THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

On Top of the world as Aiyawatt is lauded for his role in Leicesters triumph

On Top of the world as Aiyawatt is lauded for his role in Leicesters triumph

As Leicester City fans revelled in their FA Cup success, plaudits also poured in for the football clubs chairman, Aiyawatt "Top" Srivaddhanaprabha, son of late billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

Vichai had bought the club in 2010 and saw it win the Premier League title in 2016 before his tragic death in a helicopter accident in 2018.

Being respectful and treating subordinates in a friendly way is the key to the success of Leicester City, many experts said.

On Sunday, Leicester City won their first FA Cup in their fourth trip to the final, defeating Chelsea 1-0 at Britain's Wembley Stadium.

Some 21,000 screaming fans, the biggest crowd in over a year since the pandemic, relished the closely fought final.

Belgian Youri Tielemans scored the lone goal of the match for Leicester with a stunning long-range strike in the 63rd minute.

Aiyawatt was present at the stadium to watch the historic win. He was later presented the Cup by the players, who greeted him as one of their own when he entered the field to celebrate the victory.

On Top of the world as Aiyawatt is lauded for his role in Leicesters triumph

On Top of the world as Aiyawatt is lauded for his role in Leicesters triumph

This spectacular scene showed the chairman's role in giving respect to the players and being friendly to help their ultimate goal of "being champions", said Rio Ferdinand, a former England international and a television pundit for BT Sport.

Ferdinand said he had never seen such a scene before.

"You know what they [the owners] do? They back the club, they back their managers, but there's a face to it -- that's the difference," he said.

"There's clubs that are owned by people who put money in etc, but they stand behind the curtain. These guys are there."

On Top of the world as Aiyawatt is lauded for his role in Leicesters triumph

As Aiyawatt held the honour of being the first Thai to hold the FA Cup, many said that he had also garnered worlwide acclaim for the "Thai way of life".

On Top of the world as Aiyawatt is lauded for his role in Leicesters triumph

"Our set is complete!," Aiyawatt tweeted after his team's victory, alluding to the range of silverware his club had won.

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