JAKARTA (Reuters) - Iraq completed one of sport's great fairy tales by beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the Asian Cup final on Sunday to provide a rare moment for celebration in their war-torn homeland. The Saudis had been bidding to become the first four-times winners of the tournament but Iraq, riding a wave of global sentiment, upset the hot-favorites for a rare slice of sporting glory.
"This is not just about football... this is more important than that," Iraq's Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira told a news conference. "This has brought great happiness to a whole country. This is not about a team, this is about human beings." 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. The Iraqis might have had won more comfortably if they had capitalised on their many scoring chances, only to be denied by a combination of sloppy finishing and extraordinary saves from Saudi goalkeeper Yasser Al Mosailem. Saudi Arabia had been the best attacking team in the tournament, scoring 12 goals on their way to the final, but could not find a way past the Iraqis, who had the best defence in the competition, conceding just two goals in six matches. "Iraq deserved to win today," Saudi coach Helio Cesar dos Anjos said. "They were very motivated and we knew the whole world was supporting this team."
Few people had given Iraq any chance of winning the tournament after haphazard preparations brought about by the war at home and facing opponents appearing in their sixth final in the last seven Asian Cups. Iraq were forced to train and play qualifiers in neutral countries and Vieira, who confirmed his resignation after the match, only had two months to mould a team that included Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish players.
"I have learnt a lot from this last two months," Vieira said. "We all know the problems in Iraq but I have learnt that they are a fantastic people. They have an extraordinary power." 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 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. Mahmoud, who was named best player of the tournament, said one of the tragedies of the war was that the team would not even be able to return to Iraq with the trophy. "I wish we could go, but you just don't know who will kill you," he said. FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who was at the Gelora Bung National Stadium for the final, said Iraq's achievement had inspired millions and was proof of sport's unique power to unite people in the most desperate circumstances.
it is my sincere hope that the people of Iraq can unite as one, and do as their team has done. stand against many different teams and stay united and forge a new nation. overcoming all the other opposing factions.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis savored the biggest street celebrations since the fall of Saddam Hussein after their soccer team won the Asian Cup on Sunday, a rare moment of joy and unity in four years of relentless strife.
"The pain is broken," Sports Minister Jassim Mohammed Jaffar told Reuters after Iraq beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in Jakarta. Celebratory gunfire rang out across Baghdad at the final whistle after Iraqis ignored orders by security and religious leaders not to fire into the air.
Authorities had imposed vehicle curfews and security forces were on alert after 50 people were killed by suicide attacks against fans after Iraq's semi-final win on Wednesday. The team wore black arm bands in memory of the dead.
There were no reports of major violence targeting fans after the final although six people died when mortar rounds hit a house in Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. Brigadier General Qassim Moussawi, the Iraqi military's chief spokesman in Baghdad, said security forces had killed a suspected insurgent and defused a car bomb in the Saidiya district of southern Baghdad soon after the match.
Spontaneous celebrations broke out in religiously mixed Baghdad as well as in Basra and the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf in the south and northern Kurdish towns like Arbil and Kirkuk. Fans cried and danced in the streets, waving their shirts in the air and hugging.
Soldiers with their rifles slung over their shoulders danced with ordinary Iraqis in Baghdad while children, their faces painted in the Iraqi colors, held up pictures of their heroes.
"I swear we are heroes. This is a proud moment for all Iraqis," one fan in Baghdad's Karrada district told Reuters Television. While mainly comprised of Shi'ites, the team was captained by a Sunni Turkman from Kirkuk -- goal-scoring hero Younis Mahmoud -- and also contained Sunni Arab and Kurdish players in a broad representation of Iraqi society.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who watched the match in a gold-painted chair in his office, quickly issued a statement praising the team's victory. Maliki will give a reception for the players on their return to Iraq, officials said. A THOUSAND CONGRATULATIONS
In Baghdad's Sadr City, a sprawling Shi'ite slum, women threw sweets to gathering fans and poured water over crowds in sweltering summer heat. "A thousand congratulations for all Iraqis," another fan said.
Television presenters, draped in the red, white and black Iraqi flag, dissolved into tears. One Iraqiya television reporter was engulfed by a crowd in Baghdad and re-emerged on the shoulders of chanting fans. CNN broke into normal programming to announce the win and the U.S. military congratulated the team. A vehicle curfew began in Baghdad at 4 p.m., half an hour before kick-off, and was to stay in place until 6 a.m. on Monday (10:00 p.m. EST on Sunday).
Similar bans were imposed in volatile Kirkuk, and Najaf and Kerbala, where authorities said they had received intelligence of possible car bomb attacks.
Iraqi security forces detained two men in a car packed with explosives in eastern Baghdad not long before the match started, police said. They were accused of trying to target soccer fans. Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a fatwa, or religious edict, before the match against firing weapons into the air, a traditional tribal celebration. Two people were killed by falling bullets on Wednesday.
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JAKARTA (Reuters) - Iraq completed one of sport's great fairy tales by beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the Asian Cup final on Sunday to provide a rare moment for celebration in their war-torn homeland.
The Saudis had been bidding to become the first four-times winners of the tournament but Iraq, riding a wave of global sentiment, upset the hot-favorites for a rare slice of sporting glory.
"This is not just about football... this is more important than that," Iraq's Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira told a news conference.
"This has brought great happiness to a whole country. This is not about a team, this is about human beings."
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.
The Iraqis might have had won more comfortably if they had capitalised on their many scoring chances, only to be denied by a combination of sloppy finishing and extraordinary saves from Saudi goalkeeper Yasser Al Mosailem.
Saudi Arabia had been the best attacking team in the tournament, scoring 12 goals on their way to the final, but could not find a way past the Iraqis, who had the best defence in the competition, conceding just two goals in six matches.
"Iraq deserved to win today," Saudi coach Helio Cesar dos Anjos said. "They were very motivated and we knew the whole world was supporting this team."
Few people had given Iraq any chance of winning the tournament after haphazard preparations brought about by the war at home and facing opponents appearing in their sixth final in the last seven Asian Cups.
Iraq were forced to train and play qualifiers in neutral countries and Vieira, who confirmed his resignation after the match, only had two months to mould a team that included Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish players.
"I have learnt a lot from this last two months," Vieira said. "We all know the problems in Iraq but I have learnt that they are a fantastic people. They have an extraordinary power."
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 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.
Mahmoud, who was named best player of the tournament, said one of the tragedies of the war was that the team would not even be able to return to Iraq with the trophy.
"I wish we could go, but you just don't know who will kill you," he said.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who was at the Gelora Bung National Stadium for the final, said Iraq's achievement had inspired millions and was proof of sport's unique power to unite people in the most desperate circumstances.
The Iraqi Government could learn a lot from their sports team.