PHNOM PENH (4 Feb 2011) – Khim Borey has signed to play for Thai Premier League (TPL) side Sisaket Muangthai FC on a one-year loan deal.
This was confirmed by his former club Phnom Penh Crown.
“I’m so happy to play in Thailand,” said the highly rated 21-year-old from Takeo after putting pen to paper at the club’s home base in northeast Thailand.
“It’s always been my goal to play abroad – to experience other cultures and countries. It’s a dream come true for me.”
Borey leaves Metfone Cambodian League champions Crown without having to play a single competitive game since his arrival in the close season.
A domestic ban put paid to his involvement in the ongoing 2011 Samdech Hun Sen Cup which meant that Borey only played three friendly matches in Phnom Penh colours.
During his four-year stint with National Defence Ministry FC, Borey won the Golden Boots award in 2008 with 18 goals as his team finished runners-up.
Last year, he captained the Army team to the Hun Sen Cup crown.
Borey made his international debut against Syria in the 2007 Nehru Cup, having made rapid progress from the national youth team, through to the Under-23 team and then to the full senior squad.
In 2008, he scored five goals in eleven appearances for Camodia before registering a hat-trick against Timor Leste at the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers held in Vientiane last October.
It was these recent performances that caught the eye of Sisaket Muangthai’s English coach David Booth, who was coaching Laos at the time.
Borey is the first Cambodian to sign for a Thai Premier League team while several others had earlier joined Thai Division One sides.
Newly appointed Crown coach Bojan Hodak gave his blessing to the loan deal.
“It’s disappointing to lose a player of Khim Borey’s quality but it’s a fantastic opportunity for him to play abroad and improve technically. We wouldn’t stand in his way at this point in his career,” said Bojan.
