HK pupils fly Fifa flag at World Cup
Carrying the Fifa Fairplay Flag onto the field before the Germany versus Argentina World Cup quarter-final in Berlin was a dream come true for six Hong Kong primary school students.
'The atmosphere was the most exciting thing I have ever experienced,' said Calvin Lam Chin-ting, 12. 'When we walked out it was so noisy, and all we could see was thousands of fans, and cameras flashing everywhere.'
The six - Louis Chu Yan-lok, 11, Kong Hok-chi, 12, Calvin, Tong Chun-kit, 13, Marco Wegener, 11, and Yeung Yu, 12, were selected from hundreds of applicants who enrolled in the adidas Flagbearer Recruitment programme in April.
They returned to Hong Kong last week and showed off some souvenirs from their trip at the Sport-X soccer court at Ocean Terminal.
'While we were waiting in the tunnel before the game Lionel Messi (Argentina player) and Michael Ballack said hi to us,' said Louis, a student at Tai Po Government Primary School. 'We were right next to the German players as they walked through the tunnel. I was a little surprised that Messi is not that tall. But Ballack is very tall.'
The six held up the Fifa Fairplay Flag in front of superstars such as Miroslav Klose, Hernan Crespo, Juan Riquelme and Lionel Messi during the pre-game ceremony.
'It was a long 30-minute wait in the tunnel, but when we finally went out it was an amazing atmosphere,' said Marco from CCC Heep Woh Primary School (PM).
'The national anthems were very emotional, and then the match was very exciting. It was the best thing I have ever seen.'
The match was won by Germany on a penalty shoot-out after the teams battled to a 1-1 stalemate after two hours. The game was regarded as one of the best of the tournament, and the result triggered wild celebrations among the home fans.
'Whenever Germany attacked in the game the crowed went crazy,' said Calvin, a student at Chan's Creative School. 'When Argentina scored the first goal it became tense, and when Germany equalised, it became even more thrilling. The penalty shoot-out was the best part. Everyone was cheering loudly when Germany won.'
During their trip the boys also visited the adidas World of Football Park in Berlin.
'There were so many fun activities there,' said Louis. 'I definitely want to go to the World Cup again.'
