Iraqi Soccer

Back in July, Jeff Klein wrote about perennial expectations that some success on the part of Iraq's national soccer team would bring the country together. As he notes, it keeps not happening: Soccer doesn't stop civil wars. And now we read in an article headlined "Iraq says the worst is over in Baghdad" that "The newfound calm, which continues to be shattered by occasional car bombs and roadside blasts, did not come soon enough for four members of the Iraqi national soccer team who fled during a trip to Australia and requested asylum."

Photo by Flickr user Mushroom and Rooster used under a Creative Commons license

Comments

Is this an oblique shot at Foer? (I never read his book.)

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | November 19, 2007 12:20 PM

Is this an oblique shot at Foer? (I never read his book.)

Probably not. I'm sure Matt knows enough golf etiquette to call out "Foer!" before taking an oblique shot.

Posted by James Gary | November 19, 2007 12:31 PM

What kind of idiot would think that a soccer game could cause peace to break out in Iraq? Although, given the idiocy of the rest of the MSM reporting from Iraq, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if some of the worst reporters - maybe McClatchy - made up this crap too.

That said, it IS pretty impressive that the Iraqi team seems to be able to get pretty far in some of these tournaments.

Posted by Al | November 19, 2007 12:34 PM

seems to me that this is the more important article about Iraq from today's LA times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/complete/la-fg-concerned19nov19,1,7393299.story?coll=la-iraq-complete

Posted by RC | November 19, 2007 12:54 PM

I was about to remark that they had a pretty nifty football stadium there in Bagdhad, but something smelled fishy ...

Posted by novakant | November 19, 2007 1:22 PM

I'm pretty sure Iraq's national team has been forced to relocate to Jordan for the last few years. That alone should have been enough to tell those writers that soccer wasn't going to be a panacea for Iraq's problems. That being said, the accomplishments of Iraq's soccer team in recent years have been quite remarkable, and very inspiring, but it's no substitute for the hard work of political reconciliation. You saw similar claims about Ivory Coast in the build-up to last year's World Cup, but the correlation between the success of Les Elephants and the improved political situation in Ivory Coast seemed pretty tenuous as well.

Posted by Ricky B | November 19, 2007 2:22 PM

Not the national team - the under-23 Olympic team, unfortunately (Australian soccer could use the boost). Still, I suppose it's an investment in the future. It takes a couple of years' nationality before they let you play for your new country in the cup anyway.
The Iraqis beat Australia for the world cup slot nine years ago, and we're properly respectful. Mind you, it's a pity that Brazil isn't a sinkhole of misery and slaughter; that would really give us a lift.
We're getting a lot of Somali refugees, too, and if that doesn't help our basketball...

Posted by Chris | November 19, 2007 5:48 PM

McClatchy has done some of the best reporting in Iraq.

Posted by bob | November 19, 2007 7:07 PM

Chris, it was actually Iran, not Iraq, that beat Australia for a berth in the 1998 World Cup- and then went on to beat the US in the group stage of that tournament. Also, while it was their Olympic squad, one of the Iraqi players seeking asylum also plays for the senior team and played in the Asian Cup winning side back in the summer. Also, if you've played for another national team in an official competition you're cap-tied to that team and are almost never allowed to play for a different national team in the future. It has happened in the past, but the rules have become more strict in recent years. I wouldn't anticipate any of these guys turning out for the Socceroos in the future.

Posted by Ricky B | November 19, 2007 7:58 PM

Agree with Novakant that it is a very nice looking stadium. Is that where the Olympics were? I can see why Australia is making a strong bid for the 2018 WC...

Posted by Al | November 19, 2007 8:33 PM

Actually, soccer, or at least Pele, does stop civil wars, for a brief period of time:

from the Pele entry on Wikipedia,

"In 1967, the two factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play an exhibition game in Lagos."

If Iraq could get Pele to play for them it might work.

Posted by matt | November 21, 2007 7:50 AM