Fifa World Cup: defender Gerbig eager to seize chance after leaving US for Hong Kong dream
- Oliver Gerbig is the new face in Hong Kong’s squad for play-off games against Bhutan, and he plans on sticking around
- The Kitchee player is targeting AFC Asian Cup selection and a move abroad, ‘If I want to take the next step it has to be soon’
Oliver Gerbig has his eyes on next year’s AFC Asian Cup finals after earning a spot in Hong Kong’s squad for the start of the city’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
The Kitchee defender has been named in Jorn Andersen’s group for games against Bhutan, at Hong Kong Stadium on Thursday and in the away leg next Tuesday.
Unable to break into the side last season, something Gerbig said left him “pretty disappointed”, the absence of Leung Nok-hang and Huang Yang has opened the door for the 24-year-old.
“I spoke to the coach this summer, and he told me to keep going and keep improving, to be patient, and when the time came he would call me – and I guess the time is now,” Gerbig said.
An ever present with his college teams in the United States, Coastal Carolina University and the University of Virginia, Gerbig returned last year to the city of his birth to chase his dream of playing international football.
“It was pretty disappointing last season, making preliminary squads, but never the final cut,” he said. “I thought I was playing well … but it is up to the coach. I kept working and used it as motivation.