Bobby Moore: Thanks for the memories
HONGKONG Sports Institute head soccer coach Kwok Ka-ming has fond memories of English great Bobby Moore's spell in the territory.
''Moore used to train at the JSC with his team quite often,'' says Kwok, reflecting on Moore's spell as an Eastern coach in 1982, in the days when the Institute was called the Jubilee Sports Centre.
''I remember him always being on the field in a tracksuit with the players. He would wear a tie at a game but was always on the field during training.
''He was very well respected and was responsible for bringing in some top players, such as Alan Ball.
''He was a really friendly person, and very approachable. I was shocked to learn that he had died after announcing only last week that he had cancer.
''He has done so much for football. He was a good ambassador.'' ''During his stay here, there were six very strong teams who were all title contenders. Bulova, Seiko and South China were the biggest clubs, though, with Eastern not the power they are now.'' Most of the players who were under Moore during his four-month stay in the territory have finished their playing careers, and some have gone on to become club officials.
Tsui Kwok-on used to play for Eastern under Moore in 1982 and will never forget him.
Now team manager of Ernest Borel, Tsui said: ''I was a midfield player when I was playing for Eastern.
''I found Moore to be very serious in training, and he would work a lot on players' techniques.
''If a player didn't understand, he would go out on the field and show how something was done. He was a nice person and he was always there to give you a hand.
''I remember he even made an appearance for us, during the last 10 minutes of the Senior Challenge Shield final against Rangers. We won that match 4-0 and everybody was delighted to see him play. He was a showman and he loved the crowd.'' Among the other Hongkong players who were under Moore were Lai Wing-cheong, who was then only a teenager and now plays for Michelotti, and defender Yu Kwok-sum, now player-coach of Kui Tan.
