Alaa Ahmad
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alaa Ahmad | ||
| Date of birth | 1 July 1952 | ||
| Place of birth | Basra, Iraq | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1971-1980 | Al-Mina'a SC | ||
| National team | |||
| 1971-1980 | Iraq | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Alaa Ahmed is a former Iraqi footballer. He was born in Basra, Iraq in 1952 and played football in school teams before he represented Al Basra's team in 1971, at the age of 19.
Alaa started his career with the Basra Tarbiya side in his birthplace of Basra, under the close supervision of international referee Sami Naji[1] and then the Al Moshah team (one of the premier's league teams then). After two seasons he went back to his hometown where he started playing for Al Minaa' Team which he continued with until his retirement.
His international journey began in 1973 with his Iraqi team: Al Shabab, which consisted of great players from the national team participating in the Palestine Cup Championship which was held in Libya, and he played his debut match against the Emarati team where on which time the Iraqi team won 3-1. He was then invited to join the national team and he played his international debut match against the Tunisian team in Al Sha'b International Stadium and the match concluded with a 0-0 draw. After his debut he played 54 other matches. Some of them were the Asian seventh games which were held in Tehran in 1974, some in the Asian Cup of Nations in Tahran, Merdica Malaysian championship in 1977 and 1978, "Khaliji 5" which was held in Baghdad in 1979 and finally Moscow's Olympic finals in 1980.[2]
Alaa was part of the World Military Cup winning team in 1977 alongside the likes of captain Douglas Aziz and Ali Kadhim. The midfielder was one of the star players at Basra based club that included Rahim Karim, Jalil Hanoon and the Ahmed brothers Hadi and Abdul-Razzaq. After making his debut, he became a regular in the Iraqi national team alongside his Al-Minaa team-mate Hadi Ahmad, helping Iraq to win the 1979 Gulf Cup in Baghdad and the 1979 World Military Cup.
He was an important part of the Al-Minaa side that won its first Iraqi league title in season 1977/78. In 1980, he represented Iraq in its first Olympic appearance in Moscow playing in all 4 games against Costa Rica, Finland and Yugoslavia and in the 2nd round, where they lost 4-0 to evidential finalists East Germany.[3]
Among his coaches were Sami Nagi, Ammo Baba, Thamir Muhsin, Jamal Salih, the Yugoslavian coach Kaka, and the Scottish coach Danny McLennan.
References
- ↑ Hassanin Mubarak. "Player Database". iraqsport.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2001.
- ↑ "Alaa Ahmed KHDAYIR". fifa.com. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
- ↑ Hassanin Mubarak. "Player Database". iraqsport.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2003.