The 1-0 victory featured a brilliant goal
from a header by Younis Mahmoud,
the team’s 24-year-old captain
This was followed by an “own goal” for BushCon
and its Iraqi stooge regime, which had hoped
to reap a propaganda windfall from the event
Iraq's captain Younis Mahmoud heads the ball past
Saudi Arabia's Yasse Al Mosailem
and Osama Hawsawi to score the matchwinner.
The American media was geared up
for an orgy of propaganda,
seeking to use the soccer victory as a metaphor
for a military victory by the US and
puppet forces over the anti-occupation resistance
Mahmoud’s forthright opposition to the occupation
— a sentiment shared by the overwhelming
majority of the Iraqi population -
did not fit that script, so it was relegated
to a near-footnote in news reports
Iraqi team wins Asian Cup, captain condemns US occupationPropaganda Backlash for US MediaThe LA Times Gushed Before the Final:
Mahmoud told a worldwide television audience that he dared not return to his homeland because of the conditions created by the US occupation.
“I want America to go out,” he said. “Today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, but out. I wish the American people didn’t invade Iraq and hopefully it will be over soon.”
The American media was geared up for an orgy of propaganda, seeking to use the soccer victory as a metaphor for a military victory by the US and puppet forces over the anti-occupation resistance.
Mahmoud’s forthright opposition to the occupation—a sentiment shared by the overwhelming majority of the Iraqi population—did not fit that script.
It was relegated to a near-footnote in newspaper reports by the Washington Post and New York Times, and omitted entirely in broadcast reports by NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox.
Iraq salutes its Asian Cup soccer finalist
Each improbable Iraq soccer victory has been met with an outpouring of joy, a rare feeling in this bloodied country. Thousands poured into the streets Wednesday when Iraq's team edged South Korea to clinch a coveted spot in Sunday's final against Saudi Arabia.
"From the north to the south and the east to the west, everyone was celebrating and chanting, 'one Iraq,' " said Mohammed Khalaf, a former team captain and popular TV commentator who now directs the coverage of the state-run Iraqiya Sports Channel.
Shiite and Sunni Muslim friends who can no longer visit each other's neighborhoods, for fear of being shot, found each other again amid the throngs who were dancing, drumming and spraying each other with water and party foam.
"There were people in my club that I hadn't seen for two or three years," said Uday Fadhil, a Shiite trucker and avid member of one of Baghdad's premier soccer fan clubs. "But I saw them in Karada during the celebrations."
America's European propaganda outlets, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty went over the top after the final, omitting any mention the captain's comments.Iraq: Asian Cup Win Powerful Boost For Unity
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.
"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."
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.
The 1-0 victory by the Iraqi soccer team in Sunday’s Asian Cup featured a brilliant goal on a header by Younis Mahmoud, the team’s 24-year-old captain. This was followed by an “own goal” for the Bush administration and its Iraqi stooge regime, which had hoped to reap a propaganda windfall from the event.
Instead, Mahmoud told a worldwide television audience that he dared not return to his homeland because of the conditions created by the US occupation.
“I want America to go out,” he said. “Today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, but out. I wish the American people didn’t invade Iraq and hopefully it will be over soon.”
Mahmoud said he would return to the Persian Gulf sheikdom of Qatar, where he plays on a professional team. “I don’t want the Iraqi people to be angry with me,” he said.
But “if I go back with the team, anybody could kill me or try to hurt me.” He added, “One of my closest friends, they came to arrest him, and for one year neither me nor his family knew where he is.”
The Iraqi team’s unexpected progress through the quadrennial tournament was greeted with enthusiasm throughout the country, and many saw the national team’s effort, uniting players of all ethnic and religious backgrounds, as a welcome rebuff to the increasingly vicious sectarian conflict at home.
The winning goal came on a corner kick by Hawar Mohammed, a Kurd, headed into the net by Mahmoud, a Sunni Turkoman from Kirkuk.
Ironically, Kurdish nationalist parties are campaigning for Kirkuk, and its nearby oilfields, to be transferred to the control of the Kurdish regional government, a demand adamantly opposed by Turkoman and Arab groups, both Sunni and Shiite.
Goalkeeper Noor Sabri Abbas, a Shiite, played a central role in the Iraqi team’s progress through the field, posting four consecutive shutouts, including the semi-final victory over South Korea where he blocked two shots in the final shootout after a regulation 0-0 tie, resulting in a 4-3 victory for the Iraqi team.
During the tournament, Sabri’s brother-in-law was killed in a bombing, and two other team members lost relatives during the same period.
Other incidents in the month-long tournament reflected the terrible conditions in the occupied and war-torn country.
Mahmoud, the captain and final-winning star, was detained at the airport in Bangkok, Thailand for 12 hours and nearly missed the opening game.
The entire team wore black armbands for the final against Saudi Arabia to honor the memory of the dozens of fans killed by two car bombs during celebrations of the semi-final victory.
The political leaders of the US-backed puppet government in Baghdad sought to associate themselves with the national team.
Before the final, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki promised each member of the team a $10,000 bonus.
State television broadcasts described al-Maliki making congratulatory phone calls to the team, at a time when the television pictures showed all the players celebrating out on the field.
President Jalal Talabani pledged an additional $10,000 to each player and $20,000 to Mahmoud after the victory.
But Talabani admitted that it might not even be possible to stage a welcome-home celebration in the Iraqi capital because of security considerations.
“We will receive them in Baghdad airport. If that’s not possible, Irbil or Sulaymaniya,” he said, referring to the main cities in the Kurdish region.
The American media was geared up for an orgy of propaganda, seeking to use the soccer victory as a metaphor for a military victory by the US and puppet forces over the anti-occupation resistance.
Mahmoud’s forthright opposition to the occupation—a sentiment shared by the overwhelming majority of the Iraqi population—did not fit that script.
It was relegated to a near-footnote in newspaper reports by the Washington Post and New York Times, and omitted entirely in broadcast reports by NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox. Only Fox even reported Mahmoud’s comments on its web site, in an AP story.
Patrick Martin @ World Socialist