疫情嚴峻香港足球不停步 傑志泰國集訓備戰亞冠力爭佳績

傑志宣佈將於3月10日啓程前往泰國集訓，備戰4月中舉行的2022亞冠盃分組賽。球隊將會進駐曼谷週邊一所足球訓練中心，該中心配備完善訓練及酒店住宿設施，並隨即進入為期約五週封閉式集訓，及進行4至5場友誼賽，待亞洲足協確定亞冠盃分組賽比賽地點及日期後，再轉往賽事城市應戰。

縱然第五波疫情嚴峻，前路亦充滿未知數，惟傑志會長伍健堅信香港足球並不會停下腳步：「傑志相信積極應變才是新常態下穩步前行的最佳方法，貫徹球會『For the Good of Hong Kong』格言。」

香港足球總會上週在八間參賽球會取得共識下，宣佈取消今屆各項港超聯賽事，外界憂慮香港足球會面臨「停擺」。以主教練身份領軍出戰2022亞冠盃的朱志光表明，希望球員盡快上力：「香港足球面對前所未有挑戰，傑志作為香港代表更加會迎難而上。我們去季創下了香港球會歷來最佳亞冠盃成績，我們將視此集訓為另一次季前訓練，以重拾狀態為首要目標。」

傑志隊長黃洋認為，要用五星期時間備戰亞洲頂級球會賽事，無疑是一項挑戰：「我們不能只望天打卦。球隊要好好把握這次集訓，球員亦會盡力在出發前自覺保持住體能狀態，為進入備戰模式打好基礎。」

傑志後衛艾里奧則認為友誼賽對備戰工作至關重要：「去年亞冠盃傑志只因一球得失球差，未能在分組賽出線。我們要盡快找回比賽節奏，並以晉級十六強為今屆目標。」

為增強兵力應付亞冠盃，傑志已簽入現年30歲的土庫曼國腳明加索夫(Ruslan Mingazov)。能擔任左右中場的他16歲便展開職業生涯，兩年後首度入選土庫曼國家隊，憑出色表現吸引歐洲球會垂青，先在拉脫維亞頂級聯賽效力6季，再於2014年加盟捷克甲級聯賽球隊積布尼克，2年後轉會著名球會布拉格斯拉維亞。2019年至2021年，明加索夫轉戰哈薩克超級聯賽，前後效力3間不同球會，到今年他轉會傑志，通過體測後將會穿上7號球衣出戰亞冠盃。

另外，傑志亦會召回季初外借至冠忠南區的鄭展龍，他將跟隨大軍前往泰國征戰，增強球隊陣容深度。

而中場蘇沙亦已走出傷患，逐步重拾狀態，將會以本地球員身份在亞冠盃復出候命。

2022年的亞冠盃分組賽，​​​​傑志被編入J組作賽，賽事將於4月中展開。同組對手包括泰超球會清萊聯、中超球會上海海港以及另一支附加賽出線球隊（日職神戶勝利船與澳職墨爾本勝利的勝方）。

Kitchee to Travel to Thailand for Training Camp before ACL Group Stage

Kitchee has announced that the First Team will travel to Thailand on 10th March to prepare for the AFC Champions League Group Stage starting in mid-April. The team will reside in a football training centre near Bangkok for 5 weeks, where the team will train and play 4-5 friendly matches behind closed doors. The team will then travel for the Group Stage matches once the details of the hosting location are announced by the AFC.

The 5th Covid-19 wave of infection hits Hong Kong hard and leaves a lot of uncertainty, but Mr. Ken Ng, President of Kitchee Sports Club, firmly believed that Hong Kong football will continue to press forward. “In Kitchee, we believe in being proactive to adapt to the new normal. The team will lift up to the motto of For the Good of Hong Kong.”

With the consensus of the eight participating clubs, the Hong Kong Football Association announced the cancellation of the 2021-22 Premier League, raising concerns for a “total suspension” of Hong Kong football. Alex Chu, director of football and the head coach for the 2022 ACL campaign, urged the players to find their form again quickly. “With the daunting challenges mounting in front of us, Kitchee will press forward and meet these challenges as representatives of Hong Kong. While we gained record points for a participating team from Hong Kong in the ACL, this training camp will be like a pre-season training where regaining match form is our top priority.”

Captain Huang Yang was aware of the challenges of getting ready for top-flight continental football in merely 5 weeks. “We need to capitalise on this training camp, first by staying fit and getting ready for match preparation.”

Hélio agreed that the friendly matches would be essential in the team’s preparation. “We were so close to the next round last year by losing one goal difference, we need to find our match form as soon as possible and hopefully we can get into the Last 16 in this coming ACL.”

To further strengthen the squad for ACL, Kitchee has successfully signed the 30-year-old Turkmenistan international Ruslan Mingazov. Being accomplished as left and right midfielder, Mingazov started his professional career at the age of 16 before winning his first senior cap 2 years later. His excellent performance opened the door to European clubs, where he played in the Latvian Higher League for 6 seasons before joining the Czech First League club Jablonec in 2014. He later joined Slavia Prague in 2016, before seeking new challenges in the Kazakh Premier League from 2019 to 2021, playing for 3 different clubs during that period. Mingazov has already passed the medical examination and will wear the no. 7 kit and played for the Club in the ACL matches.

Kitchee has also recalled Cheng Chin Lung from Southern to reinforce the team for the ACL campaign.

After recovering from his injury, Souza will also be expected to feature in the ACL as a domestic player.

Kitchee will compete in Group J in the 2022 ACL Group Stage which starts in mid-April. Other teams in the same group include the Thai League 1 club Chiangrai United, the Chinese Super League side Shanghai Port, and the winner of Play-off East 2 (between the J1 team Vissel Kobe and A-league Melbourne Victory).