The reporter reported coldlyTajikistan, which entered the Asian Cup finals for the first time in team history, has continued to make history all the way: from the first point, the first goal, the first win, the first qualification to the top 8 for the first time, becoming the most noteworthy dark horse. How can a small and impoverished country in Central Asia, with a population of only 9 million, create such a miracle? In addition to vigorously promoting players to stay abroad in recent years, the hiring of powerful coaches like Shegot is rooted in the national youth training system funded by FIFA. It is this youth training system that has produced miracle talents for Tajikistan football.
Tajikistan's eldest son, Rusdan, is the president of the country's Football Federation and the Central Asian Football Confederation (CAF), and also serves on the Olympic Council of Asia and the FIFA Development Committee. Tajikistan's youth and league system has access to a steady stream of funding and technical support from the FIFA Forward program, which is closely related to his networking.
In June 2016, the TFF Academy of the Tajikistan Football Federation was officially launched, funded by the FIFA Forward program. The college selects talents from all over the country, and the number of students is more than 70 according to the three age groups of U15, U16 and U17. Every week, 10 teenagers come to the academy for trial training, and the fittest survives. FIFA has also funded the Tajikistan U15 and U17 Junior National Leagues, with a home-and-away system in eight cities. The costs of transportation, refereeing and coach training for the participating teams are also covered by the FIFA Forward program.
More than 3,300 Tajik junior players participate in the youth league every year, and more than 170,000 boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 12 take part in the "Football by the Side" school football programme, also funded by FIFA. In 2019, Tajikistan's U15 national team was also invited to participate in the UEFA Age Group Development Championship, playing against Albania, Estonia and Kosovo U15 teams. This is also the result of Rusdan's active activities to bring Tajikistan's youth academy into UEFA's ASSIST program. In 2021, Tajikistan's U21 national youth team was also invited to participate in the U20 Arab Cup in Egypt.
FIFA's all-round help had an immediate effect, with Tajikistan reaching the quarterfinals of the U19 Asian Youth Championship in 2016 and 2018 in succession, and defeating the Chinese national youth team in consecutive group stages. It was only because the 1 4 finals had encountered the top two in Japan and South Korea that they did not go further. Tajikistan also finished runners-up at the 2018 U16 Asian Junior Championships, the best result in team history. In the group stage, Japan was drawn, and in the knockout round, North Korea and South Korea were defeated on penalties, and Japan was only lost 0-1 in the final. The team then played in the 2019 Under-17 World Junior Championship and beat Cameroon 1-0, losing to Spain and Argentina in the tournament, but gaining important experience in the tournament. These four national youth teams and national youth teams and the national youth team that did not qualify for the group stage of the U20 Asian Cup last year contributed 12 international players to this Asian Cup, including the main strikers Soylov and Kamolov, winger Panjishanbe, central defender Hanonov, etc. During the same period, the U19 Chinese national youth team lost to Tajikistan for two consecutive years, and the Chinese national youth team did not even enter the finals in the 2018 Asian Junior Championship.
The Tajikistan league has also benefited from the FIFA FORWARD program, which has improved the league's hardware with the purchase of team equipment, goals, artificial turf, team buses, and the renovation of locker rooms and training grounds. Rustan is also the president of the league's biggest giant, Independiente Dushanbe, and the club has used his energy to bring together most of the international players, and has also gained experience in the AFC Champions League. The progress of football in Tajikistan is due to the independence of the youth academy led by the Football Association and Dushanbe, which is equivalent to the "national team club", to complete the training of players.
Croatian coach Schegot, who was born in the former Yugoslavia, has been crucial in the promotion of this group of youth elites. He took over at the beginning of 2022 with the three principles established by his predecessor, Uzbekistan coach Toshev: discipline, unity and self-confidence. Shergot knows how to use exaggerated words and deeds and uninhibited styling to attract ** and divert the attention of the outside world to newcomers. His coaching style is a combination of grace and power, and he is a kind and funny "dad" outside of training and games, but the bottom line of training, games and discipline cannot be broken. In the past two years, he has asked the Football Association to arrange more warm-ups for Asian teams, with Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Russia, plus last summer's Central Asian Cup, Tajikistan has been given the opportunity to exercise. In particular, the warm-up against the UAE in Abu Dhabi last March provided valuable experience for this 1 8 final.
Before the penalty shootout against the United Arab Emirates in the 1 8 finals, Shegot sternly called the players sitting on the ground and asked them to fight side by side in a line to encourage each other. Self-confidence is the greatest achievement he has brought to Tajikistan football, and he is proud to coach in this small Central Asian country: "Now, I must say that Tajikistan is my first country. "No one knows how far Tajikistan can go in the Asian Cup, but the "Golden Champions" have been successful enough.
It is worth mentioning that Shegot's contract with the Tajikistan Football Federation will expire at the end of the Asian Cup. The annual salary of this cost-effective foreign coach in Tajikistan is only 150,000 US dollars, which is only 1 9 of national football coach Jankovic.