From Hibernian cast off to facing Lionel Messi in Hong Kong, Scottish defender Calum Hall ready for game of his life
- Calum Hall joined Hong Kong Premier League side Eastern after three years with Scottish Lowland League club Gala Fairydean Rovers
- Now he will play against a galaxy of stars in front of 40,000 people at Hong Kong Stadium on Sunday
Less than a year ago Calum Hall was playing football in front of a couple of hundred people in the lower leagues in Scotland, on Sunday he will step out in front of 40,000 and take on the best player in the world.
It is a good job the 23-year-old defender has the ability to “take everything in my stride”, a quality he has shown since being released by Scottish Premiership club Hibernian as a teenager still dreaming of making it big.
He will need that skill more than ever this weekend, when months after fitting part-time football around long days working on construction sites, the Eastern defender faces off against Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates.
“I honestly cannot believe it, Lionel Messi was my idol growing up, and I never thought in my life I would get the chance to play against him,” Hall said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“I had no idea foreign players would be involved for Hong Kong. It is an honour to be picked, and beyond a dream come true.”
Part of the 25-man squad selected for a Hong Kong XI, Hall says being let go by Hibs at 16 was “hurtful, but, looking back, the best thing that could have happened to me”.
