# Ratchaburi F.C.

Ratchaburi Football Club (Thai: สโมสรฟุตบอลจังหวัดราชบุรี) (also known as Ratchaburi Mitr Phol due to sponsorship reasons), is a Thai professional football club based in Ratchaburi province that currently plays in Thai League 1. Ratchaburi has the nickname The Dragons which can be seen in the club official crest.

## History
### Establishment and early years

Ratchaburi Football Club was founded in 2004 and then joined 2006 Thailand Division 2 League. Ratchaburi able to win the Thailand Division 2 League title, get the right to compete in the 2007 Thailand League Division 1.
The 2007 League Division 1 season has a total of 24 teams participating in the competition, divided into 2 groups, 12 teams each and at the end of the competition, the top five of each group will be relegated to the competition. Thai League Division 2, the club did not perform very well, finished the season with the last place in the group A table.
In 2008, Ratchaburi finished in seventh place out of the 11 participating teams, causing the team to relegate, but due to the Football Association of Thailand reshaping the competition in the season 2009 makes Ratchaburi continue to compete in the Thai League Division 2
2009 Regional League Division 2 is the first season to compete in a 5-region zone system, Ratchaburi Football Club is organized in the Central and Eastern region. The club finished the season with 9th place out of 12 participating teams.

### Dragon's breath

In 2010, the Nitikarnchana family decided to take over Ratchaburi Football Club, which was then in the Regional League Division 2. In 201, the club won the Central-East Division before earning promotion to Division 1 after winning Group A of the Division 2 playoffs.
Prior to the 2012 season, Ratchaburi was sponsored by the Mitr Phol Group and announced the change of the club's name to Ratchaburi Mitr Phol, with Sorraaut Klinprathum as the club's president, Boonying Nitikarnchana as the club's vice president and Thanawat Nitikarnchana is the team manager and Somchai Maiwilai is a head coach.
| 2011 | Division 2 | (Tier 3) |
| 2012 | Division 1 | (Tier 2) |
| 2013 | Thai Premier League | (Tier 1) |
Whilst in Division 1, Ratchaburi made it to the 2012 Thai League Cup final where they lost 4–1 to Buriram United. The final was most remembered for the farcical circumstances that Ratchaburi faced as they didn't have any substitutes on the bench due to having several ineligible loanees from opponents Buriram United. Ratchaburi never stood a chance as Buriram won the final at a canter.

### Promotion to the top flight

In the following season, Ratchaburi flew through the 2012 Thai Division 1 League winning the title on their way to the top flight league.
In the first season of the Ratchaburi in top-tier league is considered unsuccessful, ranked 15th out of the total of 18 teams, but due to the problem of scrambling for the rights of the team between Sisaket and Esan United escalate, The Thai League company decided to increase the top 20 teams in TPL, resulting in the Thai Premier League competition in 2013 season, there was only one relegation team, Pattaya United (17th place).
In 2014 season, Ratchaburi reacted by appointing former Girona manager Ricardo Rodríguez as their new manager for the new 2014 Thai Premier League season. The Dragons finished comfortably in 4th place.

### Move to Mitr Phol Stadium and recent years

After participating in the top league for 3 years, Ratchaburi Mitr Phol has a project to build its own football stadium. The stadium started construction in 2015 and opened for the first time in mid-2016. In 2016 the club moved to new ground, Mitr Phol Stadium and the club appointed Robert Procureur as the club technical director.
In 2016, Following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the Football Association of Thailand cancelled the remaining league and cup season on 14 October 2016, with three rounds remaining. Ratchaburi then was announced as the 2016 Thai FA Cup champions where the title was shared among Chainat Hornbill, Chonburi and Sukhothai who was then in the semi-finals. Ratchaburi then finished the league in 6th place.
In the 2017 season, Ratchaburi continued to progress under Pacheta's stewardship, and with a team containing half blood players Philip Roller and Kevin Deeromram reached league finish as 6th place as well as reaching the semi-final of the League Cup losing 0–1 to Chiangrai United at Supachalasai Stadium.
In 2018 season, a dismal run of form saw the team slip to the bottom of the league table. Ratchaburi finished the season in 12th place with 43 points, they were one point adrift from safety.
In 2019, after beating Buriram United in the semi-final, Ratchaburi reached the 2019 Thai FA Cup Final for the first time in their history. In the final, played at Leo Stadium, Ratchaburi lost to Port 1–0, with a goal by Sergio Suárez scored in second half. Ratchaburi made it becoming the runner-up of the competition.

### AFC Champions League debut

In 2021, Ratchaburi qualified to 2021 AFC Champions League for the first time in club history after finishing the position in top four in the 2020–21 season. Ratchaburi was then placed in group G alongside South Korean Pohang Steelers, Japanese club Nagoya Grampus and Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta'zim. On 4 July 2021, the club then registered their first ever points in the tournament after a goalless draw against Pohang Steelers.
In 2022, Ratchaburi ended their 10-years sponsorship with Mitr Phol where the club name was shorten back to Ratchaburi. The club stadium has also renamed to Dragon Solar Park after the solar panel manufacturing company Dragon Solar.

## Academy

Ratchaburi opened its first youth academies in 2016 under the name The Dragons Academy. In 2017, Ratchaburi Mitr Phol have appointed Douglas Cardozo as Head of Youth Development.

## Stadium

From 2007 to 2016, the club used Ratchaburi Provincial Stadium owned by the city council as their home ground. In June 2016, the club built Dragon Solar Park in the town of Huai Phai, Ratchaburi Province to be its new home ground and is directly owned by the club. The stadium has a capacity of 10,000 seats.
| Coordinates | Location | Stadium | Year |
| 13°31′55″N 99°48′50″E﻿ / ﻿13.531817°N 99.813832°E﻿ / 13.531817; 99.813832 | Ratchaburi | Ratchaburi Provincial Stadium | 2007–2016 |
| 13°31′18″N 99°46′11″E﻿ / ﻿13.521677°N 99.769588°E﻿ / 13.521677; 99.769588 | Ratchaburi | Dragon Solar Park | 2016–present |

## Continental record

| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 2021 | AFC Champions League | Group G | Pohang Steelers | 0–0 | 0–2 | 4th |
| 2021 | AFC Champions League | Group G | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4th |
| 2021 | AFC Champions League | Group G | Nagoya Grampus | 0–4 | 0–3 | 4th |

## Season-by-season record

| Season | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | FA Cup | League Cup | AFC Champions League | Top scorer | Top scorer |
| Season | Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | FA Cup | League Cup | AFC Champions League | Name | Goals |
| 2007 | DIV 1 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 31 | 40 | 19 | 12th | | | – | | |
| 2008 | DIV 2 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 32 | 26 | 30 | 7th | | | – | | |
| 2009 | DIV 2 Central-East | 22 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 31 | 33 | 21 | 9th | | | – | | |
| 2010 | DIV 2 Central-East | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 45 | 39 | 45 | 9th | | | – | | |
| 2011 | DIV 2 Central-East | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 67 | 19 | 68 | 1st | R2 | R1 | – | Pornchai Ardjinda | 18+(5) |
| 2012 | DIV 1 | 34 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 85 | 31 | 78 | 1st | R4 | RU | – | Douglas | 19 |
| 2013 | TPL | 32 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 31 | 39 | 30 | 15th | R3 | RU | – | Douglas | 10 |
| 2014 | TPL | 38 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 62 | 42 | 65 | 4th | R4 | SF | – | Heberty | 26 |
| 2015 | TPL | 34 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 48 | 50 | 55 | 7th | QF | R3 | – | Heberty | 19 |
| 2016 | T1 | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 52 | 35 | 49 | 6th | W | R1 | – | Heberty | 20 |
| 2017 | T1 | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 63 | 49 | 55 | 6th | R1 | SF | – | Marcel Essombé | 20 |
| 2018 | T1 | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 50 | 53 | 43 | 12th | SF | R1 | – | Kang Soo-il | 13 |
| 2019 | T1 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 48 | 48 | 38 | 8th | RU | R1 | – | Yannick Boli | 14 |
| 2020–21 | T1 | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 48 | 41 | 46 | 8th | QF | – | – | Philip Roller | 14 |
| 2021–22 | T1 | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 32 | 36 | 36 | 12th | R2 | R3 | GS | Derley | 13 |
| 2022–23 | T1 | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 32 | 29 | 41 | 8th | R3 | SF | – | Derley | 8 |
| 2023–24 | T1 | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 39 | 35 | 39 | 6th | R2 | QF | – | Njiva Rakotoharimalala | 9 |
| 2024–25 | T1 | | | | | | | | | | | – | | |
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated | In Progress |

## Players
### First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | FRA | Gabriel Mutombo |
| 4 | DF | THA | Jonathan Khemdee |
| 5 | DF | THA | Apisit Sorada (on loan from BG Pathum United) |
| 6 | MF | ESP | Tana |
| 7 | MF | JPN | Tatsuya Tanaka |
| 8 | MF | THA | Thanawat Suengchitthawon |
| 9 | FW | KOR | Kim Ji-min |
| 10 | MF | THA | Jakkaphan Kaewprom (Captain) |
| 15 | DF | THA | Adisorn Promrak |
| 16 | MF | THA | Siwakorn Jakkuprasat (Vice-captain) |
| 17 | MF | THA | Sirawit Kasonsumol |
| 19 | DF | THA | Suporn Peenagatapho (on loan from Buriram United) |
| 21 | DF | THA | Jirawat Thongsaengphrao |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | MF | THA | Pongsathon Sangkasopha |
| 24 | DF | THA | Worawut Namvech |
| 25 | FW | FRA | Clément Depres |
| 27 | MF | PHI | Jesse Curran |
| 29 | DF | THA | Kiatisak Jiamudom |
| 37 | MF | THA | Kritsananon Srisuwan |
| 39 | GK | THA | Chutideth Maunchaingam |
| 57 | DF | THA | Shinnaphat Leeaoh (on loan from BG Pathum United) |
| 69 | GK | THA | Kritsanucha Mueansen |
| 77 | MF | BRU | Faiq Bolkiah |
| 88 | MF | THA | Chotipat Poomkaew |
| 89 | MF | MAD | Njiva Rakotoharimalala |
| 99 | GK | THA | Kampol Pathomakkakul (Vice-captain) |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | THA | Montree Promsawat (at Chiangrai United) |
| — | MF | THA | Narakorn Noomchansakul (at Customs United) |
| — | DF | THA | Thanaset Sujarit (at PT Prachuap) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | THA | Supravee Miprathang (at Sukhothai) |
| — | MF | THA | Thanatorn Chanphet (at Dragon Kanchanaburi) |
| — | DF | THA | Tony Laurent-Gonnet (at Uthai Thani) |

## Managerial history

* Somchai Maiwilai 2009–2010
* Prapol Pongpanich 2010
* Somchai Maiwilai 2010–2013
* Iván Palanco 2013
* Ricardo Rodríguez 2014
* Àlex Gómez 2014
* Josep Ferré 2015
* Pacheta 2016–2017
* Christian Ziege 2018
* René Desaeyere 2018
* Lassaad Chabbi 2018
* Manolo Márquez 2018–2019
* Francesc Bosch 2019
* Marco Simone 2019
* Somchai Maiwilai 2019 (caretaker)
* Nuengrutai Srathongvian 2019
* Chaitud Uamtham 2020
* Somchai Maiwilai 2020 (caretaker)
* Miloš Joksić 2020
* Seksan Siripong (ACL 2021)
* Somchai Maiwilai 2020–2022
* Bruno Pereira 2022
* Xavi Moro 2022–2023
* Douglas Cardozo 2023
* Carlos Peña 2023–2024
* Surapong Kongthep 2024
* Somchai Maiwilai (Interim) 2024
* Worrawoot Srimaka 2024–

## Honours
### League

* Thai Division 1 League
** Champions (1): 2012
* Regional League Division 2
** Champions (1): 2011
* Regional League Central-East Division
** Champions (1): 2011

### Cups

* League Cup
** Runners-up (1): 2012, 2013
* FA Cup
** Winners (1): 2016
** Runners-up (1): 2019