Sportsfrog.com

Sorry we’re a little late to the game on this, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the incredible victory for Iraq’s soccer team in the Asian Cup. Now, this isn’t the World Cup, but with quality sides from Australia, Japan, and South Korea. And a respectable Saudi Arabian team, Iraq were not supposed to be a factor.

This is especially true given the fact that this team was patched together, and didn’t even have a training ground inside its own country. What was even more heartwarming than the victory itself was the manner in which the majority of Iraqi people came together, regardless of religion or race, and celebrated.

Per the excellent LA Times piece by Alexandra Zavis written after the Iraqi team clinched a spot in the finals:

“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 … 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 … In a shady Baghdad alley Friday, four friends rehashed every detail of the semifinal won 4-3 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie in regulation … The four — a Shiite, two Sunnis and a Christian — plan to meet … again for Sunday’s final.”

“The team’s mixed makeup and its ability to beat the odds has been an inspiration to the fractured nation. Its Brazilian coach, Jorvan Vieira, had only two months to prepare the squad. Players had to shuttle between their local clubs and national practices in neighboring Jordan; some received death threats, or had loved ones kidnapped and killed.”

Nice to see some good news from that country for once. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if the President decides to use the Iraqi soccer victory for political fodder again.