FOR a country which lives daily with division and destruction, moments which can bring people together are precious indeed.
In war-torn Iraq, expect a whole 90 minutes of unity tomorrow night when the nation's soccer team play the Socceroos in their Group A Asian Cup clash in Bangkok.
Many more moments of unbridled jubilation could follow if the Iraqis can produce the upset of the tournament and knock over the star-studded Australians.
To say Iraq's preparation has been difficult would be ridiculous understatement.
The dangerous domestic situation has meant no training camps, no home Asian Cup qualifiers and sundry personnel changes.
Most players in the Iraq squad have known personal loss in the conflict.
The majority play their domestic football abroad in countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, worrying about the families they have left behind.
But their families, friends and other countrymen will make Iraq's footballers the focal point of the nation tomorrow night, as they hope for a repeat of their 2004 Olympic Games shock when they eliminated Australia in the quarter-finals.
"Of course my family always watch matches in which I take part and my friends back home always watch the match,'' said midfielder Hawar Mulla Mohammed, who was part of the team which beat the Olyroos 1-0 in Greece.
"We managed before to unify the Iraqi people when we achieved our victory in Athens.
"The Iraqi people were very, very happy and put sadness behind them.
"All these things encourage us to perform and bring happiness to our people in Iraq.''
Iraq, who just missed a bronze medal in Athens, do possess plenty of footballing quality.
In striker Younis Mahmoud - the leading scorer in the Qatari league last season and a livewire in their 1-1 tournament opener against Thailand - they have a genuine class player.
While all coaches enter big tournaments under pressure, Iraqi boss Jorvan Vieira came to the Asian Cup with a thankless task.
The Brazilian only took on the job two months ago and has had little time to work with his players.
But when asked if Iraq can win the Asian Cup, he said: "Why not?''
"We are not afraid of anyone. We are ready to play anyone.''
Overcoming football obstacles, even those as sizeable as Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka would appear, don't seem as significant as last week's accomplishment of completing a domestic league season amid an ongoing war.
"They (the Iraqis) try to keep alive football,'' Vieira said.
"This is the most important thing. Even with all the problems they have, they try to keep alive football.
"They still believe, with the whole situation, they can still do football.''
Melbourne - Herald Sun
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