Lee Wai Man

Lee Wai Man
Personal information
Full name Lee Wai Man
Date of birth (1973-08-18) 18 August 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth British Hong Kong
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1994 Eastern
1994–1996 Rangers
1996–1997 Sing Tao
1997–2007 Happy Valley
2007–2010 Shatin 10 (0)
2010–2011 Pontic 15 (0)
International career
1991 Hong Kong U-23 1 (0)
1993–2006 Hong Kong 68 (2)
Managerial career
2007–2009 Shatin
2010–2011 Pontic
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2006

Lee Wai Man (Chinese: 李偉文; Jyutping: lei5 wai5 man4; born 18 August 1973) is a former Hong Kong professional footballer who played as a defender.

Club career

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Lee mainly played as a defender. He has also played in other positions on the field, including goalkeeper when he moved on to this position urgently after his teammate Leung Cheuk Cheung was dismissed in a match. He announced his retirement from professional football at the end of the 2006–07 season.

International career

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Lee achieved the Coca-Cola Outstanding Youth Athlete Award when he was 18, the same year as the Hong Kong cyclist Wong Kam Po. After an impressive performance in his club Eastern, Lee, aged 20, was selected into the final squad for Hong Kong to play in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers. He made his international debut on 23 April 1994 versus Kuwait in a friendly match held in Singapore. Later that year, Lee played all the World Cup qualifier matches (a total of 10 matches) for Hong Kong as a left back.

Although Lee was dropped out from Hong Kong between 1998 and 2000, he returned to play in the first East Asian Football Championship preliminary round for the team as a sweeper. He became the captain of Hong Kong from late 2003 to 2006.

Having 68 international caps in total, Lee is one of the most capped players in the Hong Kong national football team.

Current status

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After retirement, Lee became a part-time commentator for TVB. He usually participated in commenting on local football matches and foreign football tournaments, like the highlights of Euro 2008, Olympic Game Men's Football in 2008 as well as the East Asian Games Men's Football Final in 2009. He was also the head coach of Pontic in the 2010–11 season. Many youth players appreciated his coaching, as he is patient and friendly due to the smaller age gap between him and the youth players.

[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by Hong Kong national football team captain
2004–2007
Succeeded by