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Hong Kong coach Jorn Andersen at training as he prepares for the Asian Cup qualifiers. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

Players don’t want to play for Hong Kong, new boss Jorn Andersen says

  • City’s national soccer side preparing for first match of the Norwegian’s tenure, against Malaysia, but he has ‘headaches’ in attack and defence
  • The friendly will help the former North Korea coach assess his options before the squad head to India for Asian Cup qualifiers
Hong Kong head coach Jorn Andersen has complained that some players don’t want to play for the city’s national side as he prepares for his first match in charge and next month’s Asian Cup qualifiers.

Faced with the “headache” of Hong Kong football’s notorious lack of firepower, Andersen is encountering difficulties in defence, too, ahead of a friendly against Malaysia this month and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign in India.

“When some players don’t want to play for the national team right now, my headache is bigger,” he said.

“The biggest problem now is not the strikers, but the defenders. We don’t have many defenders in Hong Kong. Three defenders from [mainland Chinese clubs], and Helio [Goncalves, of Kitchee], don’t want to play. Maybe our four best defenders don’t want to play for Hong Kong in these national team qualifiers, so that’s again a big headache for me.”

Hong Kong head coach Jorn Andersen (third from left) addresses his players at training in Hong Kong. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

Asked whether attack remained a problem area, the former Norway striker replied: “That’s right. We don’t have so many good strikers in Hong Kong. That’s my headache. I have my ideas and I will try to do the best with the situation.

“I need one who makes goals, is dangerous, good in the air, who can finish. That’s the striker I need, because I will change the playing style a little bit – more attacking. I don’t know if it’s possible, but I will try.

“We have names like Matt Orr, Sun Ming-him, Alex Akande. These are players that I have to test first, then I will make my last choice for India – who can start up front for Hong Kong.”

That left him with a depleted pool to choose from, and he added that Helio had travelled abroad to see his family after Kitchee’s recently completed AFC Champions League group fixtures in Thailand.
But the friendly with Malaysia offers Andersen – who last week finally took his first in-person senior team training session after being appointed in December – a chance to assess his options before qualifiers against Afghanistan, Cambodia and India in Kolkata.

Hong Kong boss Andersen hails ‘very important’ Thailand trip

Malaysia’s new coach Kim Pan-gon is well known to Hong Kong football followers. The South Korean was a Hong Kong senior and under-23 coach between 2012 and 2018, before becoming the Korean Football Association’s technical director.

Kim had his first matches in charge of Malaysia in March at the Football Association of Singapore Tri-Nations Series, in which his side were runners-up.

He and Andersen have similarly attack-heavy philosophies – welcome additions for the traditionally more defensive Hong Kong and Malaysia teams. Andersen, who has managed Incheon United in the K-League as well as the North Korea national side, is familiar with Kim.

Former Hong Kong coach Kim Pan-gon (right) will be a familiar face to his counterpart. Photo: HKFA

“Of course, I know him very well,” Andersen said. “When I was coach of North Korea, we played three times – twice in Hong Kong and once in North Korea. After I went to South Korea, he was working with the Korean FA, and we would meet sometimes in Seoul.

“We have a good relationship. He asked if we were interested in a friendly game, and of course we want to do it before the India games. It’s a good test for Hong Kong, to see what our level is.”

Andersen has an encouraging head-to-head with the Malayan “Tigers”, having beaten them twice as North Korea manager – the last a 2019 Asian Cup group qualifier.

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