Hong Kong wonder-boy tag ‘blessing and curse’ for Eastern’s teen football star Ng Yu-hei
Forward spent one year in England, where games against Premier League academy teams showed he has ‘work to do to catch up’
Ng Yu-hei said his tag of Hong Kong football’s new wonder boy was “both a blessing and a curse”, as the 18-year-old eyed a competitive international debut in this month’s East Asian Football Federation Championship qualifiers.
The forward bypassed every Hong Kong underage side to win his first senior cap in September, only 11 months after a debut for club team Eastern.
After Ng scored a fabulous AFC Champions League Two goal against Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Eastern’s 4-1 loss on Thursday, head coach Roberto Losada reiterated his claim that the player needed to quickly move overseas to maintain his development.
Ng, however, said he had to be “more consistent and in better physical condition” to thrive outside his home city.
“[My profile] is a blessing and a curse, I have to keep working hard and focus on my targets, and not get carried away,” Ng said. “I want to try to play in [mainland] China, or in leagues that are stronger than Hong Kong, but if I went to the mainland now, I wouldn’t be able to play 90 minutes.
“I have to play as much as possible and improve [my stamina].”