As my brothers, the national and Hong Kong soccer teams have been underachieving, but 2023 was a year of bitterness before sweetness for the Hong Kong soccer team. The local veteran team beat Uzbekistan 0-10. Caught in the middle of it, HKFC coach Jon Anderson turned the tide of HKFC by motivating his players. Upon taking over, he spent time convincing potential players to pick up their Hong Kong SAR China passports, which has finally paid off this year. Jon Anderson's approach is definitely worth borrowing from the national soccer team!
In 2024, Jörn Andersson will have an even more important task ahead of him - leading the Hong Kong football team to the Asian Cup. This competition at the highest level in Asia is equivalent to the UEFA European Cup and the America's Cup, second only to the World Cup. It is the biggest stage that the Hong Kong team has been able to set foot on so far, and it is also the first time he has personally participated in the tournament. "Experience it well and try your best" is what he would like to say most to himself, his players, the players and the fans.
2023 will be Jon Anderson's second year at the helm of the Hong Kong team. The year before, he led Hong Kong to the Asian Cup due to an epidemic and under-trained players. He started the new year with expectations. However, against Southeast Asian teams such as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, the Hong Kong soccer team failed to win anything. During the team's time, they never personally broke through their opponents' gates. The only goal came from the enemy's "udon goal".
The poor performance of the Hong Kong soccer team has led to incidents of match-fixing in the local league. In May this year, the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) arrested 23 people, including one coach and 11 players, and dismantled a corrupt syndicate of illegal outside gambling "match-fixing". At the time, the news that Hong Kong's veteran team was involved in the park caused widespread concern. To be honest, Jon Anderson is just a Hong Kong soccer coach, it is difficult to do something in the incident, but he did not escape the reporter's question. "Why did they do it? Why did it happen in Hong Kong? Before we discuss it, we should think about it." The rhetorical question was thought-provoking.
Convince the fans: support it win or lose.
Other aspects of the Hong Kong soccer team are also difficult to understand for Jørn Andersen, who for many years has been the first foreign "Golden Boot scorer" in the history of the Bundesliga. For example, even though he has appealed to the fans through the media many times, the highest attendance for a Hong Kong game this year was 13,434 against Thailand at the Hong Kong Stadium in June. After the Asian Games frenzy, the number did not go up, but down. "Hong Kong people are very passionate about soccer and will follow the Euroleague, but here, the Hong Kong team should be the most watched. I'm surprised that not many people support the Hong Kong team in a city of more than 8 million people."
In Norway, and even in other small European countries back home, stadiums for national team matches are always packed with players even if the local population is small. However, some Hong Kong teams will complain that tickets are too expensive, or criticize the fact that Hong Kong teams often lose. Jörn Andersson knows that, and he emphasizes only one thing. "The definition of a fan is one who supports entering the stadium for every game, win or lose."
Convince players: believe they can win.
Apart from shouting at the fans, Jon Anderson's biggest task since arriving in Hong Kong has been to "convince" the Hong Kong players that their standard is not as bad as they think and that they are capable of creating surprises. Both striker Ahn Wing-kai, who had been in a goal-scoring drought for many months, and goalkeeper Tse Ka-wing, who had been banned from representing Hong Kong for a year after a disciplinary storm over his drunkenness, were given the coach's trust and guidance, and they ultimately lived up to their reputation by performing well at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Jörn Andersson will use all sorts of methods to strengthen a player's potential. He revealed a little story before the Hong Kong team took on Iran at the Hangzhou Asian Games. As an Asian soccer powerhouse, Iran is more than a match. Jörn Andersson noted that he asked his players before the game what the team could do to beat their opponents. They didn't get a reply at first. "They couldn't believe they could win."
Port players kept repeating the strengths of their opponents, and Jørn Andersson asked the same question several times and eventually got the answer. Some of the players said: "Work harder, don't shrink back, push forward more", "I said: 'Yes, that's the way to win the game'. I wrote down these conversations and then said them once in every training and meeting, convincing them with what they said, and we all know how it turned out." Hong Kong ended up with a historic entry into the Asian Games semifinals, defeating Iran.
Yet, even then, the coach didn't take all the credit. After defeating Palestine and Iran, he chose to go back to the locker room alone instead of celebrating in circles on the pitch. "This is the result of the players' and team's efforts. The team doctor, team management and other staff helped a lot. I let them go out and enjoy the cheers of the fans, and the media spotlight. When everyone says Hong Kong doesn't have a good new generation of players, this wonderful moment is especially important for local young players."
After the Asian Games, Hong Kong's soccer team returned from dream to reality with back-to-back losses to Japan and Uzbekistan. Jon Anderson admits that everyone doesn't have to feel lost about it. "I must emphasize that Hong Kong is just Hong Kong and we can't beat all the teams, but no one would have expected us to reach the semi-finals at the beginning."
During the Asian Games, there was one thing that made him proud of the Hong Kong team. "Most of the soccer teams participating in the Asian Games stayed in the same hotel. There were a lot of people there at the beginning, but when it came to the knockout stage, there were more and more restaurant vacancies. In the end, only Japan, South Korea and the Hong Kong team would come for dinner."
Just having dinner with Japan and South Korea, it felt good to see strong teams like China and Saudi Arabia leave before us.
Convincing newly naturalized soldiers: seizing the opportunity
Speaking of another of Jon Anderson's "accomplishments", he has been on the lookout for players who have a chance of getting a Hong Kong SAR passport and playing in foreign leagues since he took over.
Michael Udebuluzor lobbied successfully for naturalization this year at the age of 19. (Michael Udebuluzor) Naturalization shows his "persuasive power". "I said that if he could progress and bring achievements to the Hong Kong team, he could be as famous as Harland in Hong Kong. I actually didn't know if he was playing well at the time. I heard his team coach say he was a rising star in Germany, so I believed he could be a star in Hong Kong."
Jörn Andersson revealed that there were still three to four similar players who could be registered in Hong Kong, but the other side did not want to give up their original nationality for the time being. However, he did not give up. "I tell them that a soccer career is short and they get older after 10 years. If you want to be a star in Hong Kong, you have to grab it or the opportunity will slip away."
Frankness and sincerity may be the key to a coach's success. He doesn't report the good news to please others but speaks directly about the problems, but he may offend others, but he always wants Hong Kong soccer to be good. "I will continue to be myself, be honest with the players, contribute my experience and knowledge and achieve more with the Hong Kong team."
