Joyful moment: Buriram United players celebrating their league success with three games left. – Photo by Buriram United
PETALING JAYA: National centreback Dion Cools became the second Malaysian to win the Thailand Premier League when his club Buriram United sealed the title after beating Chiangrai United 2-1 on Saturday.
The 26-year-old, who left Czech Republic’s FK Jablonec for Buriram in January, was instrumental in helping the club win the league.
Frequently used as a centreback with either Rebin Sulaka or Pansa Hemviboon, Dion has played 12 games since joining them.
He made 25 clearances, 23 interceptions, 12 headed clearances and eight tackles.
His passing accuracy is also high, as he has a percentage of 89 percent (544 completed passes out of 611).
Dion still has another three league games to elevate his statistics in Thailand further. Not only that, but he also helped his club qualify for the Thailand FA Cup final, where they will face Bangkok United at the Thammasat Stadium on May 28.
Dion was delighted with his team’s achievement.
“What a team! We are the champions of Thailand,” he posted on his social media accounts.
“This is my first time playing away from Europe, and the experience has been good. I came here having played in nations like Belgium, Denmark and the Czech Republic.
“I believe all those outings had helped me to contribute for my Thai club. It’s been good.”
The first Malaysian to win the league was striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, who was with BG Pathum United when they won the 2020-2021 season.
