At Sturm, ex-team player Jakob Jantscher has long been and is a legend. Now he’s basically one in China, because the 35-year-old from Graz can compete on Sunday at the “XFEST” exhibition of a Hong Kong all-star team against US Inter Miami, the team of superstar Lionel Messi.
“It’s a cool experience to be able to play against Messi again at 35,” laughs “JJ,” who is experiencing first-hand the hype in Hong Kong surrounding co-owner David Beckham’s Inter Miami’s first international tour. “The figure of twelve million euros for this match is floating around here. The game was sold out in 30 minutes, so the price of around 300 euros per ticket didn’t matter,” said the best Bundesliga player in 2021/22, who moved from Sturm to FC Kitchee in August 23′. And after just four months he was elected to the Premiere League All-Star team. And now he can compete against Messi, Jordi Alba or Suárez in front of 40,000 fans in the Hong Kong Stadium.
In the eyes of the bodyguards
“Messi’s body will be difficult to get, you always have to get past his bodyguards,” smiles the striker and 23-time senior national player, for whom the Asian trip turned out to be a hit. “Things are going well in terms of sport (note: ten goals in 19 games), next week we’ll play with Kitchee in the ‘Senior Shield’ for the next cup title, we’ve already won one.”
Image: Jantscher
Even away from the green lawn, everything is great for the Jantschers. “Hong Kong is a perfect fit for the family, we experience a lot, take a lot with us, my little daughter only speaks English.” Jantscher’s future? “It’s still open, there are a few interested parties, but it’s quite possible that I’ll extend.”
Image: zVg/Jantscher
Especially since the environment should be right, Jakob even meets Austrian companions again and again: Wolfgang Luisser, actually assistant coach of China’s national team, sits on the bench for Hong Kong’s All-Stars. Luisser was once a player at GAK and Hartberg and trained the GAK youth team in 2007/08.
There is also more about this article on krone.at
2024-02-02 07:37:59
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