Thailand set up a new South East Asian Football record after winning the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup. The War Elephants now has 5 AFF titles, overtaking Singapore as the most successful team in the sub-region.
Kiatisuk “Zico” Senamuang’s squad not only excelled on being the champions, but also on other superlatives. Fair Play Award went to Thailand for their clean disciplinary record, with only 4 yellow cards received in 7 matches. Striker/ team captain Teerasil Dangda became tournament’s top goalscorer with 6 goals. Lastly, attacking midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin won Best Player award, which is also his second and consecutive.
On the other hand, Indonesia also set up a record, which is slightly ‘less than’. The 0-2 defeat at Rajamangala Stadium put their name as runners up, for the fifth time. However, despite their absence from international football for over a year, Alfred Riedl’s squad denied pessimistic expectations by advancing to the finals, which is good enough for their fanatic supporters.
For the third time in a row, Labbola covered all AFF Suzuki Cup matches for data collecting. 8 teams, 18 matches, and 50 goals over the course of 12 matchdays. Here are our selections for Best XI + 7 from the 2016 edition.
GK – Kurnia Meiga Hermansyah (Indonesia)
The Arema Cronus goalkeeper might not getting any clean sheet throughout the tournament. He even didn’t make any saves in the opening match against Thailand, and conceded 4 goals. Nonetheless, Meiga kept on standing between Indonesia’s posts and helped the team reach the finals. His goalkeeping ability surfaced as the outcome of pragmatic football applied by his team.
He eventually made more saves than any other goalkeepers in the tournament with 23 saves. Despite conceding 2 goals, his performance in the 2nd leg final could be his best, with important saves which includes denying Teerasil’s penalty.
RB – Vũ Văn Thanh (Vietnam)
20 years young and full of energy, Vũ became an important part of Vietnam’s campaign. Actively sweeping the right side of the field with back-and-forth running, he managed to score a goal in 5 appearances.
Averagely, the HAGL player made 2.4 successful tackles and 62.6 completed passes per match. He defines the role of full back perfectly with his performance.
CB – Fachrudin Wahyudi (Indonesia)
With 102 CTI (clearances, tackle, and interception) stats, Fachrudin became the tournament’s busiest defender. His aerial duel winning % averaged at 75.6%, highest of all center backs with more than 3 appearances. Only clean sheet which was lacking from his performance.
CB – Tanaboon Kesarat (Thailand)
This is Tanaboon’s second time listed in Labbola’s AFF Best XI. He played efficiently in the tournament with average 2 successful tackles and 1.2 fouls committed per match. His presence helped Thailand winning 4 clean sheets.
LB – Theerathon Bunmathan (Thailand)
Versatile and highly contributive both on defending and attacking, Theerathon won his first AFF title with style. He provided 4 assists and a goal in 6 appearances. His 3.8 crosses per match with 28.2% accuracy are both tournament’s highest for players with more than 3 appearances. Yet, remarkably, he did not commit even a foul throughout the tournament!
AMF – Chanathip Songkrasin (Thailand)
As far as the eyes can see, his performance might not as good as the previous edition. However, his statistics can prove that he is worth to be, once again, the Best Player of the tournament. A goal, 3 assists, 258 completed passes, and 12 chances created are relatively better than in 2014. Also, his quick feet and visionary creativity are still entertaining to watch.
CMF – Sarach Yooyen (Thailand)
Sarach played a very influential role in Thailand’s engine room. His distribution record is tournament’s highest with 536 passes (473 completed). He made 2 assists and created 9 goal scoring chances for Thai attackers. Defensively, the Muangthong United midfielder made 11 interceptions and 13 successful tackles.
CMF – Nguyễn Trọng Hoàng (Vietnam)
Naturally an offensive player, Trọng Hoàng paired well with other Vietnamese midfielders on both attacking and defending. He showed tireless determination to win possession from the opponent, and quite active on build-up play. His mobility and quick-feet made him the player with most fouls suffered in the tournament (18).
LMF – Rizky Rizaldi Pora (Indonesia)
Alfred Riedl’s decision to put Rizky Pora on a more offensive role came out positive. The Barito Putera player appeared in every match and made 4 assists and 1 goal. His 7 successful dribbles is second highest, slightly under Thailand’s Siroch Chatthong (8).
CF – Boaz Solossa (Indonesia)
12 years after his debut tournament, Boaz returned with a more responsible role as team captain. Unlike the 2014 edition, the Persipura striker’s name is on the scoresheet, with 3 goals (+ 1 assist). He discharged 17 shots – 11 on target, which are also tournament’s record.
CF – Teerasil Dangda (Thailand)
Thailand’s striker/ captain ceased the “curse” which had been shadowing his AFF Cup involvement since 2008. This time, he managed to pair the Top Scorer award with the champion’s trophy. 6 goals from only 9 shots on target proved his economic striking ability.
The +7s
GK – Hassan Sunny (Singapore)
The Singapore shot-stopper has the highest save per match average (5.3). Without his fine saves, Singapore would’ve conceded more than 3 goals. Hassan’s 84% success rate is the highest in the tournament. Sadly, his campaign cut short as The Lions only managed to score once.
CB – Daniel Bennett (Singapore)
Veteran of AFF cup returned for his 7th tournament. The 38 years ole defender became Singapore’s most active player with 22 clearances, 5 tackles, and 9 interceptions.
CB – Zaw Min Tun (Myanmar)
Played major role in Myanmar’s defense, especially on their last 2 matches in group stage. He scored 2 goals against Cambodia and managed to keep Malaysian attackers at bay. His 30 pass interceptions is tournament’s record.
SB – David Htan (Myanmar)
Myanmar’s hard-working flanker who played the roles of full back and winger quite nicely. The highlight of his performance in the tournament was during the last 2 matches of the group stage, in which he scored a key goal to secure The White Angels’ place on the semifinals.
CMF – Stefano Lilipaly (Indonesia)
The Dutch-born midfielder brought creativity and poise in Indonesia’s playing system. He set up attack nicely and resourcefully helped during defense. His 2 goals and 1 assist brought Indonesia to the finals. As an attacking midfielder, his 8 pass interceptions proved his determination to be involved in every offense and defense actions.
AMF – Sarawut Masuk (Thailand)
The right man at the right place and the right time. He scored 3 goals with only 4 shots on target. One from 2 chances that he created ended up as an assist. Every team should have this kind of player to be successful.
CF – Lê Công Vinh (Vietnam)
In -quite possibly- his last AFF, Công Vinh showed that he is still capable on being Vietnam’s backbone. He played every single minute in the tournament and scored 2 goals. His 17 chances created are tournament’s highest, which, unfortunately, none of them became an assist.
