GUS CAESAR is at home in Hong Kong. A 30-year-old Londoner, he likes the lifestyle, loves the nightlife and, most of all, enjoys his work. Which, for Caesar, is a rarity. Because Gus Caesar, a professional footballer currently employed by Hong Kong First Division side Sing Tao, is an oddity . . . he doesn't really like the game.
'Don't get me wrong,' explains Gus - real name Augustus - as he sips a lunchtime beer in a Central bar. 'I absolutely love playing football,' he says. 'I always have. It's just that I've never really been a fan . . . it's always been a struggle to watch a game, even', he says, aiming a thumb at a jumbo-sized screen, 'if it's on TV.' Which is ironic. Not just because Caesar has made his living from the game for the last 15 years. But because Gus Caesar is famous in English football. To the English fanatic, the statistic-devouring 'new lad' who has never kicked a ball skilfully, but who will watch football if it means turning on a TV at 3 am, the name Gus Caesar means a lot. Why? Because at an early age Caesar reached the top of his trade. And then took a tumble. And that, for New Lad, is a reason for mirth. And is probably why Caesar likes Hong Kong so much.
To understand Caesar's story requires an understanding of English football, English men and English humour. You may already know about all little English boys wanting to be good at football. Only some of them are good; the rest watch and get jealous. Caesar was one of the good ones. At the age of 10 he was playing 'men's' league football on Sundays. By 11 he was training as a schoolboy with his local side - London giants Tottenham Hotspur. And as soon as he turned 16 he was snapped up by Arsenal, who were not only the most successful but also the wealthiest club in London.
At 17, he was a regular in the Arsenal reserves. Two years later, in 1985, he made his first-team debut in front of 40,000 fans at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United. His job was to mark Danish international Jesper Olsen, one of the world's best left-wingers. 'I don't remember being nervous,' says Caesar. He concedes that his football memories are poor, but history tells us Arsenal won the game, the teenage defender did well and the good times began to roll.
'Suddenly you've got money, you're out all the time, buying clothes, your name is in the papers and you think, 'This is it, this life will last forever.' ' It didn't. Although over the next few years Caesar stayed on the fringes of a succesful team - he played in the 1988 League Cup final at Wembley, represented England three times at Under-21 level and was in the Arsenal squad when the club won the English First Division Championship in 1989, as the squad grew Caesar's first-team appearances dwindled.
His form took a dive and in 1991, after eight years with the Gunners, he left to ply pastures smaller.