Hong Kong V Uzbekistan
Last night our team was beaten 0:2 by Uzbekistan in the Asian Cup 2015 Group Stage match. This result means that we are third in the Group with one match remaining (away to Vietnam). Uzbekistan and UAE have qualified whilst we are now competing for the one place reserved for the best finishing third place team. It remains theoretically possible for us to qualify but it will require us to win in Vietnam and for the other teams currently sitting in third place in their groups to all lose. This outcome is unlikely, but we will never give up while there remains a chance. We have to believe in ourselves.
Whatever happens, we can be proud of our performance in this tournament. Uzbekistan is 55 in the FIFA rankings which is 93 places higher than Hong Kong. They are the 3rd ranked team in Asia. Last night we held them at bay for 84 minutes, much of it with 10 men. Our team was competitive and every player gave 100%. It was probably the best I have seen them play and I have no complaints whatsoever. I am proud of the players, proud of the support team and proud of the Head Coach, he is a man of total integrity with a burning passion for Hong Kong football. As you can imagine, the mood in the dressing room after the match was very sombre; they were all devastated and felt they had let Hong Kong down. I told them to hold their heads up high. The fact is that Hong Kong has let them down. How can we expect them to compete against teams who have trained harder for longer with better facilities and more resources? The FIFA rankings don’t lie and if we want to improve we need to recognize that it will take time. It will also take a new approach. We need to create an environment, systems, support and facilities that provide opportunities for aspiring and talented footballers to practice for circa 10,000 hours between the ages of 5 and 18 (15 hours a week). They are doing less than half of that on average now. Until we reach that level, no one has the right to judge our players and coaches.
I was also proud of the other HKFA staff there last night from the Competitions and Marketing teams. They are often the unsung heroes because if they are doing their job properly everything goes smoothly and they hardly get noticed. There is a huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes both in terms of preparation and on the night. Last night was seamless and professional and credit to them.
I must say a special thanks to the fans. As ever a relatively small crowd made themselves sound and feel like a big one with a cacophony of noise and colour. They created a great atmosphere. I only wish more people would engage with what we are trying to do. The guys on the pitch deserve better and I can’t understand why there is such apparent apathy. The crowd last night was under 6,000 which is 0.07% of the population of Hong Kong. Hong Kong people are supposed to be passionate about football. What are the other 99.93% of the population doing? It was a nice evening, an important match, ticket prices are cheap and the stadium is very accessible. Can someone please explain to me what we need to do to draw a bigger crowd? Two complimentary VIP tickets for the next home game for the best suggestion!
Mark Sutcliffe 20th November 2013
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香港 對烏茲別克
昨夜，我們的球隊在2015亞洲盃外圍賽小組賽事中，最終以0:2的戰果負於烏茲別克。這賽事意味著目前香港代表隊位居小組第三名兼尚餘一場賽事(作客越南)。烏茲別克及阿聯酋已經穩奪小組出線權，而我們則要努力爭取以小組最佳第三名的身份躋身決賽週。理論上我們仍有出線機會，但前提是我們必須擊敗越南之餘兼指望其他小組的第三名球隊全皆落敗，似乎機會十分渺茫，但只要機會尚存，我們仍然要拼盡全力爭勝，以證明自己的實力。
無論結果如何，我們應該為港隊在今次賽事中的表現值得驕傲，目前烏茲別克在國際足協排名中名列第五十五位，較香港高出九十三位之多，而且亦是亞洲區中第三強隊，昨晚香港代表隊以十人應戰的情況下，與對手周旋了八十四分鐘才告失守，足以證明每位球員已經付出了百分百的努力，與對手力拼到底。經此一役，我認為他們表現毫無挑剔，甚至是我見過最強的一支香港代表隊。我為球員們感到自豪、為教練團隊感到自豪、為主教練感到自豪，他是一位將全部感情投入至本地足球運動的熱血教練。你可以想像，在球賽結束後更衣室的氣氛充滿死寂，球員們不斷自責，認為有負於香港球迷所託。我向他們表示，大家應該昂頭挺胸，事實上香港本身將自己擊倒，我們如何期望他們可以與其他擁有優質設施及訓練有素的強隊一拼？國際足協的世界排名正好反映事實，如果我們想進一步增強實力，必須知道需要時間作出改變，以及嘗試採用新思維。我們需要做的是創建一個環境、系統、支援及設施，為具天賦的足球員提供一個訓練平台，讓他們可在五至十八歲之間完成一萬小時的訓練(一週約十五小時)。然而，目前平均球員連一半訓練量都未能達標。因此，當我們能達到此目標，沒有人再有權質疑我們的球員及教練。
我亦為昨夜辛勤工作、來自競賽部及市場推廣部的足總職員感到自豪，他們時常充當無名英雄，將球場上所發生的一切安排得井然有序，但所做的一切往往令人忽略，賽前準備的龐大工作量卻進行得完美無縫，專業的工作態度值得為他們送上掌聲。
我必須特別感謝在場的球迷，雖然昨夜球迷數量不多，卻能營造震耳欲聾的吶喊聲，為我們的主場增加熾熱的氣氛，我由衷希望愈來愈多市民能夠加入我們的行列，因為場上的戰士極需要你們的支持，亦令我難以明白為何市民如此漠視本地足球。昨夜入場人數不足六千人，只佔香港總人口的0.07%。據我所知，香港市民對足球運動充滿熱情，但昨夜其餘99.93%的市民又身在何方？一個月白風清的晚上、一場重要的賽事、入場門票廉宜及球場交通便捷，究竟誰有妙計良策能夠吸引更多球迷入場？最佳提議者將可獲下場主場賽事的貴賓券兩張！
薜基輔 二○一三年十一月二十日
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