Adrian Segecic is ready for Australian selection. If that doesn’t happen, Croatia could come calling

It’s not an empty threat. Croatia is closely monitoring Segecic, and has already poached another of Australia’s rising stars, with goalkeeper Anthony Pavlesic – who, like Segecic, was born and raised in Sydney and played youth international football for Australia – electing earlier this year to represent the nation of his family’s heritage.

Pavlesic, 19, this week sealed a transfer from Bayern Munich to Croatian club NK Rudes, whose chairman is Josip Simunic, another born-and-bred Aussie who famously turned his back on the Socceroos.

Meanwhile, Popovic’s policy of refusing to “sell” the Australian jersey to players eligible to represent other countries may have cost him another top talent in Sunderland’s Nectar Triantis, the former Central Coast Mariners star who has had his switch from Australia to Greece approved by FIFA. Triantis, 22, was called up by the Socceroos in March but was not used, and his negative experience in camp contributed to his decision, according to sources close to him.

The last time Popovic spoke to Australian media, he warned that the country’s budding young stars had to “earn” their call-ups, saying: “It’s not about, ‘OK, I heard some guy scored two goals and yeah, great, we’ll just give them a call to the national team.’ It doesn’t go like that.”

Losing Segecic, if it were to happen, would sting even more because he is a rare talent in a part of the field where the Socceroos desperately need new impetus. In fact, it could be argued that Segecic – who finished tied with former Adelaide United striker Archie Goodwin for the A-League’s golden boot last season – is the most in-form Australian attacker anywhere in the world.

He has had a direct hand in all three of the goals scored by Portsmouth so far this term, his latest involvement being a spectacular strike from outside the box to claw one back in a 2-1 defeat to Norwich City.

For those who watched him in the A-League, it was a familiar highlight, with Segecic possessing the sort of swagger that makes him unafraid to swing his dangerous left foot at distance if the opportunity presents itself.

“I feel like these days, a lot of young kids don’t believe in themselves,” he said.

“It’s a bit more robotic … you don’t see the old-fashioned No.10 types. As a young player coming through, the hardest thing is to have confidence and believe in yourself. I feel like if you tell yourself you’re going to go out there, and you’re going to do it, and you’ve put the hard work in, there’s a good chance that it can happen. If you don’t back yourself, and you don’t take that shot, you’re never going to score … if you do, it could be the difference in the game.”

There will be an immense sense of pride in Segecic’s journey from a Sydney FC perspective, given he joined the club’s academy at the age of 12, but also pain. Firstly, because the Sky Blues won’t be able to cash in on Segecic’s rise because they lost him to Portsmouth on a free transfer, pocketing under $1 million in training compensation for him, with no sell-on clauses retained – and secondly, because his trajectory suggests that had coach Ufuk Talay started him more often last season, they might have made the A-League finals.

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He has signed a three-year deal with Portsmouth, and their decision to hand him the coveted No.10 jersey is a sign of the high esteem held in him by manager John Mousinho, who has scoured the A-League for diamond-in-the-rough recruits. Three other Australians are also at the club: Segecic’s former Sydney FC teammate Hayden Matthews, ex-Brisbane Roar striker Thomas Waddingham and Central Coast Mariners product Jacob Farrell.

“He must love the A-League,” Segecic said.

“From the minute I spoke to him, I just felt like that’s a manager I’d love to play under. He gave me goosebumps. It’s someone that you’d love to fight for and do well for. He said he saw me playing in that No.10 role, and like you saw in the A-League, that’s where I can cause the most damage. As soon as he said that, that was me sold.”

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