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Leung Nok-hang enjoys his debut season with Zhejiang in the Chinese Super League. Photo: Jonathan Wong

HK$20 million-man Leung Nok-hang ‘playing for the name of Hong Kong football’ in China

  • Defender instrumental in Zhejiang Professional FC achieving their highest-ever finish in CSL
  • City’s most expensive player hopes end of Covid-19 rules means return to international football with Hong Kong

Dreams have a habit of coming true for Hong Kong’s Leung Nok-hang.

The defender has quickly established himself with Chinese Super League side Zhejiang Professional FC after his record-setting HK$20 million transfer made him Hong Kong’s most expensive player ever.

An ever-present in the league, Leung was instrumental in the club’s third-place finish, which has earned them a spot in next season’s qualifying draw for the AFC Champions League.

Zhejiang last featured in the regional cup competition more than a decade ago in 2011, and it was a season of improvement for the club, who also reached the final of the Chinese FA Cup for the first time. The only downside was the defeat to Shandong Taishan in that game.

All this came in his first season in the top-tier competition in China, and the 28-year-old is brimming with confidence and believes his career can only go upwards.

Leung celebrates with teammate Nyasha Mushekwi after scoring for Zhejiang in the Chinese Super League. Photo: Zhejiang Professional FC

“It was never easy to launch a career in a foreign club and I am so happy for the achievements I have made so far,” said the central defender, who is now back in Hong Kong for the off season before setting foot in Zhejiang again in two weeks for their preseason.

“It has been a wonderful year for the club and myself as a Hong Kong player and now we can build on the success we have made and move forward, especially with the opportunity of playing in the Champions League.”

While Leung is considered a domestic player in the CSL, with clubs allowed a player from Hong Kong, Taiwan or Macau, he will have to register as a foreign player for any regional club competition.

China’s Dong Xuesheng (centre) runs for the ball between Hong Kong pair Leung Nok-hang (right) and Helio Goncalves during the 2019 EAFF E-1 Championship in Busan, South Korea. Photo: Reuters

“I have been told that I will be the team’s Asian foreign player in the Champions League and it is an important recognition to my work with the club,” Leung said. “It is a bigger stage and I look forward to contributing more to the team, and getting more international exposure at the highest level.”

But success has not come easy for Leung, who said he had to put in more effort than his teammates to establish himself at the club.

“While most of our training sessions finish before 1pm, I always stay in the training ground for an additional workout, either on the physical or technical side, and seldom leave the ground before 3pm,” he said. “I reckon this is the right way if I want to consolidate my position in the team as a foreign player.

“I learned this when I was a young player spending my studies and football training in Brooke House College in England. I had to compete against those English boys and this could not be done without additional effort. And this also explains why I always want to challenge my comfort zone and push myself beyond the limit.”

Leung (second from right, back row) in a team photo. Photo: Zhejiang Professional FC

As a 16-year-old, Leung was awarded a full scholarship in 2010 that sent him to England to study and train, following a path set by Tan Chun-lok, now also plying his trade in the CSL with Guangzhou City, who went a year earlier under the same “Dreams Come True” scheme.

Leung returned to Hong Kong three years later and joined his older brother, Leung Kwun-chung, at Yokohama. He gradually came through the ranks before moving to other top teams such as South China, Pegasus and R&F, which set up a development team in the city to support their first team in the CSL.

A first international call-up came against Indonesia in a friendly in 2018, and he played in two World Cup qualifiers the following year and two more matches in the EAFF Championships in Busan, South Korea.

Leung (second from left) during a national team training session in Happy Valley. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

In 2020, another chance came with Leung moving to then-Chinese League One side Meizhou in Guangdong in exchange for Tsui Wang-kit, who joined R&F.

Five months after making his debut for Meizhou where he played 16 matches, Leung moved to Zhejiang FC, who were then in League One in early 2021, for a reported fee of HK$20 million – an amount no other Hong Kong player has even come close to attracting.

“I don’t want to comment on the figure, but later I know my team had analysed many of my performance indicators when I played for Meizhou and were very impressed with them,” Leung said. “And that is why they were willing to spend the huge amount of money on securing my service.

“But I also wanted to meet the new challenges as Zhejiang is a well-established club with a long-term vision for the betterment of Chinese football.”

Leung Nok-hang (left) and his elder brother, Kwun-chung. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

In his first season with Zhejiang, the 1.87 metres-tall centre-half immediately proved his worth, playing 31 matches as the team finally returned to the CSL after four unsuccessful attempts.

Leung, who has three years left on his contract, said he thought Zhejiang had taken the league by surprise.

“We were a newly promoted side without any big names from overseas but thanks to the teamwork from all the players, especially in defence when we battled hard to cover each other, we brought them a big surprise,” he said.

“We hope to continue with our effort in the new season and with the opportunity of playing in the Champions League, we want to lift the club to a higher level.”

Leung and Alex Akande during a training session for the Hong Kong team at Tseung Kwan O Football Training Centre. Photo: HKFA

With his club career on the rise, Leung is now turning his attention to getting back into the Hong Kong set-up.

The side are playing in the Asian Cup finals for the first time in 54 years, and Leung has set his sights on being involved in Qatar and in the warm-up matches beforehand.

With strict quarantine measures during the Covid-19 pandemic over the last three years in both Hong Kong and China, Leung’s international career was severely affected because he was plying his trade across the border.

“With no more quarantine measures required, it will be easier for me to travel out of Hong Kong and China for playing international matches,” he said.

“I haven’t played under the new manager [Jorn Andersen] yet but I spoke to him a number of times when I travelled back to Hong Kong and know clearly what he wants. Hopefully it will not take too long before I can play under him.”

Leung is back in Hong Kong during the CSL off-season. He will soon return to China to join Zhejiang for preseason. Photo: Jonathan Wong

With more Hong Kong players in the Chinese leagues, Leung wants to become an ambassador for the city’s footballers, showing clubs on the mainland that there is plenty of talent yet to be unearthed.

“I am not only playing for myself in the CSL but also the name of Hong Kong football,” he said.

“Before, many Chinese clubs may not bother to watch Hong Kong players, but that may change now with other players such as Tan, Vas Nunez and Li Ngai-hoi in the CSL and some others in the League One.

“We hope our performances on the mainland can open up more opportunities for Hong Kong players.”

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