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James Porteous

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She made history as the first woman to lead a men’s team to a top-flight championship, but Eastern head coach Chan Yuen-ting admits she almost quit football a year ago.
Chan, just 27, made worldwide headlines on Friday night after a 2-1 win over South China secured Eastern’s first Hong Kong Premier League title for 20 years.
Arriving home around 2am on Saturday morning from a celebratory banquet, Chan had a sleepless night, buzzing from the excitement. And it might never have happened had it not been for a call from the man she eventually replaced as Eastern head coach, Yeung Ching-kwong.
“I was ready to quit at least two times,” said Chan, who twice lost jobs at previous team Pegasus as sponsors pulled out.
“I was really depressed and thought ‘Should I go on in Hong Kong football because it looks like the future is not stable and there’s no long-term development?’

“I wanted to give up and at that moment I was looking at other jobs, like maybe working in government or police or becoming a PE teacher or something like that. I almost quit and then Mr Yeung called and brought me to Eastern [Yeung later moved to a Japanese club and was replaced by Chan].
“There’s a lot of ups and downs in Hong Kong football, but a lot of people working very hard. Everyone is doing their best for Hong Kong football, so I ask myself to do my best too, and I hope I can help Hong Kong football.”
Hong Kong's Chan Yuen-ting becomes first woman ever to coach a men's soccer team to top-flight title
Chan is one of the few women in the world coaching a men’s professional team, with Corinne Diacre, chasing promotion to France’s Ligue 1 with Clermont, the best-known example.
“I don’t think I’m a very good role model, but what I did is a message for [young women], if they’re really interested in football to chase their dream,” she said.
“It’s an example for them to keep fighting and chase your dream and you can get what you want.
"I lack experience and I’m not really a very good head coach, but I’m very lucky because I have very good assistant coaches and also the players gave me a lot of support.”

Chan is younger than many of her players and never played professionally. She paid glowing tribute to their support.
“Whether I’m male or female, young or old, I still have to do my job,” she said. “Once I became the head coach I just concentrated on my duties.
“There were quite a lot of difficulties that I had to overcome.
"The viewpoint or thinking between male or female is very different, so I can’t really understand what my players think, especially since I’ve not been a professional player. I needed to ask a lot and have good communication and listen to them when I had some questions or didn’t understand.
“Secondly, to manage the atmosphere in the changing room sometimes is very difficult, especially when we are down or losing. I’m still learning, but fortunately my players didn’t always challenge me or ask a lot of questions, they just trusted me and followed my plan.”

Chan was doubting herself after some recent poor results. Failure to beat South China on Friday would have set up a winner-takes-all final game of the season against second-placed Kitchee, which is now a dead rubber.
“We lost a lot of cup games and were really down in a a very bad period,” added Chan. “I was really worried and during training I didn’t say anything, I showed that I was really unhappy.
Meet Chan Yuen-ting, the first woman ever to lead a men’s team to a top-flight soccer title
“The players gave me a lot of positive energy, they just came to me and encouraged me and supported me to bring me from the down times and come back to the team; I really appreciate it and want to thank everyone.”
Peter Leung Shou-chi, Eastern’s executive director, never lost faith.
“From the first day I supported her as a coach,” he said. “I handed a one-year contract to her before the match, and showed everybody that we signed the contract. People said she was too young, but I thought in Hong Kong she’d be okay.”
Leung says he has already begun signing reinforcements for Chan’s tilt at the Asian Champions League next season.

Mark Sutcliffe, chief executive of the Hong Kong Football Association, hailed her success as “a great day for equality in sport”.
“Football is changing for the better and becoming much more inclusive,” he said. “Only a short time ago it was seriously male-dominated with women’s football not taken seriously at all.
“The success of Eastern this season under the direction of a female coach is well-deserved. They have consistently been the best team. She is not only an excellent coach but also a superb role model for all girls and women wishing to get involved in football.”
Chan – nicknamed ‘Beef Ball’ since secondary school because of its similar pronunciation in Cantonese to her name and her hard-working ‘ox-like’ attitude – will take a rare week off after the final game of the season for a holiday in Japan with family, before turning her attention to next term.
“It’s a really big challenge for me – the level between the Asian competition and Hong Kong is quite a big difference so we want to have good planning for next season, find good players, have good preparation,” she added.
“I’m planning to take the AFC Pro Licence and hope to learn new things and new experience to help bring to the team.”

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Hong Kong Premier League

'Chase your dream' says Chan Yuen-ting after becoming first woman to coach a men's pro soccer team to top-flight title

Eastern coach Chan Yuen-ting with the trophy. Photo: Xinhua

新華社照片，香港，2016年4月22日 　 （體育）（1）足球——東方隊提早獲得香港超級聯賽冠軍 　　4月22日，東方隊球員在比賽後與獎盃合影。 　　當日，在香港將軍澳運動場舉行的香港超級足球聯賽中，東方隊以2比1戰勝南華隊，提早獲得冠軍。 　　新華社記者盧炳輝攝

新华社照片，香港，2016年4月22日
  足球——东方队提早获得超级联赛冠军
  4月22日，东方队球员庆祝胜利。
  当日，在香港将军澳运动场举行的香港超级足球联赛中，东方队以2比1战胜南华队，提早获得冠军。
  新华社记者卢炳辉摄  

    

新華社照片，香港，2016年4月22日 　 （體育）（2）足球——東方隊提早獲得香港超級聯賽冠軍 　　4月22日，東方隊球員在比賽後自拍。 　　當日，在香港將軍澳運動場舉行的香港超級足球聯賽中，東方隊以2比1戰勝南華隊，提早獲得冠軍。 　　新華社記者盧炳輝攝

Eastern soccer team head coach Chan Yuen-ting, poses for a photograph at Kings Park in Jordan. 17DEC15 SCMP/Bruce Yan

Meet Chan Yuen-ting, the first woman ever to lead a men’s team to a top-flight soccer title

Eastern soccer team head coach Chan Yuen-ting poses for a photograph at Kings Park in Jordan. Photo: Bruce Yan

Lee Lai-shan (right) with Chan Yuen-ting, coach of Hong Kong football team Eastern, at the Jockey Club Football Programme on Monday, February 15 in Happy Valley. 15FEB16 SCMP/ Kevin Kung

New Eastern coach Chan Yuen-ting (L) and outgoing coach Yeung Ching-kwong. Chan becomes the first-ever female to coach a top-tier professional soccer team in Hong Kong. 13DEC15 SCMP/Chan Kin-wa

The first woman to coach in the Hong Kong Premier League takes over as coach for Eastern

Chan Yuen-ting coaching at Pegasus. Photo: Facebook

Chan Yuen-ting with Eastern's outgoing coach Yeung Ching-kwong, president Lai Tung-kwong and director Leung Shou-chi. Photo: Eastern FC

Hong Kong's Chan Yuen-ting becomes first woman ever to coach a men's soccer team to top-flight title

Chan is thrown in the air by her players. Photo: Eastern FC

Eastern celebrate after defeating South China 2-1 in the BOCG Hong Kong Premier League match on Friday at Tseun Kwan O Sports Ground. The victory sees Eastern collect their first championship title in two decades. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Eastern defeating South China 2-1 in the BOCG Hong Kong Premier League Friday at Tseugn Kwan O Sport Ground. 22APR16 SCMP Pictures (HANDOUT from Apple Daily)

Chan Yuen-ting, new coach of Eastern Football Team. SCMPOST/SCMP Pictures (Handout)

Eastern Salon's Giovane Alves Da Silva celebrates his winning goal in the last minutes of the second half of extra time to win the HKFA FA Cup Final over Kitchee. 18MAY14

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Hong Kong

Football

Eastern coach says her success in Hong Kong Premier League shows that anything is possible if you refuse to quit


She made history as the first woman to lead a men’s team to a top-flight championship, but Eastern head coach Chan Yuen-ting admits she almost quit football a year ago.


'Chase your dream' says Chan Yuen-ting after becoming first woman to coach a men's pro soccer team to top-flight title

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Eastern coach says her success in Hong Kong Premier League shows that anything is possible if you refuse to quit

Eastern coach says her success in Hong Kong Premier League shows that anything is possible if you refuse to quit