Ahead of the biggest match in Tajikistan’s history, Petar Šegrt didn’t make the same mistake that he had ahead of what was previously the biggest match in their history.
This time he marched straight into the translation booth in his pre-match press conference, having had to be reminded to do so before the Round of 16 clash with the UAE that sent the team through to the last eight of the AFC Asian Cup.
The 57-year-old Croatian is the kind of force of nature that Asian, and perhaps global, football hasn’t seen since the late Ivica Osim helmed Japan a decade and a half ago.
In a ritual that’s now garnered cult status amongst the continent’s fourth estate, Šegrt blows around a quarter of his allocated press conference time ensuring that he shakes the hand of every single journalist in attendance at his pre-match briefings.
That after he greets the assembled press pack in multiple languages, with jibes and quips thrown in as he makes his way from handshake to handshake.
It’s the kind of ritual that could easily veer into schtick but with Šegrt it seems genuinely heartfelt, so much so that you wonder just how hard the social distancing guidelines of the pandemic hit him.
In an age of guarded communication, where face-to-face interactions seemingly need to be device diverted, Šegrt strikes you as the kind of person who wouldn’t really fancy owning a phone as it might distract him from the vaudeville routine.
The long, wavy, grey hair and moustache/soul patch combination that’s a kind of cross between Johnny Depp and Albert Einstein only serves to complete the picture.
As impressive as Tajikistan have been on the pitch, Šegrt has ensured that they’re just as entertaining off it and it’s impossible not to draw a line between the two.
The only debutant at this Asian Cup, most pre-tournament predictions had the Tajiks finishing bottom of the group but from early on in their opening match against China it was clear that this was a nation that wasn’t intent on making up the numbers.
Vibrant, aggressive off the ball, and with a real positivity in possession Tajikistan have some claim to the mantle of being the most impressive Asian Cup debutant in a very long time.
If they had a clinical finisher things may be even better but with an xG of 1.8 across their four matches, they’re in the same postcode as Japan and Iran and ahead of the likes of Qatar, Iraq and Uzbekistan, all of whom caught the eye in the first couple of weeks of action.
With another coach in charge, Tajikistan could have easily been an India or a Malaysia, unsure of their place in the continental pecking order and insistent on behaving like underdogs.
With Šegrt at the helm you get the sense that was never an option.
In amongst his multitude of quirks is an idiosyncratic delivery in English, possibly his third language, that’s seen him constantly referring to Tajikistan as the competition’s ‘black’ horses.
He also terms the UAE, the ‘United Arabic Emirates’ but nobody has had the courage to correct these irregularities as it just adds to his overall charm.
One thing is clear though, as Šegrt himself explained ahead of the Jordan clash, is that much of the routine has been a calculated one to deflect attention away from the players in what’s their maiden Asian Cup outing.
He’s done that and then some.
Now though, as he explained, the game is up.
Tajikistan have gone from being long shots to pick up a win, to being plucky outsiders and are now firmly in ‘black’ horse territory.
They’re three wins from the most remarkable title triumph in the history of the Asian Cup and absolutely a shot of doing so.
In his unique way, Šegrt spoke of Tajikistan having already won the Asian Cup twice; the first with progression from the group and then the UAE win.
As he remarked, the players celebrated so hard after both that he was surprised their hotel was still standing and that they didn’t need to do any recovery sessions given the energy expended.
With the Tajikistan FA now increasing the team’s winning bonuses and having helped to facilitate two planeloads of friends, family and supporters to fly in from Dushanbe ahead of the quarter-finals the pressure is on the players to keep the dream alive.
As Šegrt argued pre-match though, it’s a pressure they’ll relish.
“Everybody laughed when they said Tajikistan could go to the second round, everybody laughed when they said Tajikistan could go to the quarter-finals and now the black horses are ready to run to the semi-finals.”
Photos: Asian Football Confederation
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