港隊與球會之間的平衡論The Perennial Club V Country debate

港隊與球會之間的平衡論

當我踏足香港，不少媒體爭相報道有關香港代表隊與球會之間的言論。對於個人而言，我絕不感覺驚訝，畢竟這是一個涉及全球性的議題，在每一個球季中，每一個國家同樣發生和面對。

從客觀的角度而言，兩者之間的問題是顯而易見的。誠然，各大球會都會為旗下球員回國效力而感到憂慮，尤其在一些友誼賽或國際級別大賽進行時，球員或因需要參加額外操練或頻密比賽而出現疲憊，甚至受傷，這是人之常情，皆因球會需要為所屬球員履行合約精神時，他們同樣希望球員在本土聯賽或各項盃賽中，以最佳狀態為球會披掛上陣，爭取佳績！同樣地，香港代表隊亦盼望透過高水準的比賽中，將球員的精湛球技、球隊戰術以至團隊默契發揮得淋漓盡致，務求在國際賽事中寫下輝煌，提升香港代表隊的國際排名，從而建立領隊及教練團隊間的個人聲望，這是毋庸置疑的事！因此，球會與代表隊之間看似各走極端，勢不兩立，然而兩者其實可以共存，當兩者之間互有默契，他們所得的甚或比預期的更多。

基於上述情況，「鳳凰計劃」由此衍生而來，在不斷提升港隊表現時，亦直接增強了甲組聯賽的競爭及可觀性；因此，在避免不影響及導致球員受傷的情況下，足總正嘗試讓金判坤教練及其團隊走入球隊為旗下球員加操，當然如何在不影響球隊的正常運作下取得平衡，這不是一件容易的事。猶幸獲得球隊的諒解及配合，這種模式正朝著理想方向前進，金教練十分感謝球隊的支持。當然，在溝通過程中亦難免出現一些意見分歧，例如備戰國際賽作客賽事時，適逢與本地聯賽及盃賽撞期，這便意味著我們不能生存於完美國度中。

在其他國家中，他們可能會將本土賽事延期或重新安排比賽於稍後日程上，但唯獨香港不能東施效顰，由於球會本身沒有自己的主場，而球場本身亦時常出現「額滿」情況，加上很少球場具備完善的泛光燈設施，因此安排賽事在周中進行是不切實際的。雖然足總旗下的競賽部已十分專業，並嘗試鋪天蓋地去迎合市民需要，但有時於所有人眼中亦不能做到盡善盡美。

在各項因素的衝擊下，這個持久的難題將與香港足球業界人士不可分割，包括球員、教練、球會、球迷、傳媒等等，因此大家必須通力合作，共同尋求出路；縱使在困難重重的環境下，大家必須放下成見，做到互讓互諒，同心協力為香港足球的未來而 努力。

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The Perennial Club V Country debate

There has been quite a lot of press coverage since I came to Hong Kong about the Club V Country issue. This doesn’t surprise me because I am sure it is a universal issue, occurring in virtually every country during every football season.

From an objective perspective it is easy to see and understand the two sides of the story. Of course Clubs are worried about releasing players for extra training or for additional matches whether they be friendlies or competitive. This is only natural; at the end of the day it is the Club that pays the wages and the Club that wants to have all of its players fit and available for its own training and for important league and cup competitions. We can all understand that. Equally those involved in the National Teams want maximum access to players to hone their skills, work on team tactics, establish a rapport and prepare them for important and high profile matches. After all, National Team Managers and Coaches are judged on their results to the extent that their jobs and reputations are on the line. And so the two positions can be polarized and seemingly mutually exclusive. But like any partnership or marriage there is a symbiotic relationship. When the two parties are getting on well, both can achieve more than they could on their own.

Project Phoenix is attempting to do just that; improving the performance of the representative teams whilst simultaneously strengthening the 1^st Division. So we are trying to give Coach KIM and his team additional access to Club players for training whilst also making sure that players do not get fatigued and run the risk of injury. It is a difficult balance to achieve. In actual fact and contrary to recent media reports, this is working quite well and the Clubs are doing what they can to be understanding, and to make players available and KIM and his team appreciate the needs of the Clubs. Of course there are occasions when it is less easy to reconcile the differences, like for example when preparation for an away international match clashes with a Club fixture list involving both league and cup competitions. We don’t live in a perfect world.

In other countries it is often possible to postpone Club matches and rearrange them for a later date but in Hong Kong this is very difficult. Clubs don’t own their own grounds and pitches are always heavily booked by other people. Furthermore many grounds are not equipped with floodlights and so midweek games are out of the question. We have a fantastic and totally professional Competitions Department at the HKFA. They move heaven and earth to accommodate people’s needs but sometimes it is literally impossible to keep all of the people happy all of the time. 

And so these factors exacerbate what is a perennial problem which is why all people involved in football in Hong Kong; players, coaches, owners, fans, media etc must be mutually understanding and continue to look for ways to work together. It seems to me that in Hong Kong we have a tendency to beat each other up about an issue (I mean metaphorically rather than literally) when actually we should be congratulating ourselves that things work as well as they do, often in difficult circumstances.