MACAU
- WORLDSHIRTS
- 12. Aug.
- 2 Min. Lesezeit
Aktualisiert: 6. Sept.
Away 2016/18
Matchworn Dion Carlos Choi (various games)
Manufacturer: Nike
Source: Player
THE COUNTRY
Visiting Macau this year, I learned that the small country / special administrative region of China is much more than luxurious casinos, Portuguese egg tarts and flocks of Chinese tourists taking selfies in front of the Ruins of Saint Paul's.
It offers a unique blend of Portuguese heritage and Chinese traditions, with beautiful European old towns, small Chinese shops, fusion cuisine, a casino strip that generates seven times the revenue of Las Vegas and, above all, great people.
Macau's football history began back in 1948 - when it was still a Portuguese colony - with a 4-2 victory over arch-rival and neighbor Hong Kong. Macau has participated in the qualifying rounds for the World Cup since 1980 but has never made it to the second qualifying round. The team, which is made up exclusively of amateurs, all of whom play in the Macau or Hong Kong leagues, had its biggest success finishing second at the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, when Macau beat Mongolia, Laos and Brunei, before losing 0-1 to Nepal in the final.
THE SHIRT
Getting any Macau shirt is not an easy feat. While there is a sports shop inside Macau that has a couple of shirts for sale, the shirts can’t be purchased online and rarely turn up on eBay either.
So, you can imagine how happy I was when I came into contact with a player who wanted to help me with my search.
Not only did Dion Carlos Choi agree to give me one of his player jerseys, he even drove to the very tip of the peninsula to visit my girlfriend and me and give me the jersey in person! Afterwards, he even drove us in his nice car (from a German sports car manufacturer) to his favorite café, where he invited us for iced cappuccino and talked with us for an hour and a half about life in Macau, football and travel, before even chauffeuring us to our hotel!
Dear Dion: thank you very much for the wonderful experience, your hospitality and the nice conversation. If you ever come to Germany, we are looking forward to showing you around Cologne and inviting you to a large number of beers ;-).
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