Henry Cheng Siu Wai (, born 27 December 1981) is a former Hong Kongese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

Early life

Cheng Siu Wai is born to a Hong Kongese father and a Thai mother. They separated when he was a young boy, his mother returned to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and he grew up in a single parent family in a housing estate in

Sheung Shui Sheung Shui (, literally "Above-water") is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Sheung Shui Town, a part of this area, is part of the Fanling–Sheung Shui New Town in the North District of Hong Kong. Fanling Town is to its southeas ...

. There was a 5-a-side football field at the estate and he started playing there since primary school. He finished his studies after reaching Form 3. He was working as an electrician and playing amateur football in

Yuen Long Yuen Long is a town in the western New Territories, Hong Kong. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu (), Tin Shui Wai, Lau Fau Shan and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin (), and to the north ...

, when he was asked if he wanted to play football as a professional. He is popularly known as Henry because of his uncanny physical resemblance to the French striker.

Club career

Double Flower

Cheng Siu Wai made his

Hong Kong First Division League The Hong Kong First Division League () is the second-highest division in the Hong Kong football league system. Established in 1908, it is the third oldest in Asia. The league was formerly the highest division in Hong Kong until the formation ...

debut in 2002 with

Double Flower "Double-flowered" describes varieties of flowers with extra petals, often containing flowers within flowers. The double-flowered trait is often noted alongside the scientific name with the abbreviation ''fl. pl.'' (''flore pleno'', a Latin ablati ...

. He scored his first goal on the same day with a volley at Mong Kok Stadium.

Rangers

Cheng Siu Wai was released by Buler Rangers one month before the end of the

2004–05 Hong Kong First Division League The 2004–05 Hong Kong First Division League season was the 93rd since its establishment. League table Fixture and results Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 ...

season because he failed to reach the club's expectations.

South China AA

When Cheng Siu Wai first joined South China, his monthly salary was only HK$4,000 (approx US$500). By the time he left in 2008, it went up to HK$11,000 (approx US$1,375). Because of his difficult financial situation, he lived in the club's quarters and only returned home once a week. He was a member of the squad that got South China relegated at the end of the

2005–06 Hong Kong First Division League The 2005–06 Hong Kong First Division League season was the 94th since its establishment. Teams *Buler Rangers 流浪 * Citizen 公民 * Happy Valley 愉園 *Hong Kong 08 香港08 *Kitchee 傑志 *Lanwa 東莞聯華 *So ...

season. But the club was retained in the first division upon Steven Lo's appointment as the club's convener. On 11 March 2008, Cheng Siu-wai scored two goals for South China against Home United FC of Singapore, at Mongkok Stadium in an

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying ...

group game. However, South China lost in the end by 2–3. Cheng Siu Wai was made captain of the South China invitation XI to face Manchester City FC in the Premier League/Serie A Football Day.

TSW Pegasus

Cheng Siu Wai moved to TSW Pegasus FC when the club was formed at the end of 2008. He was named the club's captain. Cheng claimed he moved to get more playing time. Cheng scored against

South China AA South China Athletic Association (known simply as South China, SCAA, ) is a Hong Kong professional football club that competes in the Hong Kong First Division, the second-tier league in Hong Kong football league system. The club is histori ...

in the

2008–09 Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield 2008–09, officially named as ''Eisiti Senior Shield'' () due to the competition's sponsorship by Xiangxue Pharmaceutical, was the 107th season of one of the Asian oldest Association football, football knocko ...

Cheng claimed beating South China was one of the teams' targets and he was very happy with the goal and victory. The club went on to win the tournament by beating

Sun Hei SC Sun Hei Sports Club () is a Hong Kong football club which currently competes in the Hong Kong Third Division. The club has a long history in playing in the top flight, but decided to self-relegate in the 2013–14 season after declining to par ...

3:0 in the final. But after just one season at the club, he was loaned to Kitchee.

Kitchee

On 9 May 2010, Cheng Siu Wai scored two goals and helped Kitchee beat Happy Valley 6:0. On 31 May 2010, Cheng Siu-wai scored the equaliser for Kitchee against Beijing Guoan Talents in the

2010 Singapore Cup The 2010 Singapore Cup (known as the RHB Singapore Cup for sponsorship reasons) started on 24 May 2010. It was the 13th staging of the annual Singapore Cup soccer tournament. 12 S.League clubs and 4 invited foreign teams played in this edition ...

, forcing extra time which Kitchee won 2:1 in the end. In the league, on 21 February 2011, Cheng Siu Wai scored in the 87th minute to help Kitchee beat

Tai Po FC Tai Po Football Club (), also known as Wofoo Tai Po due to sponsorship reasons, is a Hong Kong professional football club which currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League. In the 2018–19 season, Tai Po successfully won their first t ...

2:1 to stay ahead of South China. Kitchee eventually beat South China to win the 2010–11 league title.

Sun Hei

Cheng Siu Wai signed to play for

on 27 June 2011. Cheng said he has won numerous trophies in the past but never any individual awards. In the new season he hopes to win an individual award. He scored his first goal for Sun Hei on 17 September 2011 in a 2:1 win away to Tuen Mun SA. On 16 October 2011, Cheng Siu Wai became the first player to score a goal at the newly renovated

Mong Kok Stadium Mong Kok Stadium () is a stadium in Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. With a capacity of 6,664 (comprising four stands of 1,666), it hosts Hong Kong Premier League football matches, with Southern and Kitchee currently sharing the venue. The stadi ...

, in a 5–0 win against Sham Shui Po SA. On 22 October, Cheng Siu Wai scored the winning goal against Biu Chun Rangers, just 1 minute from the end, to secure a 1–0 win. On 27 November, Cheng Siu Wai scored a goal against

in the

2011–12 Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield 2011–12 Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield is the 110th season of one of the Asian oldest football knockout competitions, Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield. Starting from this season, the format will change into a two-legged home-and-away ties c ...

quarter-final second leg match and was named Player of the month for October.

Kitchee SC

Kitchee general manager Ken Ng announced that Cheng Siu Wai will return to Kitchee after spending a season in Sunray Cave JC Sun Hei.

Eastern

Cheng joined Eastern in 2013 and made 26 appearances for the club. He retired from football in 2017 with his final match coming in Eastern's 3-0 win over Southern in the 2016-17 season playoff.

International career

He has been capped 11 times at international level for Hong Kong, and he has scored 7 goals. One of them a diving header against

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

in the

2011 AFC Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011. It was the fift ...

qualifier. It was the only goal Hong Kong managed in six qualification matches. In December 2011, Cheng Siu Wai was recalled to the Hong Kong team after consistent good performances for

, to play in the

2012 Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

. He scored with a header from a Jack Sealy pass in the first leg and the match ended 2–2.

Personal life

Cheng Siu Wai grew up in a single parent family in

. He is the eldest son. He has a longtime girlfriend but does not plan to get married until he reaches 35 years old. Despite his resemblance to

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...

, his favourite player is

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending f ...

, after meeting him in an exhibition match between

and

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

in 2008.要事業家庭皆得意亨利愛碧咸
''Apple Daily''. 29 December 2011.

Honours

South China *

: 2006–07， 2007–08， 2008–09 *

Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield The Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield (), known commonly as the Senior Shield, is the football knockout inter-club competition held in Hong Kong and the fourth oldest football tournament in Asia. Traditionally, only the teams in the Hong Kong ...

: 2006–07 *

Hong Kong FA Cup Hong Kong FA Cup () is a knockout cup competition in Hong Kong football, run by and named after The Hong Kong Football Association. The first edition of the competition was held in 1975, before then the cup was known as the Golden Jubilee Cup. ...

: 2006–07 *

Hong Kong League Cup Hong Kong Football Association League Cup () is an annual football competition contested by clubs in the top-tier Hong Kong domestic football league (currently Hong Kong Premier League). The cup was relaunched for the 2014–15 season after bein ...

: 2007–08 TSW Pegasus *

: 2008–09 Kitchee *

: 2009–10，

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

* Hong Kong Community Cup:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

* Hong Kong Season Play-offs:

* HKFC Soccer Sevens: 2011 Sun Cave JC Sun Hei *

: 2011–12 Eastern Long Lions *

Hong Kong Premier League The Hong Kong Premier League () is a Hong Kong professional football league organised by the Hong Kong Football Association. It is currently sponsored by BOC Life and officially known as BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League (). The inaugural sea ...

: 2015–16 *

: 2013–14 *

: 2014–15， 2015–16 * Hong Kong Community Cup: 2016 Hong Kong * Hong Kong-Guangdong Cup: 2009，2012，2013 * Hong Kong–Macau Interport:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

Career statistics

International career

:''Updated 7 December 2012.''

References

External links

Cheng Siu Wai's Yahoo blog

Cheng Siu Wai
at HKFA
Player Information on TSW Pegasus website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Siu Wai 1981 births Living people Hong Kong footballers Association football forwards Hong Kong First Division League players South China AA players Hong Kong Rangers FC players Double Flower FA players Hong Kong Pegasus FC players Kitchee SC players Sun Hei SC players Eastern Sports Club footballers Hong Kong international footballers