‘Dad will kill me’ – Michael Udebuluzor says Hong Kong debut nothing to call home about as he eyes goals in World Cup tie
Michael Udebuluzor switched his telephone to silent to avoid a telling-off from his dad, despite an encouraging debut in Hong Kong’s 10-0 trouncing of Brunei on Monday.
The 19-year-old had become eligible after an eight-month naturalisation process, enabling him to follow in the footsteps of his father and fellow striker Cornelius, who played for a Hong Kong XI after moving to the city in 2000.
But while the goals flew in against the hapless visitors, Udebuluzor Jnr remained scoreless, twice striking the woodwork, having an attempt deflected wide and being denied by sharp goalkeeping.
He created two goals, but having said pre-match it was imperative to score to be considered an authentic striker, Udebuluzor was making no excuses afterwards.
“If you don’t score, you are not a striker, and that is why I am not satisfied with two assists,” he said. “I should have scored, the chances were there. I don’t think hitting the bar is unlucky. The ball has to go into the net; if it hits the bar, it is off-target.
“It is disappointing. My agent told me, ‘you should have scored four or five’. My dad will kill me – he will look at a 10-0 result and see I didn’t score. I don’t want to hear anything – I put my phone on silent, that’s the truth.”
Udebuluzor said he felt the supporters inside Hong Kong Stadium willing him to score, but denied suffering from nerves on his first professional outing in the city of his birth.
He said he would visualise his return to Hong Kong for next month’s World Cup play-off tie with Bhutan during the long flight home to Germany, where he plays for Ingolstadt II.
“I will be thinking about the atmosphere and the fans and how we played attacking football in this match, and the excitement about coming back next time and scoring,” Udebuluzor said.
“I wasn’t nervous – but I didn’t score and was very disappointed. Football is a game built on statistics. Performance-wise, it wasn’t too bad, but statistics-wise, I had five or six shots and no goals. It can’t be like that.
Footballer scores 3 but exits Hong Kong as passport wait foils international bow
Footballer scores 3 but exits Hong Kong as passport wait foils international bow
“Two assists is OK, but I would like two assists and two goals.”
Bedding in with teammates he has only just met will rectify that, he believes.
“When I grow an understanding with them, I will get my goals,” he said. “I have only been with the team since Saturday. They have welcomed me even better than I expected, and I am very happy about that.
“There is always another game and I believe I will score in the next one.”
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