ASIAN CUP
Vas Núñez from ‘retirement’ to the Asian Cup final with Hong Kong
The central defender, of Mexican descent, suffered moments of anxiety during the pandemic. This week he will be taking part in his first major tournament.
Things have not been easy for Vas Núñez. Born in Hong Kong in 1995, the son of a British father and a Mexican mother, he thought his career was about to take off just when the world was rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic. Asia was among the first to accept the quarantines, isolating and confinements. Vas lost his freedom and almost lost his career. He was seriously considering packing it all in. After five months of uncertainty, Meizhou Hakka appeared to change Vas’s decision at the last minute. Football had no longer been an option. Until then. In his first season, the team gained promotion to the Chinese Super League. Six months later, he moved to Dalian Pro, a team previously coached by Bernd Schuster and Rafa Benítez, and where both Yannick Carrasco and Seydou Keita played.
It looks like the tide has finally turned for Núñez, an international for Hong Kong who will be competing at this year’s Asian Cup. “Things are going well. We have a very professional team,” he told AS from Abu Dhabi, where the team is finalizing their preparations ahead of Sunday’s debut against the United Arab Emirates. - biggest game of his career so far.
Hong Kong will play Asia’s top national team tournament for the first time since 1968. The Dragons start out in Group C with Iran, Palestine and the United Arab Emirates. Núñez, who was handed his first call-up in 2022, is one of two soccer players with a Mexican passport who will be taking part in the tournament. The dark days of the pandemic are now in the distant past, and Núñez is glad he decided to stick with football when his life could have taken a completely different path.
Last time we spoke you were playing in the Hong Kong league for R&F (Guangzhou, China). Then the pandemic hit...
It was a very hard time, to be honest. During that year, with the pandemic, all the leagues stopped. We trained somewhere else and ultimately the club decided to withdraw from the league and dissolved. The players had some legal battles with FIFA, because they did not pay us salaries and they owed us part of the contracts. I was without a club for almost five months. During that time, no club wanted to sign any of my teammates from Hong Kong due to the pandemic. It was forbidden. I came to consider whether I decided to continue as a footballer, because it was a very crazy time.
Did you lose hope of playing again?
Yes. It was a very difficult time. I had just signed the contract for an apartment, I was living there but no clubs were interested in me. It was very difficult to find somewhere to play. I had been without football for a long time. I trained on my own. I went running out in the open air, to the mountains, to stay in shape while waiting for an opportunity, but I always had the feeling that something was going to come along. One day I called one of my best friends to ask for advice. I asked him if he thought I might have to look for a new career to support my family, because I am responsible for taking care of my mother. I have a large family and we come from very humble origins. I had to make a decision - either put food on the table for the family and quit football, or try it one last time. Fortunately, a few days later, a club called me (Meizhou Hakka) and told me they were interested in me taking part in a trial in China. After three weeks in quarantine, without sunlight, without a stationary bike in the hotel room, in bad conditions, with terrible food, I went along to try out with them. They gave me a contract for five years.
What was it like physically to be playing again after those five months of inactivity?
It was horrible, very difficult. I tried to maintain the intensity of the training every day. I would run daily. I did everything I could, but it wasn’t the same. It didn’t look like professional training. When I went for the trial, I tried to hide my face a little so that no one could see the pain I was going through. My whole body hurt, my knees, my ankles, my lungs were on fire... I tried to hide it, to pretend that everything was fine.
Beyond the adjustment you had to make with your body, how have you adapted to the post-pandemic in your daily life?
It was surreal. It felt like it had all been a dream, a bad dream. The memories pass so quickly and you forget how serious that was. For most of the pandemic we had a wall around our camp. We couldn’t leave and no one could enter. We were locked in a prison, not even food could enter at that time. It’s hard to forget those moments. Having to wear a mask 24/7 and do Covid tests three times a day. Games cancelled because someone had symptoms. Overcoming that was a relief. It was like breathing freely again.
“I had to make a decision: put food on the table for the family and quit football, or try one last time”
In the end, the wait paid off. You made your debut for Hong Kong in June 2022, in a match against Japan. What do you remember about that day?
It was one of the best games I could have been a part of. The result sometimes doesn’t matter if you are in a team like Hong Kong. We’re just trying to play better and gain more experience. We are the underdogs of Asia. We then had the opportunity to play against one of the best, which is Japan. Very tough, big name players, and top quality football. It was a great experience.
What prospects does Hong Kong have in the Asian Cup, the team’s first appearance since 1968?
We've told ourselves every day that we just need to play well. We need to do everything the way we know how and, thus, the results will come. We have been working very hard. We are preparing with several games. It has been a very good preparation. We are one of the lowest ranked teams in the entire tournament, but maybe we can get past the group stage. I think we can surprise the group. Everything is possible. Anything is possible, it's something I've learned from football.
How do you feel about playing your first major tournament? It’s a continental cup and the eyes of the world will be on you...
It's a great feeling. This opportunity does not come to all players. I won't waste it. I feel ready. I have worked for these types of challenges my entire life. This moment of great pressure and being in the spotlight is what any player dreams of. It is a great opportunity for me and the best thing that has happened in my career.
“Hong Kong is a small country. We love that and we love being Asia's underdogs. “We want to surprise everyone”
Is there any kind of pressure or nervousness? Any stage fright?
No. I think, being the Hong Kong national team, we are always the underdog. There are many other teams that have great history, that have won tournaments, that have star players in Europe or Asia. Hong Kong is a small country. We love that and we love being the underdogs. We want to surprise everyone. Our goal is to try and give our best.
It will be the first time that many will see the Hong Kong National Team. How would you describe the Hong Kong style of play for those who are not familiar?
If I could describe it in a few words it would be: aggressive, frontal. Hong Kong has a history of playing defensively, because we don't play top teams. We parked the bus and left on a counterattack, but we are now implementing a new style with the coach (Jørn Andersen), more direct, more offensive, more high blood pressure. It's exciting. We are trying an exciting style, of constant movement during the 90 minutes.
Did you ever think about playing for Mexico?
Sometimes that decision is not yours. Many players could agree that the opportunities are very few. Not everyone has the opportunity to play with Mexico, or with any national team. Being called up is a very special moment in a footballer’s career. It is not a decision that depends entirely on the player. Of course it’s a dream. Mexico is in my heart, in my blood. I had that dream, I realized, as I grew up, that reality does not always follow the dream.
There is a lot left in your career, but you never know what can happen. Would you like to play in Liga MX? Do you see yourself playing in Mexico in the future?
I’d love to. I have heard a lot of good things about the Mexican league. It would be a dream to be with a club there at some point in my career, but you have to wait for these opportunities. I think that club scouts generally stay on their continent. They don’t look too much to Asia to get players. If I receive a call... anything can happen.