IF YOU were unlucky enough to have been an Iraqi international footballer during the Saddam Hussein era then a bad performance meant a whole lot more than a slating in the press. Under the auspices of Saddam’s eldest son Uday, who was the head of Iraq’s national Olympic Association, poor performances were punished by lashings, being pushed into vats of sewage or even spells in a prison that would make Midnight Express look like a stroll in the park. We wouldn’t even wish that on Joey Barton.

Today in 2007 the Iraqi side gave their fans something to smile about, as they beat Saudi Arabia to win the Asian Cup as their nation struggled to rebound from the American-led invasion four years earlier.

Like all walks of life, sport had been hit hard since Bush and Blair let loose with ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’. With the nation’s infrastructure in ruins few expected that Iraq would even make it out of the group stages.

Lead by Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira Iraq beat Austrialia on the way to topping Group A. In the knockout stages they defeated Vietnam before beating South Korea on penalties in the semi-final.

However, as jubilant fans poured onto the streets of Baghdad to celebrate their place in the final, tragedy stuck when two car bombers killed 50 and injured scores more. Other celebrations during the week had killed at least 12 people, from stray bullets as fans shot their guns in the air.



The Iraqi players wore black armbands to honour the dead as they took on the heavily-favoured Saudi Arabia side. Captain and player of the tournament Younis Mahmoud scored the only goal of the game to spark scenes of jubilation that offered a rare respite from suicide bombs and insurgent fighting for the nation.

Celebrations took place all across the divided country, as the team drew on Kurds, Sunnis, Shias and Turkomans, leading president Jala Talabani to describe the side as “a true symbol of national unity”.

In a change from the days of Uday Hussein the side were rewarded with a bonus of £5,000, rather than the threat of having their legs amputated. See footage of the Lions of Mesopotamia’s famous win below and check out what OTFD was on about last year here.

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