the man whose advice has since improved..

.. the way I play football.

About 13 years ago, my family and my relatives (uncle tong et al.) made one of the few family vacations we've been on, Down Under. We were going to visit my grand-uncle (dai gong gong), grand-aunty (dai po po), and my uncles, victor and peter. They'd migrated to Australia many years back.

The year was 1994.

The US edition of the World Cup was just around the corner.

I was 11 years old.

During one of our afternoon visits to dai gong gong's place, before a mini-kickabout in the backyard where the rest of the temporarily-reunited family were gathered, I sat next to dai gong gong in his living room watching tv.

then i asked the question that would change the way i would play football forever:

dai gong gong, you play football?

of course. i used to play when i was much younger.

ok. so which leg do you use to kick the ball? (excitedly) I use my right leg!

(with disapproving looks & waving his index finger)

no. no. when you play football you must you both your legs.

huh?!

yeah! how can you use one leg only?

(disappointed, i turned back to the tv, mouth wide open, still puzzled by what i just heard.)

to myself: really meh? hmm..

i returned from australia with many memories of the Worlds, a helicopter ride, my batman cup (which i still use, by the way), but still thinking about what dai gong gong said to me. i was determined to learn how to use both my legs when i play football in future.

so in my free time at home (i was only in p5 lah.. all the way till i was sec 1), i would take the ball and kick it against whatever i could with my left leg at home. From simple passes, i progressed to getting a decent shot with the left foot and so on.. today i'm glad to be able to play well with both legs.

of course, it was also down to the many hours under the hot sun, in the basketball court after school, where i honed my touches and my currently non-existent stamina, with my secondary school friends.

honestly, we don't see many two-footed players in singapore. i thank dai gong gong for helping me be one of them.

_____________________

Fast forward to 2007, dai gong gong, dai po po & uncle victor are in town to visit. Having missed many previous opportunities to remind him of our '94 conversation, I made a note not to miss out this time. I also didn't want to miss out on a photo op.

so there i was, earlier today, before the liverpool v manchester united match, reminiscing with him about our '94 conversation (actually i was reminding and refreshing his memory about that) and the time we played soccer on the pitch (of course not together lah..).

he mentioned that he used to play for a first division team in the past. i asked him about injuries suffered and he mentioned a clash that he had with a 6-foot opponent whose elbow caught him just above the left eye, the exact same spot where i got a similar injury from playing with Angora Football Club, with us both requiring stitches for that.

he also mentioned he was captain of a team of europeans whilst working in borneo and that year he lead his side to bring back the trophy for the first time in 5 years! he scored 2 and the winning goal that night and was even given a mention by the radio broadcaster!

".. and Tony Ho scored 2 as he lead his side to victory.."

before i had actually asked him about our '94 conversation though, i asked the same question as i did in australia 13 years back. his reply was no different. With both his index fingers pointing towards his legs, he replied "Both. Gotta play with both legs".

He's still alert, despite his frail appearance. He can still carry a long conversation with you about anything from football to sports to his work. He only needs a hand when putting on his shoes and walking down the stairs.

He's cool, he's dai gong gong for you.

dai gong gong and i.. this time watching tv and holding our conversation on my couch.