Argentina in Hong Kong - A Sense of Disappointment
Christopher KL Lau
When it was announced about half a year ago that Argentina would roll into town to play the Hong Kong national team (October 14th at Hong Kong Stadium) there was a bated sense of excitement and anticipation.
The match announcement was made before the 2014 World Cup and there was hope that Argentina would arrive in Hong Kong as world cup champions and that Hong Kong Stadium would be packed to the rafters with a buzz not seen in a Hong Kong match in simply ages.
With that said, considering how things turned out, I think it is only natural for such hope to be met with apathy and discontent on what could have been a great occasion for all involved.
Fast forward a few months later and there was a palatable sense of disappointment with the game. In order to cover the financial outlay of bringing Argentina to Hong Kong (USD 3 million), the HKFA had to charge lavish and extravagant prices for tickets which many could not afford.
The tickets ranged from a staggering HKD$1,800 (USD$232) for the best seats in the main lower tier stands while the cheapest tickets were priced at HKD$490 (USD$63). Even the most hard core of fans were put off by the prices and opted to watch the game at home on television or at bars / restaurants across the city. The signs were not good as friendlies with Liverpool and Manchester United et al normally sell out immediately such is the demand.
On the first day of ticketing release, up to 10,000 were sold to the public but afterwards match tickets sold slowly. Marketing and publicity was seemingly inadequate as it seems that a majority of Hong Kongers were not aware of the game, even though it was mentioned in spurts in the Hong Kong local media in both newspapers and magazines.
With the on-going protests, the news has been dominated by the “Umbrella Revolution” and everything else is secondary. Not even Messi arriving in Hong Kong could dislodge all the political, economic and social turmoil gripping Hong Kong from the top headlines. There were also fears that the Argentina team would select a weaker starting eleven to begin the game and these fears were realized when the team line ups were announced and all the big names such as Di Maria, Messi and Aguero were not on it.
The match itself was one-sided and Hong Kong set out to defend for as long as possible and to possibly hit Argentina on the counter-attack. Come game time and fears were met with the stadium disappointingly at half capacity with the official audience total being just over 20,000.
Argentina were on top from get go and had possession deep in Hong Kong's half. A goal was inevitable and Hong Kong did all they could to stifle the Argentine attack. In the 19th minute, Banega slotted home while superstar Higuain made it 2-0 with his precise bullet header in the 42nd minute.
In the 44th minute, Gaitan smacked home and the game was effectively over. There was still a sense of discontentment in the crowd as people had spent money to see Messi and co and they were still on the bench.
Argentina did not let up and kept on attacking and this again paid off in the 54th minute when Higuain finished coolly. Suddenly there was a buzz in the stadium as Messi came off the bench and started to warm up. Finally on the 60th minute, he was subbed on and the stadium erupted. Such was his skill and class that he promptly went onto add the 5th in the 66th minute.
Nicholas Gaitan slid home in the 72nd minute after Messi penetrated through to the byline and pulled the ball back. The score was now a whopping 6-0! Di Maria soon came on and tormented the Hong Kong defenders with his quick feet and mind. Messi fittingly finished the night events by hitting home the 7th after cutting in and dribbling past several defenders.
The crowd were happy with what they witnessed but Messi in Hong Kong was a once in a lifetime opportunity and the stadium should have been packed to the rafters yet it was only half full. A seemingly grand occasion was reduced to one of palatable disappointment.
© Chris Lau & Soccerphile.com