Congrats Iraq for winning the AFC!
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to be the champions. with chaos back home, and the players fought so hard in this tournament. I admire them
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Yea great achievement!
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BAGHDAD, July 29 (Reuters) - Volleys of gunfire rang out across Baghdad on Sunday as Iraqis celebrated their soccer team's Asian Cup victory, a rare moment of joy and unity in four years of relentless strife. "We achieved the dream. Allahu Akbar! (God is greatest)," a crying fan told Iraqiya state television after Iraq's 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in Jakarta. Authorities earlier imposed vehicle curfews and security forces went on heightened alert after 50 people were killed by suicide attacks against fans after Iraq's semi-final victory on Wednesday.
Iraqis ignored orders by security and religious leaders not to fire into the air. Their team, who wore black arm bands in memory of the dead, had never before made it to the Asian Cup final. Spontaneous celebrations broke out in religiously mixed Baghdad as well as in the Shi'ite south and the Kurdish north. The team featured players from all Iraq's main communities -- Shi'ite and Sunni Arab as well as Kurdish. Fans cried and danced in the streets, waving their shirts in the air and hugging.
Iraq team captain Younis Mahmoud Khalaf heads in the game-winning goal.
TV PRESENTERS DON FLAGS
Television presenters, draped in the red, white and black Iraqi flag, dissolved into tears and CNN broke into its normal programming to announce the win. A vehicle curfew had begun in Baghdad at 4 p.m., half an hour before kick-off, and was to stay in place until 6 a.m. on Monday (0200 GMT).
Similar bans were also announced in the volatile northern city of Kirkuk and in the southern holy Shi'ite cities of 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.
Baghdad's chief military spokesman, Brigadier General Qassim Moussawi, had said security forces were preparing for "expected terrorist attacks" on fans. Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, also issued a fatwa, or religious edict, against firing weapons into the air, a traditional tribal celebration. Two people were killed by falling bullets on Wednesday.
Shops began emptying in Baghdad from about midday and office workers went home hours early to watch the final. The Iraqi Accordance Front, parliament's main Sunni Arab bloc, put off a crisis meeting to discuss its boycott of the government because of the match. Parliament announced the players would be rewarded, win or lose.
Vendors across Iraq reported bumper sales of t-shirts, team shirts and pictures of the team, as well as Iraqi flags. "The way the Iraqi team has played makes us very happy. They succeeded in unifying the Iraqi people, which the politicians failed to do," said Baqir Mohsin, a businessman in the southern Shi'ite city of Basra. -
The Best Eleven Of The Asian Cup
It's all over and Iraq are the champions of Asia. Goal.com Asia has chosen the eleven players who have impressed the most in the tournament - but of course, you may not agree!
GK – Lee Woon-jae (South Korea)
May be getting on a little but was solid as a rock at the back for South Korea.
DF – Vitaliy Densiov (Uzbekistan)
Can play on the left in midfield or defence and was a sight to behold on his marauding runs forward.
DF- Oh Beom-seok (South Korea)
Young Pohang Steelers right-back was one of the finds of the competition – solid in defence, good going forward and what an engine!
DF –Yuji Nakazawa (Japan)
It was no disgrace to be undone by the majestic Malek Maaz in the semi-final, ‘Bomberhead’ was class throughout.
DF- Jassim Gholam (Iraq)
An absolute rock at the back for the new champions.
MF – Nashat Akram (Iraq)
Skilful, classy and pulled the strings for Iraq in their march to the final.
MF – Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan)
WasnÂ’t at his best in the semi-final defeat but overall, an impressive tournament.
FW- Malek Maaz (Saudi Arabia)
There were good reports about this guy coming out of Riyadh before the tournament but in the win over Japan, he was a pleasure to watch.
FW –Yasser Al-Qahtani (Saudi Arabia)
The Sniper confirmed that he is one of the continent’s most feared strikers. Four goals and a number of assists – a great tournament all round.
FW –Younis Mahound (Iraq)
Simple - his goals fired Iraq towards a historic championship. -
Congrats
This is what i called determination
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They truly deserve to be the AFC champs. Hope this win can inspire the iraqis.
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Hope the celebrations won't end up with any deaths
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Congrats to Iraq! This will really lift their people's spirits up in these dark days.
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The Iraqi team realli played fantastic football, realli admire the way they play and behave on the pitch..Simply the better team against the saudis =)
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well doe iraqis!!!
hope it signifes a change back home for them -
well, i just hope that their crazy celebrations won't lead to anymore deaths.
congrats! -
just like the copa america final, the underdog won. its goes to show that the ball is round and anything can happen. just look at australia!
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if sports can bring world peace, we should have more of it.
well done Iraqis!! -
congratz.
i hope to see them in the next world cup.
go iraq, go!!!!!! -
this is even better than the olympics....
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hurray
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They played with passion and determination. A truly well-deserved victory.
Cheers.
CK -
asian standards improving
