Leading Hong Kong coach says he’s ‘not good enough’ for city job, Tai Po on charge
Tai Po coach Lee Chi-kin decided not to apply to replace Jorn Andersen, and instead is making his team Premier League title contenders
One of Hong Kong’s best managers said he did not believe he was “good enough” to put his name forward to replace Jorn Andersen as the city’s head coach.
Lee Chi-kin’s Tai Po team are Premier League title contenders this season, barely 16 months after the 56-year-old returned to the club to discover a skeleton playing staff and stretched resources.
He led Tai Po to their only championship, in 2018-19, but walked out after sponsors withdrew their financial support.
Last year, Lee was lured back by owners Francis and Catherine Yip, who have given him a strong hand to play in the transfer market. He has exploited it fabulously, using contacts in Brazil to recruit a legion of robust, committed players from the country, while attracting a handful of Hong Kong’s brightest young performers.
Tai Po beat Kitchee 1-0 on Saturday to remain three points behind Eastern, 4-0 victors over error-strewn HKFC later the same day, with one game in hand.
Igor Sartori, a star of the title winning campaign five years ago, and back at Tai Po following a summer transfer from Kitchee, praised Lee for his “amazing man-management”.
