AFC Asian Cup: China coach rejects distraction fears following corruption documentary, says ‘expectation is beautiful’
- China boss Aleksandar Jankovic refutes referee concerns, ‘it is a cheap excuse for a coach’
- Tajikistan head coach Petar Segrt confident team of’ fighters’ can challenge ‘big China’
Aleksandar Jankovic said a documentary detailing corruption in Chinese football had not distracted his players from preparations for Saturday’s opening AFC Asian Cup clash with Tajikistan in Qatar.
It was reported that head coach Jankovic and his squad this week watched the China Central Television programme, which showed one of the Serb’s predecessors, Li Tie, admit his guilt over match-fixing and bribery charges.
Jankovic, who has won only five of his 15 matches in 18 months in charge, said he was “focused on football, and here to talk only about Tajikistan,” in his pre-match press conference.
But asked whether he feared players losing focus in the wake of Li’s confession, coupled with former China football association chairman Chen Xuyuan owning up to bribery, Jankovic told the Post: “Any kind of distraction for such a big competition is always a football distraction. We have young players, some here [in major tournament] for the first time.
“There is a high level of expectation from the whole country, that is beautiful, it is the magic of football, not a distraction.