Luís Figo led the Portugal Icons, a team of former Portuguese national team players, in a friendly five-a-side football match against the Flying Dragons from the Greater Bay Area (GBA), with Figo’s team defeating the GBA team 11:4 at the Macau East Asian Games Dome yesterday afternoon.
Hosted by SJM Resorts, the match, entitled “SJM Five-a-side Football Friendly: Portugal Icons vs. GBA Flying Dragon”, was held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland .
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng shook hands with the players of the two teams and had a group photo taken with them before the start of the match, after which Ho and Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U watched the match from the VIP seats.
During yesterday’s game, the Portuguese side included other Portugal national team ex-players such as Pauleta, Nuno Gomes, and Dimas. The GBA Flying Dragons was led by Hong Kong TV host Natalis Chan Pak-cheung and included retired professionals Hu Zhijun, Chan Chi-hong, and Macau-born Domingos Chan (陳達燊). The match consisted of two halves of 20 minutes each.
Figo last came to Macau in December last year, when he attended the inaugural Asia Sports Collectors Convention at the Venetian. The 51-year-old has had a remarkable career, winning the Ballon d’Or in 2000 and the Golden Foot award in 2011, before retiring from professional football in 2009.
Luís Figo (third from right) and his fellow Portugal Icons team players pose in front of Lisboa Hotel yesterday. – Photo: SJM
