Louis Saha – MU’s legendary player with a “craziness in his way”

27/03/2019

• 
  Saha took group photo together with STCPS teachers and students.

In order to stand out in the competitive world of football, top players often have a secret knack. Louis Saha, the legendary player who twice helped Manchester United win the English Football League Trophy, revealed his recipe – craziness! “You have to have that craziness in your way because that is the little thing that differentiates you from others.” It is this “uniqueness” that has taken him all the way to the glamourous England Premier League and World Cup stages.

Of course, what Saha means is to be a little wild, but not completely crazy. He thinks it is absolutely important for young players to preserve their character and style: “It is not easy, but nowadays it is really important that you have to be yourself.” This legendary player came to Hong Kong in March and visited Sham Tseng Catholic Primary School (STCPS) where he played some games with Primary 3 students.

Meeting Saha again  Lee: too good to be true

A partner school of the JC School Football Development Scheme, STCPS has the full support of its principal, teachers and football coaches. Principal Wai-keung Chow said it was a rare occasion for a world-class football star to visit the school. He hoped students would cherish this special moment. Wai-man Lee is one of the school’s football team coaches and a former Hong Kong Football Team player who once played in a match against Manchester United when they visited Hong Kong in 2005. By coincidence, Saha was in that same match! “This feels too good to be true,” Lee said. “I could not imagine meeting Saha again here at school. This has brought back all the fond memories of that match.”

Saha: I think of myself when I see these kids

Saha praised the talents of the children after the activities. He was also delighted to see the principal, teachers and coaches support the efforts of The Hong Kong Jockey Club in organising such a great event that brought the children such joy: “It’s all about the same desire that I have in life, and it starts when they are young so that they can be dedicated and motivated in training when they grow up because every effort needs to be repeated every time, and this needs dedication.” He thinks kids in Hong Kong are just like him: “Every time I see a ball rolling, I want to catch it; I want to play; I want to compete. You have to enjoy yourself and this is a very important part of development.”

Kin-fung Ho (Max), a teacher and football coach, was utterly thrilled by Saha’s visit: “When I signed up for the Scheme, I did not expect that a world-class football player like Saha would have face-to-face interaction with us.” Saha felt content seeing the big smiles he put on the faces of the teachers and students, adding that the HKJC School Football Development Scheme not only improves the standard of teachers and coaches in Hong Kong, but also stimulates children’s all-round development: “I did enjoy every bit – every minute – because I see the smiles of the children and I just enjoy sharing the moment with them. This is like a real pleasure because there is a lot of dedication, you can see the coaches are doing a great job, because you see skill and you see passion.”