隊長盧均宜 傑志十年 共同成長

Approaching his tenth year with Kitchee and soon to be playing his 250th official game for the Blues, Kitchee’s influential captain Lo Kwan-yee has certainly enjoyed a distinguished club career that is filled with glory, trophies and satisfaction. From yesterday’s “Wonder Kid” to Kitchee’s current Captain Marvel, Lo Kwan-yee opens his heart and candidly looks back on his career with the Blues ahead of the milestone occasion. Joining the club back in 2007-2008, Lo started out as a young squad member but through some eye-catching performances on the pitch, slowly gained the trust of the Kitchee coaches and became a mainstay in the side. “Our (referring to the Club and himself) growing paths have been quite similar, isn’t it?” Lo smiled and wondered. “When I first joined Kitchee, the Club really did not have much. Then we worked hard as a team and continued to grow together, picking up a few trophies along the way. Nowadays, we are a regular in the AFC Cup circuit and might even have the chance to compete in the AFC Champions League.” Having picked up a cupboard full of winner’s medals over his near-ten years with Kitchee, Lo confesses that his career with the Blues has far-exceeded his wildest imagination. “When I first started out as a player, all I wanted to do was to win trophies but yet, it seemed so out of reach with Rangers, my first ever professional club,” Lo reflected. “After I signed on with Kitchee, I felt like my dream would become possible. In addition, spending all these years with Kitchee has taught me how to be a model professional. We have a lot of young players in the squad and even more in the various youth sides within the Club. A lot of these young kids do look up to me as a role model and I take that responsibility very seriously.” Playing for arguably one of the most successful sides in Hong Kong football over the past decade, the Kitchee captain also sheds light on what really makes Kitchee ticks. “This is a very forward-thinking club and is always looking for ways to improve,” Lo explained. “Over the years, the Club has brought in head coaches such as the likes of Chilean Julio Moreno, Spaniard Josep Gombau to now, local-born Alex Chu. They all have outstanding backgrounds and experiences and as a player, I can see the club is doing its outmost to improve and is not resting on its laurels. Some clubs might just casually throw a couple millions of dollars out for a season, then do the same for the next one but they never seem to have an actual plan. That is never the case with Kitchee and that really impresses me.” Besides playing for a forward-thinking club, Kitchee’s professional culture throughout the Club has also struck a cord with the always diligent full-back. “Playing for Kitchee, I truly feel like a professional footballer. The Club has worked very hard on securing a training base for the players and now, you can see the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre standing proudly in Shek Mun. Unlike other clubs in Hong Kong, we do not just come here, practice and go home. There is a gym, a treatment room and even a laundry facility. These things enable players to stay focused on football and that is not often the case in Hong Kong football.” With nearly ten years spent in Kitchee colours, Lo has almost achieved everything possible in domestic football, including being named as the Footballer of the Year in 2012. Yet when asked to nominate one of his more lasting memory during his Kitchee career, the captain put away his famous smile and opened up his heart in a refreshingly honest manner. “I think getting stripped off the captaincy during the 2012 season when I was caught playing small-side football outside the Club was very hard to forget,” Lo dialled back. “It was certainly a low point in my career and that was definitely a mistake on my part. I used to do the same thing when I was playing for my former club and I did not think much about it when the same invitation presented itself after I joined Kitchee. After the incident happened, I reflected on my own and realized I was no longer playing for just any other club side in Hong Kong. I am now a Kitchee player and there is a certain level of expectation, both on and off the pitch, that comes along with it.” At thirty-two years-old, the Kitchee icon still has a lot of mileage left in his tank and insists his mind is squarely set on his playing career. “Eventually, what Cris (Cordiero) and Roberto (Losada) are doing will likely be my future goal. I certainly would like to follow their footsteps and try my hand in coaching. Having said that though, I want to just keep pushing ahead in terms of my own playing career and see how far I can push myself.”