Buriram United Appoints Spanish Coach Raul Caneda
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Buriram United has officially announced the appointment of 57-year-old Spanish coach Raul Caneda Perez as the new head coach to lead the Thunder Castle squad for the 2026/27 season.
Raul Caneda began his coaching career in 2005 as an assistant to Juanma Lillo, the former right-hand man to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. The pair worked together at Dorados de Sinaloa in Mexico before continuing their partnership in Spain with Real Sociedad in 2008 and Almeria in 2009.
A major turning point in Caneda's career came in 2012 when he took his first head coach role at Al Ittihad, a top club in Saudi Arabia, achieving remarkable success by guiding the team to a 25-match unbeaten streak and reaching the semi-finals of the 2012 AFC Champions League — a significant achievement that established his reputation on the Asian football stage.
This success attracted interest from another Saudi giant, Al Nassr, who appointed him head coach in 2014. He led the team to 9 wins in 11 matches before departing, later returning for a second stint in 2016.
Caneda's career continued in Asian football with spells at Umm Salal in Qatar and Khor Fakkan in the UAE, before taking on a new challenge with Cangzhou Mighty Lions in the Chinese Super League in 2025, his most recent head coaching role.
Now in 2026, Raul Caneda opens a new chapter by joining Buriram United, the record 11-time Thai League 1 champions, aiming to build on his multi-national experience and drive the Thunder Castle toward their goals for the 2026/27 season.
