Word: thais
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...Smiling has many meanings in Thai culture. Gradually you will begin to understand why people are smiling as you begin to appreciate the subtlety of Thai culture. Do not forget to keep smiling...
...Center, a grand name for a spartan two-story building set amid rice fields in the Bangkok boondocks. "It feels like a rehab clinic," grumbles one of Reid's staff. On the desk in front of him is the squad roster, a pristine copy of a book called English-Thai: The Fun Way to Learn the Language and a three-page cheat sheet of footballing phrases in Thai. Reid studies it. "Poo rack sah bra too," he says hesitantly. Phu rak-saa bpra-dtuu (goalkeeper). "Goalie," he grins. "Brilliant. Got to have a go, haven...
...blazing afternoon sun for a warm-up. "I'll be knackered," he grins. "I'll be on me knees after that, though." The players arrive. "Is this the boys?" says Reid, jumping to his feet. "Brilliant." Thirty young men file in, subdued and unsmiling. Reid greets them in both Thai ("Sawadee khrap!") and his native Liverpudlian ("All right, boys?"). They bow their heads and clasp their hands together in a wai, the traditional Thai gesture of respect. "Even though training will be hard, I like enjoying it," Reid tells them. "I like smiling." The players look unconvinced...
...motivational style has inclined toward shouting and swearing, usually at the same time. But he has promised a new approach in Thailand. "I want to get the best out of these players and you can't do that shouting at anyone," he told reporters. Instead, Reid puts his primitive Thai to comic effect on the training ground. "Despite the language problem, you can have laughs," he says, before gamely - if not entirely successfully - attempting to count to five in Thai...
...were played in Phuket due to political unrest in Bangkok. Reid knows that only three of the tournament's eight national teams are coached by nationals. A Russian manages Laos, while Vietnam has just signed a Portuguese. There's a Serbian in Singapore and a Brazilian in Burma. While Thai players have found it hard to adjust to England, English managers seem to fare better in Thailand. A journalist once asked Peter Withe if he missed home, and his pithy reply said more about globalization than a stack of doctoral theses: "Not really. You can get a pint of Tetley...