Title Details

Derek Currie was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1949. At the age of 21 he travelled to the then-British colony of Hong Kong to become one of the first three European professionals to play soccer in Asia. Over a 12-year career he played against greats such as Pelé and Eusébio, but also met celebrities from a range of fields, including Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Marvin Hagler. During a spell playing for the San Antonio Thunder in the NASL, Currie scored the official first goal in the Bicentennial League against the St. Louis All-Stars.

Table of contents
Foreword by Craig Brown CBE
Preface by Mike Ingham

PART ONE: Life of football
1 Learning a lesson
2 From Douglas Park to the World of Suzie Wong
3 Chickens’ feet, kung fu and history in the making
4 The good, the bad, and the ugly
5 Famous names
6 Rules, Proud Mary, and Good Morning, Vietnam
7 Looting the Tai-Pan’s trophy cabinet
8 Sunset over Manila Bay, taming a German giant... and eventually paying the price
9 Looking good, eating well, and mixing it with the stars
10 Time for a change... and a chance to lead a team against Eusébio
11 Ernie’s House of Horrors, dancing in the street, and keeping Hong Kong clean
12 The Sport of Kings
13 The Lawman and the Cranhill sounds
14 Snakes alive, Fast Wullie and a Double Scotch
15 Every shirt tells a story (with apologies to Rod Stewart)
16 Beating the Drum... and a legend with a heart of gold
17 Interlude: The Yellow Rose of Texas
18 Sweet and Sour
19 Hall of Fame… or should that be infamy?
20 Cordoba Revenge and one night in Bangkok
21 A helping hand... or three
22 The long goodbye

PART TWO: Life after football
23 Probably the best beer in the world
24 The Carlsberg Cup
25 The Jockeys Dash
26 Rugby shorts
27 Four World Cups and four European Championships
28 Live at the Hong Kong Hotel with Stevie Wonder and Marvelous Marvin Hagler
29 The Hong Lok Yuen All-Stars
30 Going to the dogs
31 The Currie stable
32 Lasting impressions

“The excellent read that is this autobiography makes me regret that, although I had the responsibility of the Scotland national team for nine years, I never had the opportunity to rectify the fact that a player of Derek’s ability was not the recipient of a Scotland international cap. He did get selected for Hong Kong but I’m sure a deserved accolade from the country of his birth would have been worthy acknowledgement for a man who was a fine player and a thorough gentleman.” – Craig Brown CBE, manager, Scotland national football team, 1993-2001

“I took the Swedish team Malmo to Hong Kong in the late ’80s for a tournament Derek had organised. Walking down the street after a game everybody seemed to say hello to ‘Jesus’. I took the Switzerland national team there in the mid ’90s and it was the same again. I never saw him play, but he has some story to tell!” – Roy Hodgson CBE, manager, England national football team, 2012-2016

“If you ever walk down the streets of Hong Kong alongside Derek Currie, you’d better be prepared to stop frequently. Football fans of various ages, aunties who remember his beard and once-long hair, F&B professionals who encountered him during his time as a marketer for Carlsberg… they all excitedly stop to greet the man they affectionately call ‘Yeh-so’ (Jesus) because of his iconic look. These encounters are always filled with smiles and genuine affection for a man who symbolised a special era for Hong Kong – a time when sport and showbiz went hand in hand, when East and West met in the exotic, thriving melting pot that was 1970s and ’80s Hong Kong. And at the pulsing heart of it all was this twinkling-eyed Scotsman and adopted Hong Konger.
As someone who spent his formative years there, I was privileged to both watch Derek play football and to witness him work his magic at sporting events, press launches, race meets… all of which you will read about here. This is both a captivating story of one man’s journey from Glasgow to the Far East and a nostalgic throwback to a magical lost age in a truly unique setting.” – John Dykes, sports television anchor