Lee Wai Man
# Lee Wai Man

Lee Wai Man (Chinese: 李偉文; Jyutping: $lei^5$ $wai^5$ $man^4;$ born 18 August 1973) is a former Hong Kong professional footballer who played as a defender.

## Club career

Lee mainly played as a defender. He has also played in other positions on the field, including goalkeeper when he moved on to this position urgently after his teammate Leung Cheuk Cheung was dismissed in a match. He announced his retirement from professional football at the end of the 2006–07 season.

## International career

Lee achieved the Coca-Cola Outstanding Youth Athlete Award when he was 18, the same year as the Hong Kong cyclist Wong Kam Po. After an impressive performance in his club Eastern, Lee, aged 20, was selected into the final squad for Hong Kong to play in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers. He made his international debut on 23 April 1994 versus Kuwait in a friendly match held in Singapore. Later that year, Lee played all the World Cup qualifier matches (totally 10 matches) for Hong Kong as a left back.

Although Lee was dropped out from Hong Kong between 1998 and 2000, he returned to play in the first East Asian Football Championship preliminary round for the team as a sweeper. He became the captain for Hong Kong from late 2003 to 2006.

## Current status

After retirement, Lee became a part-time commentator for TVB. He usually participated in commenting on local football matches and foreign football tournaments, like the highlights of Euro 2008, Olympic Game Men's Football in 2008 as well as the East Asian Games Men's Football Final in 2009. He was also the head coach of Pontic in the 2010–11 season. Many youth players appreciated his coaching, as he is patient and friendly due to the smaller age gap between him and the youth players.

