Junior Hou will skipper the Solomon Islands for his first international tournament next week in American Samoa.
The pacy youngster is the leader of this squad on and off the field and believes in the qualities of his team.
‘’We have good players in the team with great skill but the main quality of our team is everyone plays as one,’’ he says.
Hou doesn’t have any doubts about the Solomon Islands hopes of making an impact at this level.
Like every passionate and football lover he dreams of making it big in professional football.
‘’I want to reach the top level. I want to go as far as I can to play football,’’ he says.
Hou says Fa’arodo – who has flown the flag for Solomon Islands football everywhere he goes for over a decade – is the benchmark for him and his team-mates for possible future greatness.
‘’I would like to achieve the same career as Henry Fa’arodo,’’ he says.
Fa’arodo spent most of his career playing in New Zealand for Canterbury United and Team Wellington with a short stint at Auckland City FC thrown in for good measure.
He now plays for ASB Premiership franchise Team Wellington where he has already scored 12 goals and has looked settled for the best part of two years.
Fa’arodo experienced a short professional career in Australia while playing for Melbourne Knights and Hyundai A-League club Perth Glory.
But the highlight of his club career remains an OFC Champions League trophy with Hekari United in 2010 and a participation at the FIFA Club World Cup in United Arabs Emirates the same year.
But before Hou and his teammates can match Fa’arodo’s achievements they must first perform well in American Samoa.
‘’We expect to play well at this tournament,” Hou says, “We have been well prepared to represent our country and we can win the tournament.”
The young captain knows it will be a difficult objective to achieve in a group where Tahiti, Tonga, Vanuatu and American Samoa will be very tough opponents.
‘’Tahiti will be a difficult opponent. They are one of best teams in our group and in the tournament,’’ he says, looking ahead to their encounter on 19 January.
But before Hou can tackle Tahiti, he and his team-mates face an unknown quantity when Tonga take them on in their opening match on 13 January.
‘’Tonga is a team who have prepared well and I am looking forward to start the tournament,’’ he says.

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