BURIRAM, Thailand -- From the time he joined Buriram United as an 18-year-old in 2017, Supachai Jaided has gone from a precocious raw talent to a genuine star of Thai, and Southeast Asian, football.
He has been involved Buriram's last seven Thai League 1 title triumphs, and has also six major domestic cups along the way.
Considering how imports are still expected to be the top performers in the competition, the fact that Supachai actually won back-to-back top scorer awards between 2022 to 2024 shows just how he stands shoulder to shoulder with some of his foreign contemporaries -- in the process, also emulating an ex-teammate he reveals he used to look up to in Diogo, the league's highest goal-getter in 2015.
To highlight just how remarkable the achievement was, the previous local top scorer of Thai League 1 was the legendary Teerasil Dangda -- and even he shared the 2012 Golden Boot with Brazilian Cleiton Silva. Before Supachai, the last local to outrightly finish at the summit of the goal charts was Anon Sangsanoi back in 2009.
This season, however, has not been as smooth sailing for the 27-year-old.
A knee injury sustained on international duty in Thailand's 3-2 friendly win over Singapore last November saw him sidelined for three months. It meant he was restricted to just 20 league appearances this season -- his lowest tally since 2019.
Nonetheless, upon returning in February, Supachai is now back at a familiar time for Buriram: the business end of the campaign where they are seemingly always lifting silverware.
The league title was sewn up in advance. At the weekend they will take on PT Prachuap in the FA Cup final, although there will be no domestic treble this term following a semifinal exit in the League Cup.
But before then, there is a regional commitment in the form of the ASEAN Club Championship -- where Buriram will be looking to successfully defend their crown, holding a 1-0 first-leg lead over Selangor in the final heading into Wednesday's return encounter at the Chang Arena.
Supachai started both legs of the semifinal victory over Johor Darul Ta'zim, and last week's first meeting with Selangor.
His presence has been especially crucial given Buriram have not always been able to get all of their first-choice attacking trio out on the park at the same time -- with Suphanat Mueanta only recently returning from an injury of his own, while Guilherme Bissoli was suspended last week.
Supachai might not have scored in any of those three games. In fact, he only has scored four times since his return in February from 22 appearances, both from the start and off the bench.
Still, he remains a creative force for Buriram every time he is on the pitch, causing opposition defences all sorts of problems with his intelligent movement, deceptive strength and constant goal threat.
And there is every chance he will have his say if his team are to add another couple of trophies to finish off the season.
"At the beginning of the season, the team faced some difficulties to perform," he told ESPN in an exclusive interview. "But after that, we improved and could perform better.
"This Shopee Cup [ASEAN Club Championship] is one which we want to defend because we also won it last season. We will do our best to ensure we lift the trophy again.
"For me, I just try to improve myself every day. I play to make the future of this club successful.
"I feel glad that [I have the status of previously being] the top scorer in the Thai League, but I want to keep improving. This year was a bit of a struggle because of injuries.
"I know my performance dropped after that but I still try to give my best and keep my standard for the team."
For many years, Supachai's sheer ability saw him tipped to follow in the footsteps of a number of compatriots in earning a move abroad. He watched as Buriram teammates Suphanat and Supachok Sarachat both went to Belgium and Japan respectively.
The dream has not been given up on. For now, Supachai will just keep doing what he knows best and let the future unfold on its own.
"Of course, I dream to play overseas one day," he explained. "It doesn't matter what country that is in.
"For now, I need to focus on Buriram United and try to keep my performance at a good standard. First, I need to perform well for the club.
"If I perform well, it is natural that an overseas club will offer me a contract. So, for now, I will keep focusing on Buriram."
While his struggles with injury earlier this season might mean that Supachai could be forgiven for looking forward to a bit of a break in the off-season, that might not necessarily be coming his way given the biennial ASEAN Championship will be taking place from July 24 to Aug. 26.
Supachai was part of Thailand's title-winning side in 2020 but missed out on another success two years later, before being absent once more in 2024 when a youthful War Elephants outfit reached the final before being beaten by Vietnam.
"Of course, the dream of every Thai footballer is to serve the national team," he added.
"Whenever we play for the national team, we want to be successful -- in everyone competition, we want to win."