Sucheo recounted the strangest moment in his football career while playing in the Indonesian league: visiting Papua New Guinea (home to a cannibal tribe). The coach told them not to play at full strength because the day before, a policeman there was killed by being struck with stones.
On 7 June 2026, Sucheo Nuchnum, a legendary Thai national team footballer, shared his strangest story from his football days during a Thairath Sport live broadcast. It was about playing in Indonesia against a team from Papua New Guinea. The coach instructed them not to play at full effort because a policeman had recently been killed by having his head smashed with stones. Although told it was okay to lose, he played fully and was substituted after 20 minutes.
"At that time, Persib Bandung wanted a left back. An agent contacted me, so I asked Natthapong Samana because the league was about to close. Back then, the break lasted 4-5 months, so I was free. Brother Miao hadn't replied yet."
"So I told Tee Sintavee that I could play because when I was at TOT, I played left back, but for the Thai national team, I played right wing. He asked if I was really going. So I went with Tee, just the two of us. Persib invited us for a one-week trial, then they would decide. But after just three days of training, they signed me."
"When I played, I ended up as a left midfielder. I didn’t speak the language at all, but Tee, who knew Indonesian and English, acted as a translator. In my first match, our team was behind, but I scored the equalizer and we came back to win 2-1."
"In the last match before returning, I cheekily took a corner kick that the wind carried straight into the goal on the left side. Thirathorn can do that—I did it first! (laughs)"
"There was an away game in Papua New Guinea, which was very far—14 hours travel from Bandung. It was like a documentary about the cannibal tribe of Papua New Guinea. When we arrived, the coach told me, 'Sucheo, don’t give your all; it’s okay to lose because they recently killed a policeman by hitting him with stones.'"
"But I’m not the type to give up. I played with full effort, but after 20 minutes, the coach substituted me out and said, 'It’s okay, no worries.'"