Soccer team visits Baghdad, but most Iraqis kept away

Left: Team captain Younis Mahmoud celebrates after scoring what would be the game's only goal during Iraq's victory in the Asian Cup Final. Following the game, he called for the U.S. to withdraw.

Baghdad welcomes home Asian Cup soccer heroes

BAGHDAD: Iraq's Asian Cup soccer champs returned Friday to be feted in their homeland, but many Baghdad residents complained that they would miss out on the celebrations because of tight security in the heart of the capital.

The national team, which hasn't played a home game in 17 years, landed at Baghdad's international airport Friday evening and traveled by bus in a convoy to the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad. Iraqi officials, led by Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, met the team upon its arrival, according to government representative Bassam al-Husseini.

But three of the team's stars — team captain Younis Mahmoud, Nashat Akram and Hawar Mulla Mohammed — would not be with them. Mahmoud, a Sunni Arab who scored the winning goal in Iraq's 1-0 Asian Cup final win over Saudi Arabia, has said he feared for his life if he returned to Iraq to celebrate the stunning victory.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki planned a welcome-home celebration in the Green Zone, home to the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government headquarters, al-Husseini said.

"I wish the celebration would take place in al-Shaab stadium, but that is impossible for security reasons," said Mohammed Kadhom, 35, who works at the country's oil ministry. Al-Shaab is a huge, Saddam Hussein-era facility on the capital's east side.

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

Baghdad welcomes home Asian Cup soccer heroes

Weeping tears of joy and pride, Iraq's soccer champions arrived home on Friday to celebrate the Asian Cup victory that inspired their nation, but heavy security meant few Baghdadis were able to join the party.

"There is no happier moment," goalkeeper Noor Sabri told Iraqiya state television in the airport arrival lounge, choking back tears as other players behind him sobbed.

"I don't know what to say. All I can say is congratulations to the mothers of the martyrs," he said, paying tribute to victims of his country's sectarian strife.

Player Ali Rahima said: "We hope that this unity will not be only for football. We hope everybody will unite to bring happiness to the Iraqi people."

Hundreds of Iraqis managed to negotiate a series of security checkpoints in blistering summer heat to reach the airport in the hope of catching a glimpse of their heroes.

"People have been dancing and chanting and singing all day. We haven't gotten tired," a government employee who was at the airport told Reuters.

But most of the city remained locked down in a weekly curfew for the Muslim day of prayer. The majority of Iraqis would see the players only on television.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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