Barely after the last whistle of the year he was setting off on an adventure to the other side of the world. The ritual was immutable for Jérôme Challe, the physical trainer who we discovered in 2019 at the Union Titus Pétange when Carlos Fangueiro returned to the Mining Basin.
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Passionate about scuba diving, the forty-year-old native of Chimay, Belgium, went to follow the staff to Dudelange before returning to UTP to give a helping hand to Yannick Kakoko. A connection still made today. “Yes, we call each other regularly. Like with David Vandenbroeck and Ismaël Bouzid, with whom I passed my UEFA Pro License.”
This inveterate traveler decided to combine business with pleasure by going to distill his knowledge in Thailand thanks to his contacts there, in particular Julien Marcel, another Belgian trainer established here for years “FC Rayong was interested but offered me a six-month contract. I was moderately into it but I finally accepted. In December, they finally wanted to keep me until the end of the season.”
Transport, humidity and food
In the south of the country, on the edge of the Gulf of Thailand, Jérôme Challe discovers a graduate who lives frugally. “We have the 14th of the 16 elite budgets. It shouldn’t even represent a million euros of payroll budget over one year. We are light years away from Buriram United who have been tormenting the competition for years. Maybe our best player earns 5,000 or 6,000 euros per month, ten times less than at home for example.”
The salary conditions offered are not crazy, but the very affordable cost of living cushions the blow. “We get paid on time,” continues Jéréme, accustomed to the reign of getting by. “The trips are sometimes rock and roll. They are often done by bus. Sometimes it takes more than 10 hours to cross the country. Sometimes I have to take the plane home.”
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Among the other pitfalls, there is the language and the weather conditions to tame. “I was almost the only one on the staff who spoke English. But everyone got involved. The humidity level makes efforts difficult. We worked a lot on this because the players were exhausted by the hour mark last season. By adapting the sessions, we became much stronger in this area and we scored more goals in the second half today.
Preceded by a fine reputation in Luxembourg, Jérôme Challe didn’t beat around the bush there. “I introduced intermittent training, a little-known practice when I arrived. Today, we are one of the three teams that run the most. The players understood that it was necessary.” Enough to put an end to this cliché of “League on vacation” that the Thai competition could manage. “There is no free pass. If you don’t work, you don’t play.”
Jérôme Challe continues his international experience with a promoted team. © PHOTO: Rayong FC
However, there is no question of undertaking the revolution there, even if food constitutes another project. “I first sought to understand how they worked in order to adapt and establish balanced menus. Especially when playing on the move. In small markets, the cold chain is not always very well applied, so everything is fruitful here. We have to explain to foreign players to be careful. And you should avoid seafood so as not to have unpleasant surprises. So, it’s often chicken!”
Before the international break, Rayong shook Kanchanaburi FC in the first half before doubling the lead in the second half (2-1). A private opponent of Gerson Rodrigues. “I didn’t see him in the first leg because he was suspended. And there, he was simply not in the squad.”
Not much filters through except that the former international, whose club is currently in a relegation position, is going through a complicated season. His three league goals since the start of the competition do not seem to convince the current Thai coach.
Oege Van Lingen and neighbor
Nothing to move Jérôme Challe on the verge of succeeding in his mission in this port and industrial city. “The staff worked a lot tactically, particularly on defensive placement which presented big gaps. We also improved in transitions, which is not easy on our pitch, considered the ugliest in the League. The grass is very thick and mowing depends on the city. Our stadium is old but functional. It accommodates between 2,000 and 6,000 spectators. It’s a sort of Youth of Esch.”
Thai clubs can accommodate seven foreigners. Five can be aligned entry. “Everyone is looking for one or two offensive pearls and European or South American central defenders to have size.”
In Rayong, we find two former Canadian internationals (Stefan Cebara and Keven Aleman), a 24-year-old Bolivian international, Leonardo Justiniano, three Brazilians, a Filipino and a Japanese. This is the tip of the iceberg because the clubs are real anthills. “If we move to 22 or 23 players, there are as many people in the staff, which sometimes represents a delegation of 50 people. And we’re talking about a small club.”
The mysterious Eye of Lingen
At the top, Buriram is going crazy. Between the championship and the Asian Champions League, things are running at full speed. “They have a player like Peter Zulj who passed through Anderlecht, for example, an ultra-modern training center and a stadium with more than 30,000 seats. It’s a team that could play at the top of French Ligue 2 and stay in Belgian Division 1.”
As for Rayong FC, currently 8th with 32 points with eight games remaining, it should renew its lease among the elite. With or without Jérôme Challe? “Everything is open. I get offers left and right. From Luxembourg too. I’m going to study this over the next few weeks.”
The physical trainer stays in an apartment with a view of the sea and a paradise island located just an hour away. But he barely benefits from it even less than before. “I came here to work,” says the man who crossed paths with Oege Van Lingen, the striker who passed through Rosport and Dudelange. “He plays in Chonburi. Not very far from us. The club is well structured. We are neck and neck with them in the rankings.”
The world is definitely very small.
