WHO ARE YA?! WHO ARE YA?! Friendly versus Macau - Saturday 12th August - 4pm

Kitchee's preparations for the new season continue with a friendly against the Macau National Football Team.  So, who are they?!

Who are Ya?

Hardly a footballing super power, Macau is traditionally one of the most lowly ranked international teams in the FIFA rankings - and was ranked at 204th (out of 206) in the world as recently as  July 2014.  However, the Greens have experienced a bit of a revival and now find themselves up to the lofty heights of 182nd in the World - surrounded by other world famous football nations such as Barbados, The Cook Islands and Guam. This upturn in fortunes comes after good results against Malaysia (0-0 away),  Mongolia (2-1 win at home and 2-2 away) and Laos (4-1 away win).

One to Watch

The team is made up pre-dominantly of players from the local Macau Liga De Elite, with the notable exception being, current HK Pegasus Centre Forward, Leong Ka Hang.  The 24 year old, who has being playing for the national tea m since 2010, has made 24 international appearances with an impressive return of 10 goals including strikes in good results versus Singapore, Guam and Laos.   He has also previously scored against Hong Kong during the 2011 Long Teng Cup. Definitely one to watch on the day. 

Where are Ya?

Usually the National team plays its home matches at 16,000 capacity Estadio Campo Desportivo, homed in the Macau Olympic Complex. Opened in 1995, the complex comprises a stadium, an 8-lane athletic track and a long jump area as well as a 900-seated indoor stadium, a hockey centre, and several tennis courts. Wowser! 

However, sadly, the Friendly with Kitchee will be played at the Lin Fong Stadium.  Significantly smaller than the Estadio Campo Desportivo, the Lin Fong stadium (which is also known as the Canidrome - as it is used as a greyhound track 6 days a week), has a capacity of only 2,200 seats. Open on 2 sides, the stadium does have some quite impressive grand stands and seating areas for spectators (usually used by Greyhound Punters).  

Surrounded by a running track AND a greyhound track, fans can expect to be quite a way away from the action. 

How to get there?

The best way for Kitchee fans to get to the match, unless you fancy swimming, is by taking the TurboJet Ferry from Sheung Wan Kai Tak Ferry Centre to Macau Outer Ferry Terminal.  From there, it is a roughly a 10 minute cab ride or a half an hour walk.  Cabs are available easily from outside of the Ferry terminal and accept HKD as well as the Macanese Pataca.

Ferries are regular on Saturday, departing at least 4 times an hour. However, due to the school holidays, they do get busy. So, we would recommend that you book in advance using the TurboJet online ticket booking page here if you are making the trip.

Hopefully, we will see lots of you there! 

What do we predict?

Even though this is only a friendly, Kitchee will want to turn in a good performance in front of their fans - for most of whom this will be their first pre-season friendly. There is also the matter of local pride at stake for both teams.  Ultimately, the quality of Kitchee players such as Vadocz, Fernando, Sandro should be enough to see this through as a comfortable 4-0 victory.  Ideally, we'd like to see Lucas get on the score sheet.