Han Bong-zin

Han Bong-zin (; born 2 September 1945), also called Han Bong Jin, is a North Korean former football player who was an outside forward for the national team in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He also played for 2.8 Sports Team. He later served as the manager of the national team from 1980 to 1981.

Early life Han was born on 2 September 1945 in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. At the club level, he played for the 2.8 Sports Team in the country's top league. In 1962, Han was chosen as one of the best 40 players from the North Korean leagues, whose membership reportedly consisted of over 250,000, to be considered for the national team. The 40 players were enlisted into the Army as military officers, under the leadership of colonel and coach Myung Rye-hyun, and went under strict training for the next four years in preparation for the cup.

Han, an outside right, was ultimately chosen as one of 22 players for the World Cup team. He was the most experienced player on the squad and had a cap total listed by varying sources as 49, 52, or 72 by the time of the competition. The Evening Telegraph mentioned him as being one of the top two stars of the team and noted that he "demoralised countless defences with his speed and skill, and he is a powerful two-footed kicker." Projected as having little chance of success, the team lost their first match, 3–0 against the Soviet Union, before tying Chile 1–1. In a massive upset, North Korea won 1–0 on a goal by Pak Doo-ik.

Later life For the team's performance at the World Cup, all the players who appeared in a match were given the title of Merited Athlete, the second-highest honor for sportspeople in North Korea. After the World Cup, it was rumored that the North Korean squad was imprisoned for celebrating the win over Italy in a bar; however, when interviewed in 2002, several players denied this.

Han later managed the North Korean national team from July 1980 to December 1981. In 2002, he was interviewed as one of the seven surviving members of the 1966 North Korean team in the documentary The Game of Their Lives and visited Middlesbrough with his former teammates.