17-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong defender's debut pride amid mental challenges and career uncertainty
Hong Kong's newest international footballer, Clement Benhaddouche, said his shock debut against China on Tuesday had come amid the 'most uncertain period of my career'.
Currently without a club, the defender was keeping fit by training daily with a friend in Happy Valley when he received the invite to South Korea.
The 29-year-old had been cut from an original 28-man squad, as Hong Kong opted to travel to the East Asian Championship with 24 players, rather than the permitted 26. He arrived on Saturday to cover Shinichi Chan's return to Shanghai Shenhua, then found himself 'thrown in at the deep end' 72 hours later, following a first-half injury to Yue Tze-nam in Hong Kong's 1-0 defeat.
'I wasn't expecting the call to come, so I was a little bit surprised,' Benhaddouche, who was told he would be needed in the middle of last week, said. 'I was the 25th guy, and Shinichi getting called back left a spot open for me.
'Everything was a bit last minute. I did the best I could in unusual circumstances, coming from an off-season and having not known if I was going to be in the squad, but trying to stay fit.
Clement Benhaddouche hopes his shock Hong Kong debut will help secure him a contract for the new season. Photo: HKFA
'On top of that, we faced a hungry China team … with players in the middle of their seasons. Coming up against their in-form winger [18-year-old Wang Yudong] wasn't easy, but I tried to do the best with what I had.'
