Posted on 07/29/2007 7:59:05 AM PDT by alligator
AKARTA (Reuters) - Iraq defied seemingly impossible odds to beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the Asian Cup final on Sunday, providing a fairytale ending to the tournament and a rare moment of celebration in their war-torn homeland.
Iraqi captain Younis Mahmoud scored the winner in the 71st minute when he climbed above the defence at the far post and headed a perfectly-weighted corner from Hawar Mulla Mohammed into the net.
Saudi Arabia had been bidding to become the first country to win the Asian Cup four times but were outplayed by an Iraqi team riding high on a wave of national support.
Iraq's unexpected victory not only captured the imagination of the sporting world but helped unify a country ravaged by war and ripped apart by sectarian violence.
(Excerpt) Read more at uk.reuters.com ...
The terrorists try to bring down security and morale in Iraq all the time. If those cowards kill again civilians during celebrations, it won’t be a victory for them.
Victory today belongs to the Iraqis, and I don’t think the psychopath cowards will be able to bring down the mood.
ping
Good! Then nobody can take it away from the Iraqi people.
They’ve got a great team giving up only 2 goals in six matches.
This paragraph is one that can be made into a great Hollywood film ...
If they can make an inspirational story of baseball, basketball and even ice hockey, they surely can make
an inspirational story out of this event. Just imagine
the back story behind it... a rich morass of emotions
that can be fully tapped for a great movie...
From the Reuters story :
“Iraq were forced to train and play their qualifiers in neutral countries and their coach, Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira, who said he planned to quit after the match, only had two months to mould a team that included Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurdish players.
None of the Iraqi players have been untouched by the war and although they have tried to mask their grief, there were constant reminders of the sectarian violence at home.
At least three players in the squad have lost relatives in the past two months and all the players wore black armbands during the final in memory of the 50 people killed by suicide bombers after Wednesday’s semi-final win over South Korea.”
If terrorists decide to attack anyone celebrating it will be their worst strategic mistake in the whole war on terror. It would unite the whole country against them in a way few events could.
Watch out for yourself.
Show off! ;)
Thanks for reminding me of my inadequacies. My son is here now and we’re going to hook up my new DSL and get this picture thingy straightened out.
BTW, if the Iraqis can’t unite behind a winning soccer team, there is no hope. They should start acting like the Europeans and use soccer as a metaphor for war.
More lobbying for a conservative film-maker to a make this movie....
The “formation” of the team alone would make it worth the first quarter of the movie...everybody loves an underdog team... this team wasn’t even supposed to make it with its ragtag composition... just think of the possibilities...
FROM THE JERUSALEM POST :
A squad drawn together in ad-hoc circumstances from all parts of the Gulf, and with its players straddling the bitter and violent ethnic divides, somehow conjured an extraordinary triumph over the odds.
And it was no lucky win. Iraq dominated the final against a heavily favored Saudi Arabia, a three-time Asian Cup champion.”
This is a great learning opportunity. Having a son is a definite asset. I know
Is this your first adventure into broadband? You are gonna love it!
I wonder how long until the tin-foilers suggest that the US lobbied for Saudi Arabia to throw the match?
Yeah, I’m thinking about getting a color tv, and I may even get rid of my Mayberry wall phone.
Full article here... http://www.theage.com.au/news/soccer/iraq-wins-asian-cup/2007/07/30/1185647753032.html
Awesome!
nice
I wonder if the terrorists will now target the members of the team.
Couldn’t be a cleaner shot. Nobody anywhere near him. Keeper faked himself out, guys on the posts didn’t react in time.
It’s all George Bush’s fault.
If we had not invaded Iraq, the Iraqi national team would have been filled with men who knew what failure would lead to.
A visit to Uday’s torture chambers.
I doubt there is anything more stupid the terrorists could do than attacking the national heroes.
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