They were fast, temperamental and they liked keeping possession just like the Brazilians and the Argentinians. This is how former Hong Kong captain Dejan Antonic summed up the Paraguayans who last played here in 2001 at the Carlsberg Cup.
Antonic has first-hand knowledge of the South Americans, having faced them as a member of the Hong Kong League XI. He has fond memories of that game, especially as the all-expatriate local side beat Paraguay 9-8 on penalties after a goalless 90 minutes.
'We played very well against Paraguay and we deserved to win. I remember it very well. The Paraguayans were a very physical side and technically they were better than us, but we played to our strengths and got a win,' said Antonic, who is looking forward to seeing them nine years on.
'Paraguay didn't come with any star player at the time, but they were tough and it was very good experience for us,' said Serbian Antonic, who played for now-defunct Instant-Dict at the time.
'I was captain for the match against Paraguay and I remember I played with Cris [Cordeiro] in central defence and we had players like [Englishman] John Moore, who really changed the game for us. We had a bit of luck during the penalty shoot-out because I remember we missed one, while they [Paraguay] missed two.
'Paraguay were fearless at the time. They were afraid of no one. That Paraguayan team were a young [second-string] side, but three or four members of the squad went on to represent their first team at the World Cup and other tournaments such as the Copa America.'
Hong Kong's victory over Paraguay - they arrived in Hong Kong only two days before after a 31-hour flight - was a turning point at the Carlsberg Cup for the local side who had lost two straight penalty shoot-outs - against the Czech Republic and Japan - in the competition the previous year.