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Manchester United youngsters hoping to make a name for themselves give Hong Kong fans a taste of the future
- Premier League club’s policy for their visit to Hong Kong is for players to be known only by their first names
- You have to earn the right to be mentioned alongside Best, Beckham, Giggs, Rashford and the rest
You have to earn the right at Manchester United to be known by your second name. On Wednesday night, the club’s latest cadre of hopefuls beat a Hong Kong Under-18 team 3-0 as they continued the long journey towards that gilded status.
The Premier League club have dictated that players in their Under-16 side can only be known by their first names, so goalkeeper Cameron is not yet ready to be a Schmeichel or De Gea.
Nor have goalscorers Louie or Majid yet joined the likes of Beckham, Giggs, Rooney, or Rashford, although their performances at Mong Kok Stadium were certainly worthy of the shirts they wore.
Still, that did not stop the excitement for one young fan before kick-off, who had a jersey with Best, No 7, on the back, even though the Manchester United legend had died long before Caleb was born.
Next year will mark 50 years since George Best last played for Manchester United, and he as much as anyone is recognisable by surname alone. There maybe many Uniteds inhabiting the football world, but any mention immediately brings Old Trafford to mind first.
Other supporters cited Cantona, Scholes and Ronaldo as United idols, and if the world knows you on second-name terms, you’re big news.
The official team sheet for this fixture listed only the visiting squad’s first names, and when Cameron punted the ball up field – which he rarely did, because United are a technically proficient unit – he located his tall No 9, Louie.
Supporters queued before the game for pictures with the Carabao Cup, won by United in February, and Caleb, brother Nathan, and dad Stephen were waiting their turn and hoping to later witness “good goals and passes and proper celebrations”.
They got a full house, Louie and Majid both delivering on two of the three fronts when merrymaking after first-half strikes. They witnessed a fabulous stoppage-time save from Cameron to preserve United’s clean sheet, too.
Also in the line for photos and quietly confiding allegiance to Liverpool were Simon and daughter Zoe, aged 22 and “curious and excited” ahead of her first taste of live football.
English top-flight clubs have dodged Hong Kong since the 2017 Premier League Asia Trophy, and opportunities for the city’s age-group teams to tackle quality opposition have been scant.
United’s youth team are here as part of a trip supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and Simon said he thought the government needed to “give more support to young players”.
“They need more chances to represent Hong Kong against other countries, it is the only way they can improve,” he said.
The city’s youngsters, who wore the red normally associated with their opponents, did their best against the speed of Majid on the left wing, but nobody could get close.
He tapped in United’s third goal, on 37 minutes, soon after the luckless Moses Wu headed an Edward’s – not Edwards – free-kick into his own net. Louie had opened the scoring with a precise 25th-minute finish.
Another local United fan said he was hoping that the senior team would return one day. The last time they played in the city was against Kitchee a decade ago.
Until then Ronald said he was happy to watch some of the “stars of the tomorrow”.
Diego Forlan is well known to both cities, and was introduced to supporters who filled three sides of the stadium before kick-off.
But even he was greeted with chants of ‘Diego, Diego’, and 17 goals in 97 games doesn’t merit the surname treatment, United cult hero, or not.
Majid, Louie, Cameron and the rest would gladly emulate Forlan’s glittering career, regardless. Follow in the footsteps of Best, Scholes and Rashford and they’ll patrol far more rarefied terrain.
You have to earn the right at Manchester United to be known by your second name. On Wednesday night, the club’s latest cadre of hopefuls beat a Hong Kong Under-18 team 3-0 as they continued the long journey towards that gilded status.
The Premier League club have dictated that players in their Under-16 side can only be known by their first names, so goalkeeper Cameron is not yet ready to be a Schmeichel or De Gea.
Nor have goalscorers Louie or Majid yet joined the likes of Beckham, Giggs, Rooney, or Rashford, although their performances at Mong Kok Stadium were certainly worthy of the shirts they wore.
Still, that did not stop the excitement for one young fan before kick-off, who had a jersey with Best, No 7, on the back, even though the Manchester United legend had died long before Caleb was born.
Next year will mark 50 years since George Best last played for Manchester United, and he as much as anyone is recognisable by surname alone. There maybe many Uniteds inhabiting the football world, but any mention immediately brings Old Trafford to mind first.
Other supporters cited Cantona, Scholes and Ronaldo as United idols, and if the world knows you on second-name terms, you’re big news.
The official team sheet for this fixture listed only the visiting squad’s first names, and when Cameron punted the ball up field – which he rarely did, because United are a technically proficient unit – he located his tall No 9, Louie.
Supporters queued before the game for pictures with the Carabao Cup, won by United in February, and Caleb, brother Nathan, and dad Stephen were waiting their turn and hoping to later witness “good goals and passes and proper celebrations”.
They got a full house, Louie and Majid both delivering on two of the three fronts when merrymaking after first-half strikes. They witnessed a fabulous stoppage-time save from Cameron to preserve United’s clean sheet, too.
Also in the line for photos and quietly confiding allegiance to Liverpool were Simon and daughter Zoe, aged 22 and “curious and excited” ahead of her first taste of live football.
English top-flight clubs have dodged Hong Kong since the 2017 Premier League Asia Trophy, and opportunities for the city’s age-group teams to tackle quality opposition have been scant.
United’s youth team are here as part of a trip supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and Simon said he thought the government needed to “give more support to young players”.
“They need more chances to represent Hong Kong against other countries, it is the only way they can improve,” he said.
The city’s youngsters, who wore the red normally associated with their opponents, did their best against the speed of Majid on the left wing, but nobody could get close.
He tapped in United’s third goal, on 37 minutes, soon after the luckless Moses Wu headed an Edward’s – not Edwards – free-kick into his own net. Louie had opened the scoring with a precise 25th-minute finish.
Another local United fan said he was hoping that the senior team would return one day. The last time they played in the city was against Kitchee a decade ago.
Until then Ronald said he was happy to watch some of the “stars of the tomorrow”.
Diego Forlan is well known to both cities, and was introduced to supporters who filled three sides of the stadium before kick-off.
But even he was greeted with chants of ‘Diego, Diego’, and 17 goals in 97 games doesn’t merit the surname treatment, United cult hero, or not.
Majid, Louie, Cameron and the rest would gladly emulate Forlan’s glittering career, regardless. Follow in the footsteps of Best, Scholes and Rashford and they’ll patrol far more rarefied terrain.