You could almost describe Cambodia’s Thierry Chantha Bin as a Keisuke Honda ‘fan boy’, such was his admiration for the Japanese superstar, especially during his heyday with CSKA Moscow and AC Milan.
When the 98-time capped Samurai Blue star was lighting up the Russian Premier League and gracing the fields of Serie A, Chantha Bin was just beginning his career, taking a chance and moving from the comfort of France to the relative unknown of Cambodia in search for a career as a professional footballer.
“Actually when I was in a football school in France, I was a big fan of him when he was playing in CSKA Moscow,” Chantha Bin told The Asian Game Podcast.
“I was following everything, and when I played video games, I’d always take him, so I was such a big fan.”
Fast forward ten years and Chantha Bin is arguably Cambodia’s biggest football star, with endless endorsement deals and a large social media following, albeit one that is dwarfed by the man he looks up to.
Oh, and his national team coach is none other than Keisuke Honda himself.
Now 31, the Visakha midfielder cannot believe he gets intimate access to a player and person he has admired for so long.
“When I heard that he will become the coach of Cambodia, I was shocked,” the French-born Chantha Bin explained. “Because I will meet him every day and work under him, so it’s such a privilege to learn from him, (and) from his talents.
“Of course, you want to know (details) from his career, for example, how we eat, how we train and stuff.”
Having developed within the French footballing system, Chantha Bin already brought with him a level of professionalism and dedication that often set him apart in Cambodia. But getting the chance to work alongside an elite talent like Honda gave the midfielder a close-up look at just what is required to reach the elite level.
“We’ve learned a lot,” he said.
“For myself, I would say that it’s about how you have to be very, very professional and meticulous about every detail. To be professional, because most people they think only about on the pitch, but there’s many things important outside the pitch like how to take care of yourself, have to train and you always have to give more because what you do on the pitch is not enough.
“You have to do extra and and take care of yourself. All of these things that we learn from him is is very, very good for us.”
Chantha Bin’s journey to the Cambodian national team actually began in France, where his parents, like many Cambodians, had fled in the 1970s to escape the brutal dictatorship of Pol Pot.
The second of four children – and the only boy – Thierry and his family grew up in Villepinte, a small commune in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, almost within touching distance of the city’s Charles De Gaulle Airport.
Having come up through the French football system, joining the academy of RC Strasbourg and even playing for the U16 national team alongside the likes of Lyon and Arsenal star Alexandre Lacazette, he reached a road block.
Playing in the far lower reaches of the French league system for the likes of FC Saint-Jean-le-Blanc and FCM Aubervilliers was not where the ambitious Chantha Bin wanted to be. With the benefit of hindsight, he concedes that perhaps his attitude wasn’t what it should have been to pursue a career in France.
“I played for Racing Club of Strasbourg Academy,” he explained. “I played also for the national team of France under 16, (but) I didn’t make it, obviously, in France. I could have had a better career in France if I was very focused and if I work hard, (but) I missed that chance.”
But he wasn’t about to let his dream of becoming a professional footballer go to waste so easily and so quickly.
So it was from that airport, a metaphorical stone’s throw from where he grew up, that he took flight aged just 20 and headed for his parent’s homeland.
“I felt that it was too late for me in France, because of course there’s me many good players and it’s harder in France,” he said.
“That’s why I took the decision to leave France when I was 20 years old to come try in Cambodia. Then, when I came to Cambodia I joined Phnom Penh Crown FC and I played there for four years.”
His gamble paid off.
After success with Phnom Penh Crown, that also saw him earn his call up to the senior national team, he had stints in Thailand and Malaysia before returning to Cambodia last year to join the ambitious Visakha FC.
Founded only six years ago, they announced themselves on the continental stage during the recent group stages of the AFC Cup, with their 5-2 thumping of Indonesian champions Bali United – in Bali, no less – raising more than a few eyebrows.
“(The win over Bali United) was a big, big one,” he admitted.
“To be honest, I was even really surprised and shocked on the pitch, because we were flying and that was the first time we played like this, and I was surprised by how everyone in the team worked so hard and played so well.
“Even after game that we had few days (earlier), we were like full power and we made a big, big surprise.”
But just when it looked like Visakha would make history by becoming the first Cambodian side the reach the knockout rounds of the AFC Cup, reality hit them square in the face; losing 1-5 to Kedah from Malaysia to concede top spot and a place in the knockout rounds to the Malaysian side.
Speaking a few weeks after that match, the disappointment at the opportunity missed still lingers, conceding the players perhaps took their foot off the gas in the final game.
“To be honest, I still feel very disappointed because we missed a big chance,” he said.
“I knew before that last game that this could happen because I think we a little bit relaxed, and look down on the opponent. That’s why this could happen.
“We could have made history because it was our first time in the AFC (Cup), and me as a player was my first time in the AFC (Cup) also. So I really wanted to do something very big for Cambodian football in AFC (Cup) for Visakha. But that’s part of football.”
Photo: Football Federation Cambodia
Listen to our one-on-one interview with Thierry Chantha Bin from Episode 89 of The Asian Game Podcast.
