Kaka’s Hong Kong visit sees Huang Yang face Brazilian 25 years after missed opportunity
Former AC Milan and Real Madrid star in opposition as city’s ex-skipper Huang plays first game since retirement in Chinese New Year Cup
Hong Kong football stalwart Huang Yang is looking forward to the prospect of locking horns with Kaka in Saturday’s Chinese New Year Cup – 25 years after his hopes of facing the superstar Brazilian midfielder were cruelly dashed.
Huang, 41, retired last summer after earning 71 international caps and winning six league titles in 13 years with Kitchee. In 2000, he was part of a Shanghai Shenhua academy team that shared a training camp with Sao Paulo, where future Fifa World Cup and Ballon d’Or winner Kaka was beginning his career.
Kaka is in the World Legends team that will tackle a Hong Kong Legends side, featuring Huang, at Hong Kong Stadium.
“I trained with Kaka and I would have breakfast, lunch and dinner with him,” Huang said. “We talked a lot and became friends.
“When there was a tournament, though, the coach gave me no minutes, so I had to watch him from the sidelines, which was tough. After we went back to Shanghai, he made an amazing debut for Sao Paulo, then became a star.”
Huang, who was born and raised in Shanghai, captained the Chinese football team at the 2005 World University Games but never featured for Shenhua’s senior side. After a loan with Shanghai Qunying, he opted to study logistics at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
