Eastern boss hopes to coach Hong Kong – after stint in mainland China, Japan or Korea
The reigning two-time Hong Kong coach of the year, Roberto Losada, has revealed he is keen for a fresh opportunity abroad.
The Eastern boss, whose team beat Lee Man in Thursday’s Senior Shield final for his second trophy in four years at the helm, also underlined his ambition to coach Hong Kong. The Spaniard opted against applying for the post when it became vacant last year because he was “not ready and needed to learn more about international football”.
Eastern have lost three players to the mainland this winter, while a money-spinning offer lured defender Tamirlan Kozubaev back to Persita Tangerang in Indonesia.
Losada conceded he could not stand in 30-year-old Kozubaev’s way, because “[Persita] offered him three or four times more money and football is a short career”.
In the cases of Ng Yu-hei, Jesse Yu Joy-yin and Anson Wong Ho-chun, Losada, who would advocate Eastern joining China League One (CL1), encouraged the star young trio to make the mainland leap to advance their careers, despite his team sitting second in the local Premier League.
“I throw rocks on my own head, I know it,” Losada said. “It’s very hard for me and the club [to lose players] … but how can I tell a young player they can’t take the chance to make money and play in front of 30,000 people?”
Losada, who has also sent Yue Tze-nam and Sun Ming-him to the Chinese Super League (CSL), said he craved his own chance to test himself outside Hong Kong.
“I would like an opportunity in [mainland] China, Japan or Korea, but I haven’t had any offers – I wish I had,” Losada said. “The club knows my ambition and they support me.
“Some clubs in China don’t have so much money, they have to work with young players – I am good at that. I hope somebody can see what we’re doing.
“We’re sending players to China for good contracts, a good life and a competitive league. That is my job.”
The 22-year-old midfielder Wong said he did not hesitate to join CSL club Qingdao Hainiu. In contrast, Ng, 18, and 23-year-old Yu, who both signed for CL1 teams, had expressed doubts over whether they were ready to cross the border.
“They are afraid [but] it is a fear they have to overcome, or they will never play abroad,” Losada said. “I told Yu-hei, ‘Go where you have to work like a beast and become a man. If you don’t make it, you can come home.’
“People say he’s not ready, but at 18 I was playing with top stars, and in training they killed me.”
Losada had one game as Hong Kong assistant boss after Jorn Andersen quit the head coach role last year. The 48-year-old said the experience “was fantastic and helped me feel how it works”, but he resisted the temptation to put his hand up to succeed Andersen.
“If, one day, they give me the chance, I want to be ready and know what I’m doing,” Losada said “When I became a club coach, I had worked through the age groups. I have to learn more about how international football works, then be ready to apply.”
The shrewdly operated Eastern are establishing a sister team, Shunde Eastern, on the mainland. Current rules prevent the Hong Kong club’s first team competing in the Chinese leagues, but Losada would like the “politics” to be overcome.
“I believe Hong Kong has to mix with China to be more competitive,” he said.
“Having two or three teams in CL1 would be a way of playing at a higher level and bringing more money. People would come from [mainland] China and we might get 15,000 paying to get into the stadiums.”
https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3297073/eastern-boss-hopes-coach-hong-kong-after-stint-mainland-china-japan-or-korea