Hong Kong's first Japanese professional footballer, Dan Ito, looked somewhat bemused as he joined the seven other foreign legionnaires as the League XI started preparing for the Carlsberg Cup.
The much-travelled 28-year-old Kitchee midfielder is in his first season in Hong Kong, the latest stop in his personal travelogue that began after he was released by J-League side Vegalta Sendai in 2000 having failed to repeat on a promising rookie season.
'I've just played 10 games here so it was a surprise to be included in the squad,' said Ito who has jumped from New Zealand to Australia, Indonesia and now Hong Kong since leaving his native country. 'It's my first time in a representative team and I'm very happy. It's a good feeling. These will be some of the biggest matches I have ever played in.'
Ito's arrival and the five goals he has scored in his handful of games, together with Hong Kong's stubborn resistance in Saitama, where they surprisingly lost to the Japanese by just a single goal in the East Asian Championship, have alerted his compatriots to the game here. He says his presence in the squad will guarantee unprecedented coverage of the competition in his home country.
'The Japanese didn't know about Hong Kong football, but there are many Japanese journalists coming here for the Carlsberg Cup. They're much more interested in Hong Kong football after they only beat them 1-0 last month.'
Ito, who was runner-up for the New Player of the Year award in his first season in the Japanese second division, has fellow League XI squad member Rochi Putiray to thank for bringing him to Kitchee after the pair had played together for Persija Timsoro in Putiray's native Indonesia. He'd also spent part of 2003 playing in Vietnam's new semi-professional league for Saigon Port. Previous years had seen him hop from Woodlands Wellington in New Zealand to West Gate in Australia, but although his Kitchee contract is just for this season he's hoping Hong Kong will be a more permanent port. 'I want to stay here. I like Hong Kong,' he said.