George Best, Bobby Moore and Arie Haan: when Hong Kong football attracted World Cup and Champions League winners
- Two of England’s 1966 World Cup winners turned out for Eastern in the 1980s
- Manchester United players at Kitchee, Rangers and South China
Former Liverpool, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Mohamed Sissoko can now add former Kitchee midfielder to his resume and this weekend his place in the heart of the champion’s midfield will go to the returning Kristian Vadocz.
Kitchee fans will hope the reigning Hong Kong footballer of the year can carry on where he left off last season as they look to get their title defence back on track against newly promoted Hoi King at Mong Kok Stadium on Sunday.
Sissoko’s four-game Kitchee career ended with the team having dropped more points in the league in four games than they did during the whole of last season but he is far from the first big name player to shine either briefly or not at all in Hong Kong football.
George Best
Winner of the Ballon d’Or at 22, European champion and dubbed “El Beatle”, Best was the first footballer to transcend the game and be consumed by popular culture. His struggles with fame are well documented but his time in Hong Kong, which came just a year before he finally retired from the game, is less so. Best played twice for Sea Bee and once for Hong Kong Rangers in 1982.