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AFC Asian Cup: cheers and tears as Hong Kong’s footballers reach end of road – ‘I would die for the team’
- An emotional Yue Tze-nam says he wants to ‘play for this team for the next 10 years’ after Asian Cup displays show Hong Kong’s rising aspirations
- Yue’s family are among the travelling supporters lending loud backing for the city’s players and coach Jorn Andersen – who is greeted with chants of ‘stay’
Yue Tze-nam stood with his deflated Hong Kong teammates, beneath their fiercely proud supporters, and dissolved into floods of tears.
The brilliant right-back sobbing uncontrollably into the chest of goalkeeper Yapp Hung-fai at Doha’s Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium will be an enduring image of a night when a line was drawn under the national team’s return to major tournament football.
Those 500 travelling fans, members of Yue’s family among them, noisily hailed the progress of their side, leaving a number of players overcome with emotion.
Yue’s voice was still unsteady when he stopped to talk two hours after the final whistle. The 25-year-old was the last of the Hong Kong players to emerge from the dressing room, and apologised for keeping journalists waiting.
“I feel sad. I cannot say I have regrets, but I am sad about the result, and sad about my performance,” Yue said. “I saw my family [in the stand] after the match, and saw the fans, and just wanted to cry.
“My family were here for all three matches, and that made me want to cry even more. They came from Hong Kong to support me, and we did not qualify, or do something good to repay them.”
Yue’s assessment of Hong Kong’s performances over the past 10 days signals there is a new benchmark for the national team. Head coach Andersen has turned a side that once treated international fixtures as diary commitments into a seriously competitive entity.
Iran, rated No 21 in the world by Fifa, were relieved to beat Hong Kong 1-0, aided by their time-wasting tactics. UAE, ranked 64th, needed fortuitous refereeing decisions to edge Andersen’s team.
Hardly surprising that after Andersen addressed supporters through a loudspeaker, amid emotional scenes in the Qatari capital, he was met with chants of “stay”.
“It is progress for the Hong Kong team, we did well in the first two matches,” Yue said. “But against Palestine, we did not have enough endurance. We must improve this in the coming years.
China football fans slam Asian Cup flop, say Hong Kong represent nation better
“Our tactic is pressure, pressure, pressure. There were no nerves before this game. We looked forward to playing, and to winning. The opening matches gave us more confidence. Maybe we looked too far ahead.”
Yue would have valid claims to be Hong Kong’s player of the tournament. Like his fellow contenders – the conscientious, in-your-face midfield trio of Wu Chun-ming, Tan Chun-lok and Philip Chan Siu-kwan – he could not locate his customary snap against Palestine, no matter how hard he tried.
Heavy legs, perhaps, prevented Yue matching Oday Dabbagh’s jump when the striker scored after 12 minutes.
“I was very disappointed with the first goal. I could have defended better, and not allowed my opponent to head the ball,” Yue said. “I settled afterwards, and tried to help the team attack, but we still lost.”
He added: “I want to play for this team for the next 10 years, if the coach chooses me. I am proud to be a Hong Kong player, I would die for the Hong Kong team.”
Yue, who plays for Chinese Super League side Meizhou Hakka, managed a laugh when it was suggested his performances this month may have alerted European clubs.
“If I have a chance to go to Europe, I will go,” he said. “But I need an agent for this.”
It betrayed lingering, misplaced feelings of inferiority. Yue, along with his teammates, has proved he belongs in superior company.
Yue Tze-nam stood with his deflated Hong Kong teammates, beneath their fiercely proud supporters, and dissolved into floods of tears.
The brilliant right-back sobbing uncontrollably into the chest of goalkeeper Yapp Hung-fai at Doha’s Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium will be an enduring image of a night when a line was drawn under the national team’s return to major tournament football.
Those 500 travelling fans, members of Yue’s family among them, noisily hailed the progress of their side, leaving a number of players overcome with emotion.
Yue’s voice was still unsteady when he stopped to talk two hours after the final whistle. The 25-year-old was the last of the Hong Kong players to emerge from the dressing room, and apologised for keeping journalists waiting.
“I feel sad. I cannot say I have regrets, but I am sad about the result, and sad about my performance,” Yue said. “I saw my family [in the stand] after the match, and saw the fans, and just wanted to cry.
“My family were here for all three matches, and that made me want to cry even more. They came from Hong Kong to support me, and we did not qualify, or do something good to repay them.”
Yue’s assessment of Hong Kong’s performances over the past 10 days signals there is a new benchmark for the national team. Head coach Andersen has turned a side that once treated international fixtures as diary commitments into a seriously competitive entity.
Iran, rated No 21 in the world by Fifa, were relieved to beat Hong Kong 1-0, aided by their time-wasting tactics. UAE, ranked 64th, needed fortuitous refereeing decisions to edge Andersen’s team.
Hardly surprising that after Andersen addressed supporters through a loudspeaker, amid emotional scenes in the Qatari capital, he was met with chants of “stay”.
“It is progress for the Hong Kong team, we did well in the first two matches,” Yue said. “But against Palestine, we did not have enough endurance. We must improve this in the coming years.
“Our tactic is pressure, pressure, pressure. There were no nerves before this game. We looked forward to playing, and to winning. The opening matches gave us more confidence. Maybe we looked too far ahead.”
Yue would have valid claims to be Hong Kong’s player of the tournament. Like his fellow contenders – the conscientious, in-your-face midfield trio of Wu Chun-ming, Tan Chun-lok and Philip Chan Siu-kwan – he could not locate his customary snap against Palestine, no matter how hard he tried.
Heavy legs, perhaps, prevented Yue matching Oday Dabbagh’s jump when the striker scored after 12 minutes.
“I was very disappointed with the first goal. I could have defended better, and not allowed my opponent to head the ball,” Yue said. “I settled afterwards, and tried to help the team attack, but we still lost.”
He added: “I want to play for this team for the next 10 years, if the coach chooses me. I am proud to be a Hong Kong player, I would die for the Hong Kong team.”
Yue, who plays for Chinese Super League side Meizhou Hakka, managed a laugh when it was suggested his performances this month may have alerted European clubs.
“If I have a chance to go to Europe, I will go,” he said. “But I need an agent for this.”
It betrayed lingering, misplaced feelings of inferiority. Yue, along with his teammates, has proved he belongs in superior company.