Nigeria World Cup star Onazi swaps Serie A for Hong Kong Premier League, as Kitchee target AFC Champions League glory
- Ex-Nigeria international and Lazio star Ogenyi Onazi joins treble winners, along with North Macedonia’s Aleksandar Damecevski
- Kitchee to streamline first-team squad as they target success of multiple fronts again
Kitchee have added an ex-World Cup and Serie A star to a streamlined squad as they prepare to defend their three domestic titles and push for success in the AFC Champions League.
The Hong Kong treble winners have signed Nigeria’s Ogenyi Onazi, who spent four seasons with Italian club Lazio and played at the 2014 World Cup, as well as North Macedonia central defender Aleksandar Damcevski.
Both 30 years old, the pair are younger than the normal over-the-hill stars who traditionally play in the city’s top flight towards the end of their careers, and Kitchee head coach Alex Chu Chi-kwong said he believed they still had a “lot to contribute”.
“There will be only 26 players in our first team for next season but it will not come at the expenses of our quality,” Chu said.
Onazi, who has made the switch from East Riffa in Bahrain, made 76 appearances for Lazio between 2012 and 2016, scoring four times.
And despite knowing little about Hong Kong football before making the move, he said he was looking forward to the new challenge.