No home, no coach but Iraq are hopeful of reaching second round
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s long journey back to footballing respectability reaches its highest peak at the Asian Cup Finals in China but as always it’s been a controversial road trip.
The team suffered their most recent and deeply-felt bump just last week when German coach Bernd Stange quit after two years in charge claiming that the worsening security situation in the country made him fear for his life.
It was a real blow for the rehabilitated Iraqis since Stange had taken them to the Finals with the barest of resources and with prospective opponents refusing to play in the besieged Iraqi capital.
Despite that, Iraq still managed to get to China as well as claim one of Asia’s three qualifying spots for the Olympic Games.
The Iraqis will now be handled by former coach Adnan Hamd who is often called in to fill the breach. He has opted to use the country’s Under-23 team in China as part of the build-up to the Athens Games.
It was that side who secured the passage to the Olympics with a thrilling and emotional 3-1 win against bitter rivals Saudi Arabia in a final qualifier in Amman.
Ironically, the two have been drawn together in Group C in China in what will be a volatile clash played out against the political and military enmity which has destroyed relations between the two since the 1990 Gulf War.
“That was crazy joy for us,” said defender Ahmed Alwan looking back on the win in Jordan.
“Despite all of the difficulties we faced, we still managed to qualify for Athens and I believe that we deserve our place in the Olympics.”
Before his departure, the 56-year-old Stange, a former coach of fellow finalists Oman, said that the success of Iraq couldn’t disguise the problems faced by the sport in the country.
“What really annoyed me was that we couldn’t play back there in Iraq. Those games we play in Jordan, Qatar or anywhere else are not literally our “home” matches. If we played in Iraq it will be a different matter because there will probably be more fans attending the games and it would be very helpful for us.”
Despite their reliance on their Olympic squad, Iraq will be looking to Emad Mohammed, who plays his club football in Qatar, to find the net in a group which also features Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. He was only recently recalled to the squad after being excluded from Olympic and World Cup qualifiers for disciplinary reasons.
“The team’s chances to progress from the first round is by no means difficult despite the current situation that accompanied this period of time,” said Hamd. “We will qualify for the second round.” – AFP
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