Learning from Last Season 

As mentioned previously, Buriram’s narrow loss to Chiangrai United on the final day of the 2019 Thai League season was the first taste of genuine adversity for many members of Buriram’s young squad. Unsurprisingly, Bandovic sees this as a part of their development and is confident that the side can bounce back in the future. 

“After two years of winning the championship, of breaking records, to make it in the third year, it is very difficult even for the biggest teams,” Bandovic admitted. “As you can see even with Manchester City, in the third year they couldn’t do it.

“In the process of your career, of my career, in the career of any player, there will be problems, but still we brought the team to fight again to be the champions.” 

The moment served as a massive moment of personal growth for the young Buriram players, who played a bigger role than ever before in last year’s campaign. The message is clear – even after two comfortable title wins, they need to up their game to maintain their place at the top of an increasingly competitive Thai League. 

Ready for the Restart

Due to the Thai League’s new schedule, the clubs which finish in the top four at the end of the first leg of the season (15 games) will qualify for the 2021 AFC Champions League. For Buriram, who sit 11th after collecting just 4 points from their opening 4 games, this represents a significant mountain to climb. 

“Of course, there are people who say it will be difficult, and yes it is, but if it was easy then everybody could do it,” Bandovic asserted. “Yes, it is difficult, and I think we have to be ready for this challenge. I believe this team can do anything.” 

Buriram will need to close the gap between themselves and the top four over the course of the next 12 games. It is a task that has become increasingly difficult as the number of teams competing at the top continues to grow. 

“At this moment, Bangkok United, Port, BG – they are very strong teams, so it is going to be difficult,” Bandovic admitted, “but we will be ready for this and we will go for the challenge.”