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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
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 Sat Aug 21, 2004 11:56 pm Medal Within Iraqi Soccer Team's Grasp |
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| Quote: |
Medal Within Iraqi Soccer Team's Grasp
Saturday, August 21, 2004
IRAKLION, Greece � The Iraqi soccer team is one victory away from an improbable trip to the podium.
Emad Mohammed's (search) 12-yard bicycle kick in the 64th minute gave Iraq a 1-0 victory over Australia in the quarterfinals Saturday, putting the invaded, war-torn country in position to compete for only its second Olympic medal in the nation's history.
Iraq will play either Paraguay or South Korea in the semifinals in Thessaloniki (search) on Tuesday. Even a loss in the semis would put the Iraqis in the bronze medal game, where they could become the first athletes from their country to win a medal since Abdul Wahid Aziz's weightlifting bronze in Rome in 1960.
Two more victories would mean a gold medal and a promised $25,000 reward for each player from the recently reinstated Iraqi Olympic Committee (search). The committee had conceded it may need sponsors to come through with the cash, considering there are 18 players on the roster.
The goal came on a corner kick. Mahdi Karim sacrificed his body to head the ball to Mohammed, who flipped himself upside down to put his shot inside the right post. Karim was injured on the play and lay on the field for a couple of minutes, but he returned to the game.
The goal set off jubilant celebrations among more than 1,000 Iraqi supporters, hundreds of whom had been chanting and waving flags since an hour before kickoff.
The fact that Iraq even qualified for the Athens Games (search) was a remarkable achievement. They clinched a berth in May, just three months after the country was reinstated by the International Olympic Committee following a nine-month absence. The national Olympic committee was previously run by Saddam Hussein's son, Odai, who tortured players when they fell out of favor.
Two months after qualifying, the team's German coach, Bernd Stange, resigned because of safety reasons and was replaced by his assistant and former Iraqi player, Adnan Hamad. The team could not play any home games because of the war and had virtually no funding.
The Australians were the hard-luck victims of the Iraqis' exuberant play. The Socceroos had the better scoring chances throughout the match, even though they played without three regular starters. Defender Craig Moore and midfielders Ahmad Elrich and Tim Cahill were suspended after receiving two yellow cards in the first round. Elrich and Cahill had accounted for three of Australia's six first-round goals.
Australia actually put the ball in the net in the 48th minute when Anthony Danze knocked in a rebound after two excellent saves by goalkeeper Nour Sabri, but the play was ruled offsides. Sabri then made a leaping save on John Aloisi's header in the 59th, and Australia's Luke Wilkshire hit the crossbar in the 66th.
Iraq's Razzaq Farhan had a chance to make it 2-0 after a nifty move around Adrian Madaschi in the penalty area, but Farhan pushed his shot wide.
Iraq advanced out of the first round with upsets over Portugal and Costa Rica before losing to Morocco. The soccer team last qualified for the Olympics at the 1988 Seoul Games and hadn't been in the quarterfinals since Moscow in 1980.
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Sun Aug 22, 2004 12:27 am |
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SWEET! Go IRAQ!
-------signature-------
Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with our scars
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Founder
Dominion Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 12755
Location: Gamma Quadrant
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| Sun Aug 22, 2004 3:29 am |
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This is great! The liberation of Iraq becomes more fruitful each day. Too bad their past talents were wasted. Great news though.
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Toad
Chief of Security
Joined: 28 Aug 2003
Posts: 936
Location: The Great Plains
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| Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:36 am |
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| Founder wrote: | | This is great! The liberation of Iraq becomes more fruitful each day. Too bad their past talents were wasted. Great news though. |
Ditto
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Mon Aug 23, 2004 5:49 pm |
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You see, this is good, but at least if they don't win, THEY WON'T GET BEATEN!!!
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
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| Mon Aug 23, 2004 8:39 pm |
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I hope they get kicked out!!!  
| Quote: | Finally, please join with me in pulling for the Iraq soccer team to get booted from Olympic play. Those ingrates in the midst of being the surprise success story in the games have started degrading our military our president and the war. In fact, one of these players says if he wasn�t playing soccer he would be an insurgent in Fallujah. So, they prefer to go back to the days of torture under Uday the mutant Saddam offspring? Remember the stories of him jailing players who missed penalty kicks and whipping the team when they lost and dropping them in sewage? Those were the good old days? We leave about 1,000 soldiers in body bags and spend billions and these people condemn us? They should hold an American flag after every game and thank our nation for the liberation. How dare they rip the country, our soldiers or the president!
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Toad
Chief of Security
Joined: 28 Aug 2003
Posts: 936
Location: The Great Plains
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| Tue Aug 24, 2004 1:23 pm |
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| JanewayIsHott wrote: | I hope they get kicked out!!!
| Quote: | Finally, please join with me in pulling for the Iraq soccer team to get booted from Olympic play. Those ingrates in the midst of being the surprise success story in the games have started degrading our military our president and the war. In fact, one of these players says if he wasn�t playing soccer he would be an insurgent in Fallujah. So, they prefer to go back to the days of torture under Uday the mutant Saddam offspring? Remember the stories of him jailing players who missed penalty kicks and whipping the team when they lost and dropping them in sewage? Those were the good old days? We leave about 1,000 soldiers in body bags and spend billions and these people condemn us? They should hold an American flag after every game and thank our nation for the liberation. How dare they rip the country, our soldiers or the president!
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I'm sure the majority of the players on the team and the whole population of Iraq are grateful for our efforts. Iraq has not won a olympic medal in 44 years. That's 11 summer olympics!!! I think the good outweights the bad.
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Tue Aug 24, 2004 8:43 pm |
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Not to mention a formerly oppressed people are now free. Honestly, do you think they know what to do yet? It takes time. Violence is all they know.
-------signature-------
Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with our scars
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