Asian Cup 2015: North Korean team sneak into Sydney, keep low profile

THE North Korean soccer team has dashed to the privacy of their hotel after arriving quietly for the Asian Cup.

ASIAN CUP

AMBITIOUS North Korea are hoping to win every game at the Asian Cup — but it’s unclear how.

Like the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea itself, the country’s football team are a somewhat secretive lot.

Ranked 150th in the world, the Chollima only arrived in Australia on Tuesday, giving themselves just three-and-a-half days to acclimatise and prepare for their tournament opener against Uzbekistan at ANZ Stadium.

Ri Myong-Guk, goal keeper of the North Korea football team, emerges during a training session at Leichhardt Oval ahead of their opening Asian Cup match. Picture: Richard Dobson

Members of the North Korea football team. Picture: Richard Dobson

P. Song Chol of the North Korea football team. Picture: Richard Dobson

Coach Jo Tong Sop with players at Leichhardt Oval. Picture: Richard Dobson

Refusing to speak to the media, let alone divulge tactics, coach Jo Tong-sop and the 22-man North Korean squad — featuring 18 home-based players — dashed straight to the privacy of their hotel rooms after being greeted in Sydney with a traditional indigenous dance.

Tight-lipped media manager Choe Nam-hyok said he was unsure how much support, if any, the side would receive in Australia, but hoped to pick up a few fans during the tournament.

They can probably bank on some support from the Macarthur under-10s, who made the trek from western Sydney on Tuesday to greet the North Koreans while proudly holding up the country’s national flag outside the team hotel.

It is unknown if North Korea’s Dear Leader Kim Jong-un will attend any games — or even be in Australia — for the tournament. Asked about the side’s hopes for the Asian Cup, Nam-hyok smiled and said: “To win every game”.

Such hopes seem fanciful for the lowest-ranked team in the tournament and for a country that last won a match at an Asian Cup back in 1980.

Striker Pak Kwang-ryong leads out members of the North Korea football team ahead of their opening Asian Cup match. Picture: Richard Dobson

The team have only three-and-a-half days to acclimatise before their opener in the Asia Cup. Picture: Richard Dobson

North Korea, though, did qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, even if they only managed to score one goal while conceding a dozen in three heavy defeats.

Pooled in Group B alongside China, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, their first-up rivals won’t be taking them lightly on Saturday.

Star defender Vitaliy Denisov, who plays his trade for Lokomotiv Moscow, said Uzbekistan, while hoping to go all the way to the final, held great respect for North Korea.

Denisov said the threat of the unknown was what worried the White Wolves the most.

“We played against them before,” he said.

“We won two games with the minimum score — 1-0 — and we heard they now have a new coach and new players, many changes in the team.”

Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: North Korean team sneak into Sydney, keep low profile