July 30, 2007
Iraq: Asian Cup Win Powerful Boost For Unity
by Breffni O'Rourke
Iraqis celebrating in the southern city of Al-Basrah on July 29 (AFP)
July 30, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- For the first time ever, Iraq has won
soccer's Asian Cup, triggering scenes of jubilation around the war-torn
country and among Iraqi communities abroad.
In Baghdad, fans filled the streets after the Iraqi national team beat a more experienced Saudi Arabian side 1:0 in the July 29 final in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The unexpected win against the Saudis, long one of the dominant teams in the Asian Cup contest, unleashed pent-up emotions in a country suffering daily sectarian violence. Many people wept openly, hugged each other, sang, and danced.
Message Of Hope
The Iraqi team included players from all major sectors of Iraqi society, Shi'a, Sunnis, Kurds, and Turkomans, working together with a common aim.
Their prospects as a team at first appeared so dim that three prospective coaches turned down the offer to train them. The man who finally took on the task was Brazilian Jorvan Vieira, who had only two months in which to work.
Radio Free Iraq's Baghdad bureau chief, Nabil al-Haidari, says the success they achieved stands as an example of the unity Iraq so desperately needs to forge on the political level.
"Celebrations took place in all Iraqi cities, and it sends a message to all the world that they favor unity, that they like their identity as Iraqis," he said.
Uniting IraqisThe symbolism of the occasion was not lost on the fans.
One of them was Ali Adnan, an Iraqi now living in Amman, Jordan, who told Reuters: "I congratulate the wounded Iraqi population, and I hope we get more and more victories. I ask God to unify the Sunnis and the Shi'a. There is no difference between us. We are all brothers under this flag and under this team."
In Baghdad, similar sentiments came from Muhammad Muhisin, a Shi'a from the predominantly Shi'ite Karrada neighborhood of the capital.