At this year’s Asian Games, the main goalkeeper Tse Ka Wing repeatedly saved dangerous goals, and his tearful farewell to the Asian Games after the third place match touched the hearts of many citizens.
The goalkeeper, regarded as the future star of the Hong Kong team, was offered an apprenticeship contract by the English League One team Bury FC. After returning to Hong Kong, he played for many teams and almost missed the Hangzhou Asian Games due to disciplinary issues. After experiencing various ups and downs, his performance gradually stabilized, and he became more and more like a general. He became an important contributor to the Hong Kong team’s entry into the semi-finals of the Asian Games.
As a child, Tse often entertained himself by shooting waves against the wall at home. Later, he joined the Tai Po Seedlings system to train. Cheung King Wah, who occasionally guest-coached the waves, discovered him and began to receive goalkeeper training. Later, he switched to Sun Hei and Chelsea Football Team. At the school, Xie Jiarong and his teammates in the same year were regarded as the golden generation of the school: “At that time, Shum Kwok Pui and Ben Lam planned to gather the players from 1999 and focus on training the team for a long time. Therefore, our tacit understanding and strength have been strengthened through long-term cooperation. It was very good and basically swept many local youth championships that year.”
After achieving success in the local youth competition, Tse and his lifelong friend Jordan Lam, who was born in the same year, went to the Chinese Super League team Shandong to try out. In 2015, they were scouted by British scouts during the European competition and tried out at Leicester City and Bury FC. Later, the two were awarded apprenticeship contracts by Bury FC, participating in training and playing in friendly matches.
Bury FC
“Bury FC rented Manchester City’s former training ground as their base. The facilities there are very complete and eye-opening. Of course, the quality and speed of the training are needless to say. The most impressive thing is that the goalkeeper coach’s shooting speed is the same as that of professional players. It is very powerful, and the British climate is relatively humid, so it is not easy to catch the ball after it is wet. Sometimes, after practicing ten balls, I can throw five or six forehand balls. Many times, I choose to block the ball that I can obviously catch. And the local goalkeepers have to participate. The players on the court are trained, and even if their left and right feet are able to respond skillfully when they are under pressure, these rhythms have never been experienced in Hong Kong before, and it was a bit difficult at first.”
During his stay in the UK, he was recognized by the goalkeeper coach of the same team and took up coaching with the team. He practiced with former Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland and Ian Lawlor, who was selected for the Irish national team. He even tried to play with the team in the League One match against Oldham. Participating in the warm-up at the scene, the hot atmosphere made Tse unforgettable: “There are not many people in the stadium, but surrounded by thousands of people and cheering atmosphere, you will feel that you are really a performer.”
Pele’s goalkeeper coach at the time, Ian Willcock, recognized Tse’s ability. However, due to visa issues, Tse and Lam were unable to stay with the team and returned to Hong Kong: “The visas took a long time to be processed, and we can’t wait indefinitely. . When I came back, I saw that Fat Gor had already had opportunities to play in R&F and tightened his labor force, so we all wanted to join the professional team as soon as possible. Lin Leqin and I visited Pegasus and Lee & Man Wanderers, and he chose to join Pegasus, and I Considering the opportunity to play, he decided to join Lee Man Rangers, so the two of us played for two clubs separately for the first time.” Tse only got one chance to play as a reserve in Lee Man Rangers, and then bounced around in different Super League teams. Last season At the beginning, he had to leave Hong Kong U23 due to overage, and was recruited by Li Hang Wui to join Tai Po.
“Another shocking thing is that players have great potential for appreciation. A 15-year-old, 198cm tall black backbone in the team was selected for the first team to participate in a cup match. When the team led by a few goals, he was substituted for ten minutes. , and soon he was acquired by Liverpool. In retrospect, the team should have signed him up early, and then sold the player at a good price. Although he did not stay with Liverpool afterwards, when you see the other party, you can buy him. It’s an opportunity to see if he can develop into a better player. It can be seen that as long as a player has potential and performs well, he has the opportunity to increase his price tenfold.”
After Tai Po was coached by Lee Chi Kin this season, they temporarily ranked at the top of the league table and even achieved 6 consecutive victories: “Kin sir’s team management is very good. Like Philip Chan, he knows very well what a HKPL coach should do.” What to do. I have had ample opportunities to play in the past two seasons, and I have also found my own way to handle the game. Now I face the game with a normal and relaxed attitude, and my confidence is slowly building up with the team’s performance.”
After sobering up
Tse has always been the main goalkeeper for youth teams at all levels. However, during the U23 Asian Cup qualifiers in Japan at the end of 2021, some players violated local epidemic prevention restrictions by drinking and causing trouble in the hotel. After the incident was exposed by the media, many players were beaten. He was fined in total and banned from the Hong Kong team for one year. Tse, who was fined the most, became the target of ridicule among netizens and fans.
“The drinking incident was very alarming to me. When I think about it afterwards, it would be really stupid to miss the only Asian Games in my life because I drank for five or six hours. I am now considered a semi-public figure, and my subsequent behavior I will pay more attention and don’t want to cause any more trouble.”
After the suspension period expired, he was selected for the Dagang Football Team for the first time in March this year. In June, he made his first appearance for the Dagang team in a visit to Vietnam. He has played three times for the Hong Kong team so far. Since the Asian Games were postponed for one year to September this year due to the epidemic, Tse regained the opportunity to compete in the Asian Games, and his excellent performance left a deep impression on fans in Hong Kong: “These games are definitely the football atmosphere that I have dreamed of, and the entire audience The fans cheering and in front of the TV are also very nervous and engaged. The game itself is very competitive. The training venue is of extremely high quality. The landing rescue is as comfortable as falling on a carpet. You are not afraid of injury even if you wear shorts and shorts. After practicing for a few days, There is still no problem with the second wave of grass. This is the training and competition environment that every professional football player longs for! Several goalkeepers and Fan Chun Yip said at the time, what should I do after returning to Hong Kong? “
Dilemma
In addition to the quality of the venue, Tse admitted that he felt a big gap after returning from the hot Hangzhou Asian Games to the empty stands: “Everyone has a strong sense of belonging to Hong Kong. Hong Kong team games can attract more than 10,000 people. But once we return to Hong Kong, we have a strong sense of belonging.” In club games, except for old clubs and district teams, it may be difficult for fans to have a sense of belonging to teams named by commercial companies. Fans are very realistic and everyone wants to watch competitive games. Nowadays, the disparity between strengths and weaknesses is too common. People don’t want to come in. But I don’t agree that reducing the number of teams is the way out. These teams at least give players a chance to take off work and start over. Like me, I was able to continue my football career because I played for one season in HKU23.”
As a player, he is very passive when faced with difficulties in the ball circle, and it is extremely difficult for goalkeepers to break out. Tse is currently focusing on achieving good results for Tai Po and striving to continue to be stably selected for the Hong Kong team. At the same time, he is also helping himself to find more outlets and starting to pick up brands. Publicity work: “Now I am running Instagram and accepting events. I have thought about whether I will be criticized for doing too much, but when I think about it more deeply, I just do ordinary things well, but there are not many people in the football circle doing publicity. It seems like he has become a different person.”
“Of course it is basic for players to do well on the field, but even if they can become the best 11 players in Hong Kong, their salary may not be significantly improved. Football players always have to live and plan after retirement.”
Profile
| 姓名 | 謝家榮 Tse Ka Wing |
| Pos. | GK |
| 擅長腳 | Right |
| Birth | 1999/9/4 |
| Pro Team | Lee Man Rangers（2017） Dreams FC（2017-19） R&F（2019-21） Happy Vally（2021） HKU23（2021-2２） Tai Po（2022-） |