North Korea will part ways with its men’s national football team head coach Jorn Andersen after spending nearly two years with the Norwegian, according to foreign media reports Friday.
Norway’s TV2 reported that Andersen recently met with Hong Kong Football Association officials to discuss his coaching job.
This happened after North Korea beat Hong Kong 2-0 in the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifying match in Pyongyang.
Andersen’s contract with North Korea ends at the end of March.
According to TV 2, Andersen who is a former German Bundesliga top goal scorer decided not to renew his contract with North Korea.
He is said to be close to leading the Hong Kong national football team.
Andersen took the helm of the North Korean men’s national football team in May 2016.
He was the second foreigner to manage North Korea after Hungarian Pal Csernai in 1991.
The 55-year-old collected six wins, one draw and one loss in his first year with North Korea.
He led the communist nation to qualify for the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship.
Andersen also helped North Koreans to play in Europe, such as Han Kwang-song at Italian side Cagliari and Jong Il-kwan at Swiss outfit Luzern.
Andersen renewed his contract with North Korea last December and focused on North Korea qualifying for the 2019 Asian Cup.
North Korea finished second in Group B behind Lebanon in the Asian Cup qualifying campaign and earned their sport at the AFC event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
North Korea are ranked No. 119 in the latest FIFA rankings. (Yonhap/NAN)
