Having returned to Zurich after spending a fantastic week in Hong Kong, I wanted to utilise my blog to thank Rudi Lukacek for his most cordial welcome, in addition to his organisation of meetings and events.

Rudi also arranged for me to attend a training session at FC Kitchee, where I was able to meet with head coach Abraham Garcia.

Rudi lives and works in Hong Kong and is a very good friend of mine. We know each other from our childhood, playing together at my hometown club FC Glattbrugg in our early years. He was also integral in allowing me to visit Dinamo Zagreb’s Academy in the summer 2013; photos of which you still can see on my new website. Rudi is a huge football fan and I always enjoy our conversations about football.

Whilst I was in China, I also met Christian Capelli, who was our goalkeeper at the time in Glattbrugg. He has lived for 13 years in Hong Kong and, like Rudi, is now working in the financial sector. We had a lovely dinner on my day of arrival in Hong Kong (pictured above), filled with laughs. We had the opportunity to talk about our time together in Glattbrugg and recalled some fond memories.

I watched a Swiss XI HK in action, in which Rudi was involved as a shadow striker, scoring a goal and creating another four. The Swiss XI HK played against Corinthians (6:2) in the First Division of Yau Yee (Friendship) League. I was overwhelmed by the reception I received from the Swiss community. After the game I had a chat with some of the Swiss players. They told me about their day-to-day lives in Hong Kong and how they manage everything far away from home. They work full-time across a variety of fields, train once a week and play one game (normally at the weekends) for the Swiss XI HK.

Having got a feeling for horse racing during my playing time in England, I visited ‘The Hong Kong Jockey Club Happy Valley Racecourse’ on the Wednesday night of my trip. The race is one that is renowned worldwide. It was an outstanding evening in many ways. The whole atmosphere was thrilling and I also put a little bit of money on certain horses. I have no knowledge of horse racing, but I managed to make some money out of eight races. Not much, but we could all enjoy a few drinks after the race; something we enjoyed very much.

Personally, it has been an amazing trip.