Trailblazing Thai international Surat Sukha has put pen to paper on a one year contract extension with the A-League's Melbourne Victory, ensuring that the Thai will remain in Melbourne until the end of the 2011/2012 season. The first Southeast Asian player to play at the highest level in Australia, Melbourne Victory's Gary Cole said of Sukha: "He's fitted in so well, he's always laughing and smiling, and he and his family thoroughly enjoy living in Melbourne."
Sukha has thus far turned out for the former A-League champions on 18 occasions, and was a member of the Grand Final starting XI in front of more than 44,000 vociferous supporters. He has struggled with soft tissue injuries and linguistic difficulties, although one hopes that a full pre-season in Melbourne will help Sukha settle in even more. He has played every game of Melbourne Victory's current AFC Champions League campaign, and will turnout for the club once again in tomorrow's vital home clash with Chinese champions Beijing Guoan.
I thought that Melbourne may have ended Sukha's time in Melbourne once his two year contract had expired and pursued other Asian players, so this contract extension comes as somewhat of a surprise. Sukha has been impressive in patches, but needs to turn out more consistent performances and hopefully, avoid the injuries that have plagued his first season with the club. A full pre-season in Australia should do him well.
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