AFC Asian Cup: Jorn Andersen’s journey to Qatar with Hong Kong, after bettering Klopp, feud with Tuchel and revival in North Korea
- Hong Kong coach insists his team can reimagine what is possible after historic qualification and first win over China in nearly 30 years
- The obsessive Norwegian is tasting his first major finals aged 60, having qualified in 2019 with North Korea only to resign before it took place
Jorn Andersen said he was spending every waking hour in Qatar “planning, thinking and preparing” for one of the greatest challenges of his peripatetic coaching career.
Settled onto the cushioned furniture on a terrace of Hong Kong’s five-star hotel, gazing over the Doha skyline, Andersen considered the prospect of his first major tournament, and concluded: “This is not only great for Hong Kong, it is great for me, too.”
The 60-year-old’s belated arrival on this stage comes after he quit as North Korea manager before they played in the finals four years ago. And it is a reward for heading east after growing disenchanted with European football nearly a decade ago.
“I said, ‘F*** it, I want to go away from here, and take the step to Asia,’” he recalled. “I do not think I will ever go back to Europe to work. There are so many quality coaches, you lose two matches and you might be out. It is crazy, you cannot build something.”