Gary White leads Hong Kong during his short stint in charge. Photo: HKFA
Source:
https://scmp.com/sport/football/article/2179814/new-hong-kong-football-coach-michael-boris-leaves-after-just-one-week Football
New Hong Kong football coach Michael Boris leaves after just one week, as Kenneth Kwok takes charge for Interport Cup
- German may have left ‘because of the weather’, says interim replacement
- Kenneth Kwok seconded from Yuen Long to lead double-header against Guangdong
Hong Kong coach Kenneth Kwok Kar-lok takes charge of a training session. Photo: HKFA
Michael Boris, the newly appointed development coach of the Hong Kong Football Association, has left the role after just one week.
Boris took the role on December 13, according to German football website Transfermarkt, having previously managed Hungary’s under-21 team and several lower-league teams in his native Germany.
The 43-year-old was set to take charge of the Hong Kong team in the upcoming Interport Cup double-header against Guangdong in the new year.
Boris’ departure was revealed at the first training session for the Hong Kong side ahead of the 41st edition of the cross-border tournament.
Kenneth Kwok Kar-lok was in charge of the session instead of the German, and told assembled media the new arrival had left after just a week, possibly because he could not acclimatise to the Hong Kong weather.
Kwok, now head coach at Hong Kong Premier League side Best Union Yuen Long and seconded by the HKFA, is in interim charge of the side, just as he was for last year’s Interport Cup.
He was also in charge of the under-23 side during the Asian Games in Indonesia in August, as the HKFA had not then appointed a replacement for South Korean coach Kim Pan-gon, who left as head coach in December 2017.
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Welcome to Tokyo Verdy @GaryJWhiteTD! It’s great to have an English Manager at one of the iconic J League Clubs. 2019 is Tokyo Verdy’s 50th Anniversary Year! Taking the Club to the J1 will be an historical event. Best of luck! pic.twitter.com/XAPONxROfp
— Tom Byer •トムバイヤー (@tomsan106) 21 December 2018
The rapid retreat by Boris is the latest recruitment farce for the HKFA after head coach Gary White left for J. League side Tokyo Verdy just 92 days into his tenure.
Both the head coach and elite development coach roles are advertised on the HKFA website, with application deadlines of January 11 for the former and January 2 for the latter.
The recruitment process for the head coach role was questioned at the Legislative Council earlier this month.
Hong Kong take on Guangdong in Guangdong People’s Provincial Stadium in Guangzhou on January 6, before the return leg at Hong Kong Stadium on January 9.