Cheng Chin Lung (; born 7 January 1998) is a Hong Kong professional footballer who currently plays for Hong Kong Premier League club Kitchee.
Youth career A fan of both basketball and football, Cheng applied to join the Kitchee academy at age 9 but was turned down. Not wanting to waste his son's talent, Cheng's father sought out academy coach Chu Chi Kwong personally to ask him to give his son another chance. Cheng was granted another trial and was accepted into the academy at age 10. He later became part of the first class of players to graduate from the Kitchee academy and into the first team when he signed a professional contract in 2015.
Club career During Kitchee's 2015 AFC Cup quarter final match on 16 September 2015, Cheng was handed his first team debut as a substitute late in the match. On 23 April 2016, Cheng scored his first professional goal in a 4–2 win over Hong Kong Pegasus.
In June 2016, Cheng tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a HKFA Youth Cup match and was sidelined for nine months following surgery and rehabilitation. Cheng missed the entire 2016–17 season as a result of the injury.
In July 2017, new Dreams FC manager Leung Chi Wing persuaded Cheng to join his club on loan. On 26 August, he played his first professional match in over a year, starting the game and playing 65 minutes against Tai Po. On 9 January 2018, Cheng was recalled by Kitchee ahead of their 2018 AFC Champions League campaign.
On 14 March 2018, Cheng scored a stunning left-footed curler at the edge of the penalty box in the 92nd minute to give Kitchee a historic 1–0 win in the 2018 AFC Champions League Group stage match over Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol, making him the first ever Hong Kong-born player to receive Man of the Match and Kitchee the first ever team from Hong Kong to win a game in the Champions League.
On 16 August 2021, Cheng joined Southern on loan.
On 3 March 2022, Cheng returned to Kitchee from loan.
International career On 9 November 2017, Cheng made his senior national team debut in a friendly against Bahrain at the age of 19.
Career statistics Club
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupSenior ShieldContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsKitchee2014–15Hong Kong Premier League0000001Appearances in the AFC Cup000102015–162100004Appearances in the AFC Cup13Appearances in the Hong Kong Sapling Cup & 2015–16 Hong Kong season play-off0922016–17000000000000Total2100005130102Dreams FC (loan)2017–18Hong Kong Premier League801010—2Appearances in the Hong Kong Sapling Cup2122Kitchee4200004Appearances in the AFC Champions League100832018–194110007Appearances in the AFC Champions League qualification & AFC Cup24Appearances in the Hong Kong Sapling Cup01632019–20610010008Appearances in the Hong Kong Sapling Cup0151Total1441010113120397Career total24520201641726111 Notes
International
National teamYearAppsGoalsHong Kong201710201800201920202000202100202230Total60
#DateVenueOpponentResultCompetition2017111 September 2017Mong Kok Stadium, Mong Kok, Hong Kong0–2Friendly2019214 December 2019Busan Gudeok Stadium, Busan, South Korea0–52019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship318 December 2019Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan, South Korea0–22019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship2022419 July 2022Kashima Stadium, Kashima, Japan0–62022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship521 September 2022Mong Kok Stadium, Mong Kok, Hong Kong2–0Friendly624 September 2022Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong0–0Friendly
Honours Club Kitchee Hong Kong Premier League: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2025–26 Hong Kong Senior Shield: 2016–17, 2018–19, 2022–23, 2023–24 Hong Kong FA Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2022–23 Hong Kong Sapling Cup: 2017–18, 2019–20 Hong Kong League Cup: 2015–16 HKPLC Cup: 2023–24
Individual Best Young Player: 2018
References
External links Cheng Chin Lung at HKFA