Gary White: ‘Everybody thought I was crazy when I said Hong Kong could qualify’
- Englishman continues to weave his magic as he masterminds Hong Kong’s place in the EAFF Championship finals after just two months in charge
Two months ago he had his serious distractors but nobody is ever going to doubt Gary White again after he continued his magic to mastermind Hong Kong’s spot in next year’s EAFF Championship finals.
When White was given the task of leading the Hong Kong team in September, the 44-year-old Englishman wasn’t exactly welcomed to the city with open arms with one member of the board even objecting to his appointment, saying he wasn’t the right man for the job.
White has proved his detractors wrong after Hong Kong beat out tournament favourites North Korea for the sole spot in next year’s finals, where they will rub shoulders with East Asia’s best – Japan, South Korea and China.
Hong Kong pipped North Korea in the final standings by scoring one more goal after teams were level on points and finished on the same goal difference. North Korea needed to beat Taiwan by three clear goals after Hong Kong had smashed Mongolia 5-1 but the 2010 World Cup finalists fell short in a 2-0 win.
