AFC Asian Cup: Hong Kong midfielder Wu urges discipline, as players seek to avoid domestic hangover
- After returning from the tournament in Qatar, Wu Chun-ming is open to offers from clubs outside the city
- Lee Man player says ‘spending every hour of every day’, with international teammates, ‘hugely improved our chemistry’
Wu Chun-ming said Hong Kong’s footballers would be abdicating their professional responsibility if they report for the next international window in anything other than peak physical condition.
Increased athleticism and endurance were the bedrock of the team’s competitive performances against superior opposition at the Asian Cup in Qatar.
The topic of what was required to ruffle both United Arab Emirates and Iran, and beat China in a pre-tournament friendly, featured prominently as staff and players shared memories from the previous six weeks, during a 45-minute dressing-room debrief after defeat by Palestine sealed their fate.
Wu is a flag bearer for Jorn Andersen’s uncompromising, aggressive football. Along with Philip Chan Siu-kwan and Tan Chun-lok, he stifled the creativity of UAE and Iran, and spearheaded Hong Kong’s attempts to win possession close to the opposition goal.
A tired side were no match for a team considered their weakest Group C opponents, and head coach Andersen would be forgiven for wondering how they will fare in World Cup qualifiers against Uzbekistan, ranked 68 in the world, after two months outside the disciplined, streamlined Hong Kong bubble.
Wu, who plays for Lee Man, acknowledged the significant step-up from domestic to international football, and said the intensity of the Hong Kong Premier League and the city’s cup competitions had “not been good enough for many years”.
