group stage on 8 December. 

Seasoned campaigners from 10 of ASEAN’s top nations as well as emerging stars will hope to follow in the footsteps of their idols as they bid to carve their own legacy in the prestigious competition in its 15th edition.

From Kiatisuk Senamuang who guided Thailand to the title in the inaugural edition to Indonesia’s Bambang Pamungkas who set the tournament alight with his deadly finishing, we take a look at eight such stars whose contributions have lived long in the memories of the fans. 

Kiatisuk Senamuang - Thailand

Kiatisuk ‘Zico’ Senamuang won the ASEAN Championship five times – three times as a player and then managed Thailand to two titles in 2014 and 2016. He first triumphed in the regional showpiece in its inaugural 1996 edition by scoring in five matches, including a stunning finish just nine minutes into the final against Malaysia which secured the title. 

Kiatisuk once again emerged as the national hero after winning the MVP award in Thailand’s second title win in 2000 before captaining the War Elephants to the summit of ASEAN football again two years later. He scored 12 goals in the tournament before enhancing his legend by clinching two more trophies as Thailand’s head coach a little over a decade later. 

Le Cong Vinh - Vietnam 

Le Cong Vinh is among the greatest players to have graced the ASEAN Championship not just because of his scoring prowess,but also for his longevity, having played six editions between 2004 and 2016. But his greatest moment came in 2008 when he helped Vietnam lift their first-ever regional title. 

Cong Vinh only scored twice in the 2008 tournament, but his first was in a 2-1 win in the final first leg against favourites Thailand in Bangkok and the second a crucial 94th-minute header in Hanoi that handed the title to the Golden Star Warriors. Vietnam’s all-time leading scorer netted 15 goals in the tournament, but the one at My Dinh National Stadium in 2008 remains the most significant of his 51 international goals. 

Noh Alam Shah - Singapore 

A fearsome striker, Noh Alam Shah made the 2007 ASEAN Championship his own, becoming the only player to win the MVP and top scorer awards outright in the same edition of the tournament. The Tampines Rovers forward scored a record seven goals in one match as Singapore inflicted an 11-0 defeat on Laos in the 2007 group stage.

He then went on to score in the semi-final and final to finish with 10 goals for the victorious Lions – the most by a player in a single edition.  Noh had scored four times against Laos in 2004 too, on his way to winning the first of his two ASEAN titles and ended with 17 goals to feature in second place among the tournament’s all-time top scorers.

Bambang Pamungkas - Indonesia

One of the greatest strikers to play for Indonesia, Bambang Pamungkas time and again proved his quality in an international career spanning 13 years that saw him score 37 goals, including 12 in the ASEAN Championship. In 2002, Bepe, as he is affectionately known, scored eight and claimed the Golden Boot as Indonesia reached their second consecutive final. 

The Persija Jakarta legend grabbed a 22-minute hat-trick as Indonesia beat Cambodia 4-2 before netting four more in a 13-1 win against the Philippines, which remains the biggest win in the tournament’s history. Bambang would score again to send the Garuda past Malaysia and into the final where they narrowly lost out to the Thais on penalties.  

Teerasil Dangda - Thailand 

Teerasil Dangda is the ASEAN Championship’s all-time leading goalscorer and by some distance with 25 goals. He has been the tournament’s top scorer in five different editions between 2008 and 2022, helping Thailand emerge as the champions of Southeast Asia in 2016, 2020 and 2022 – enough to stake his claim as the greatest striker the region has produced. 

Teerasil scored six in his first title win in 2016 and broke Noh Alam Shah’s 17-goal record in the competition during the 2020 edition. He would add six more goals to his tally in the 2022 edition to share the Golden Boot with Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Linh as the War Elephants claimed a record-extending seventh title.

Safee Sali - Malaysia

Heading into the 2010 ASEAN Championship final, not many gave Malaysia a chance against an Indonesian side that had beaten them 5-1 in the group stage. The 26-year-old opened the scoring and then sealed the 3-0 win with a header in Kuala Lumpur before netting again in Jakarta as the Harimau Malaya secured their first and only title with a 4-2 aggregate win.  

Safee had also scored a double in the semi-final against Vietnam to power the Malaysians to the title clash and take home the Golden Boot. He would go on to score in four consecutive editions of the regional showpiece and reach the final in 2014, but nothing would top the heroics of 2010 during his long and illustrious international career. 

Khairul Amri - Singapore

Singapore striker Khairul Amri had a key part to play as the Lions emerged as the champions of Southeast Asia in 2004, 2007 and 2012. A 19-year-old Khairul was on the scoresheet in the first leg as his side dominated Indonesia in the final to win his first and the country’s second ASEAN crown in 2004. 

In the next final three years later, Thailand scored first in the second leg to level the tie at 2-2, but Khairul struck in front of the Thai supporters with nine minutes left on the clock to make it one of the most famous nights for Singaporean football. He came back to haunt the Thais again five years later as the Lions won their fourth and most recent ASEAN Championship title. 

Chanathip Songkrasin - Thailand 

Chanathip Songkrasin has won the ASEAN Championship with Thailand three times – in 2014, 2016 and 2020 and emerged as its most valuable player on all three occasions. A 21-year-old Chanathip memorably scored in the 84th minute of the second leg as the Thais beat 4-3 on aggregate in the 2014 final. 

He would only score once in 2016, but he was the one pulling the strings for Kiatisuk Senamuang’s Thailand again as they won their fifth title before returning to win the 2020 edition, scoring twice in the final against Indonesia to emerge as its joint top scorer with four goals. He may still be only 31 years old, but his status as one of the greatest in ASEAN football is already cemented. 

Who made the most impact in the ASEAN Championship?

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