We Are the Champions

We Are the Champions!

“We are the champions, my friends!

And we’ll keep on fighting till the end.

We are the champions.

We are the champions!”

These lines are part of the chorus of one of the most recognizable songs of victory and celebration by Freddie Mercury and Queen. The Haikou Yingya St Peter International United Team deserved to sing those words after being crowned the winner of the Men’s Group B Championship at the Chinese National Football (South) Training Base in Mission Hills during the 2nd Invitational Cross-Straits Football Friendship League, which ended on Sep 6th. Our team first beat the Macau team 4:1 in the morning of Sep 5th. It was followed by an even more dominant 6:1 victory over Hong Kong Team A that afternoon. The next morning, our team drew 3:3 with Hong Kong Team B after a hard-fought match. The winner was then decided by taking penalty kicks, and our team prevailed 9:8 in the final, nail-biting, cliff-hanger episode!

However, it took a full year in the making of the champion!

Exactly a year ago, in September 2025, Haikou International Talent Home hastily submitted a football team, comprising international students and professionals studying or working in Haikou, for the 1st Invitational Cross-Straits Football Friendship League. Taiwan did not take part in the tournament. The teams were from Haikou, Hong Kong, and Macau. We did win one match during that weekend tournament, but, generally, our team did not perform to par!

Our players had met a few months earlier for a few games before the tournament. Many of the players did not know each other on and off the pitch. Mr Pi, the Head of Haikou International Talent Home, did appoint a coach and a captain for the team. However, players did not know the coach and the captain well. Communication among the players, captain, and coach broke down badly during the tournament. Because many players had signed up to join the team, the coach and captain, wanting to treat all players fairly, made unwarranted substitutions during the game. The coach did not know the players well, and he even switched players to different positions during the game. After a while, some of our players with better stamina and skills started to play their own game. Teamwork unravelled, and our team struggled throughout the tournament!

I watched two of the games. The linesmen appointed for these two games were also not up to the mark! The ball flew from one end of the field to the other, and the linesmen were left stranded on the wrong end! The opposing team scored a couple of goals from offside positions! In friendly matches, to prevent serious injury, it was decided that sliding tackles are not allowed. As we were using zonal defence, some of our players instinctively resorted to sliding tackles. They were given yellow cards. Our defenders became cautious and hesitant. When coupled with our defenders not knowing their fellow defenders well enough, hesitation in zonal defence is fatal.

I felt then that we had better individual players than the two opposing teams. The crucial difference was that both the opposing teams played as one unit. The opposing team player with the ball knew where their teammates were positioned on the field, and the through ball delivered was both precise and incisive! It was a tough learning experience for all our players, and the arguments off the field became quite heated. As the water boy, my job was to plead with our players to calm down.

These lines in the first verse of the song reminded the players of what they had gone through!

I’ve paid my dues

Time after time ...

And bad mistakes

I’ve made a few

The coach and the captain decided not to continue in their roles after the tournament. A new coach and a new captain were appointed soon afterwards. In subsequent matches, you see the new coach, AJ, consistently urging the players to keep it simple. He understands the players. He assures them that their superior football skills, physical strength, and stamina would allow them to prevail over opponents when they work as a team! The new captain, Lamine, judiciously exercises his powers to ensure fairness in the team. He stands ready to call out bad behaviour from the team members. The new coach and captain managed to gain the true respect of the team members!

Meanwhile, Mr Pi, despite the lack of corporate support, decided not to disband the team. He instead used his extensive guanxi to get our team invited to many subsequent friendly matches throughout the province! As a result, the team played many friendly matches against teams of varying skills. Hence, despite the lack of formal training, the players started to know their teammates well, and communication on the field improved significantly. Usually after a game, Mr. Pi would gather them for dinner together, strengthening bonds of friendship among the players off the field as well. Players with limited skills were soon not selected. After some time, they themselves decided to drop out of the team. The team size stabilised, and the remaining regular players started playing regularly in their optimal positions. The team gradually gelled and started playing as one unit!

The pre-chorus features the line: But I’ve come through (And I mean to go on and on, and on, and on). I wish the Haikou Yingya St Peter International United Team would go on, and on, and on!