On the 22nd June, 2025, I finally did what I had been dreaming of for years and returned to Europe. Not with club football, however, but as the manager of Denmark. I had been eyeing the role for quite a long time as it had been left empty for well over six months. I hadn't applied before, however, because I felt I didn't have a right to do so. After all, if China kept rejecting me when I had managed in the country and won things with their u23s, why would Denmark take me on? Nonetheless I took the plunge and to my shock and delight was nearly instantly offered the job.
It didn't take me long to discover why the Denmark FA had struggled to fill the post. In 2024 they had crashed out of the European Championships without winning a single game in their group and had then done similarly in the European League with just a single draw in their group. Moving into 2025 things were not looking much better and had again achieved just a draw in the opening four games of the World Cup Qualifiers, sitting second bottom in their group. Many of their stars of the last decades were also retiring and leaving big holes in the squad. This included their legend and captain, Simon Kjaer. They were a nation in wobbly transition and they needed a new manager to stamp their authority onto the club: They needed me.
Meanwhile, things were going as well as ever in Hong Kong and we were once again competing for a bumper trophy haul. However, my Champions League ambitions were costing us domestically. The 'European hangover' was becoming a reality here too. And, if anything, the Asian hangover was far worse. Our first game was against Seoul, a team who had just won their domestic league, and it was over a three-hour flight away. Just three days later we had a home match in the Fa Cup Quarter Final and then three days after that we had another Champions League game, this time against Adelaide. We won in South Korea but then lost in the Fa Cup. We drew against Adelaide, but then lost our next league game. My quest for us to be genuinely competitive in the big competition was costing us domestically and I was devastated. This was my fourth time competing for the FA Cup and it was the first time I had ever lost.
Whilst I was devastated, I was still proud of our win and draw in the Champions League and determined to continue our continental focus. Our next game was the big one however: Beijing. They had won both their games so far and were top of the group with us behind in second. The press before the game were holding no punches and described us as 'vastly inferior.' I was determined however and set us up with an incredibly smart and compact system to counter their constant attacks.
...We lost 6-0 and suffered two bad injuries.
Meanwhile, I was doing quite well with Denmark. I won't say that I managed to completely turn them around, but we lost just one game in qualifying against France and finished second in the group behind them after snatching a number of unpredicted draws. While I was pleased with this, the local press and the FA were 'disappointed' and everything now rested on the future 2nd Placed Teams tournament. This chance at getting into the World Cup wasn't for a while though and I was thus able to now put all my attentions on Kitchee and climbing higher up that Hong Kong manager Hall of Fame.
When April rolled in the Champions League group games were back in force and, because of Hong Kong's league structure, the climax of the group stage clashed with the final crucial games of our domestic season. On the 1st we had the semi-final of the Sapling Cup, on the 7th we had an away game in Australia, on the 12th we had the Sapling Cup final, on the 18th we had a title clash against my old team Fuli and then on the 21st we had a crucial game against Seoul who were the team breathing down our next for that second place in the Champions League group. This was the most hectic and stressful month of my career to date and I was loving it. Someone else that was loving the season was my beloved Rial who was finally in contention for the top scorer award with just three games left: I might finally get a chance to win my virtual money back! We won the Semi. We beat Adelaide 2-0. We won the Final 1-0. We lost against Fuli. We beat Seoul. I was satisfied.
Not only was our fantastic performance in the Asian Champions League incredibly enjoyable, but it was also boosting the club to new heights. In the home game against Seoul we smashed our record attendance by well over a thousand and we got some much needed cash in the till. It also meant that whatever happened in the next game against Beijing we had already qualified for the next round. In doing so we had not only gotten further than the club ever had before, but I believe we went further than any Hong Kong club ever had. We lost that game against Beijing without having a single shot, but I didn't care. Nobody cared. We had qualified!
There was also now a break before the next round of the cup, meaning we could focus all our attention on the final two league games. We were two points clear at the top and the final games were boringly against a side already relegated, and a mid-table side eight points behind us. I was confident. And, almost more importantly, Rial was itching for the fight. He was joint top-scorer in the league with Wong Ka Kit and desperate to win. He didn't score in either game. However, neither did Wong Ka Kit and they were announced joint top scorers. Meanwhile, we had won the league again and I was now second in the Hong Kong Hall of Fame. Clearly I had to extend my contract for one more season so I could topple the legendary Chan Hung Pin. That is, unless I could win the Champions League...
We lost the home leg against Sydney 1-0 and the away leg 3-0. I was staying another season.