In Iraq, Soccer Provides a Short-Term Salve for Violence

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The streets of Baghdad crackle with gunfire, all too often these days. And for three nights this month, the fusillade rose to deafening levels. But it wasn't what you would expect. For once, it was about national unity. And it's centered on the hopes of some skinny young men, Iraq's national soccer team. NPR's Corey Flintoff reports from Baghdad.

COREY FLINTOFF: It sounded like the mother or possibly even the mother-in-law of all battles on Tuesday night, when Iraq beat South Korea to make its way into the final match of the Asian Games in Doha, in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar. Celebrants unleashed firepower ranging from pistols to machineguns.

(Soundbite of gunfire)

It's hard to convey how much that string of sports victories meant in a country that's seen one catastrophic loss after another, and nearly every other facet of its public life. Iraq was back at the Asian Games for the first time since the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The series began with a loss to China. But then Iraq's players stunned the Eastern sports world by putting away teams from Malaysia, Uzbekistan, and South Korea.

It wasn't easy for the team to get so far. The team's coach resigned in July, after receiving death threats. One popular player hasn't been heard from since he was kidnapped in September. Last weekend, the chairman of one of the country's leading soccer clubs was found shot to death. The team has no player over 23 years old.

On Friday, the final night, sports fans of all stripes gathered around their television sets to watch the hometown boys take on the host country for the games, Qatar, in the championship match. The Iraq soccer watching experience is much like weekend football watching in the U.S., with the same amount of passion but no beer. Fans agonize, cheer, and shout strategy at the running figures on the screen.

(Soundbite of cheering)

Iraq's best chance came early in the second half when -

Unidentified Man: Ala(ph) -

FLINTOFF: Kicked to -

Unidentified Man: Mustafah(ph).

FLINTOFF: Who kicked to -

Unidentified Man: (Speaking in foreign language)

FLINTOFF: Whose shot went wide right. The Qatari team, in dark purple, came back to dominate the rest of the match. But both sides went scoreless until the 63rd minute, when Qatari defender Bilal Rijab(ph) slammed in the night's only score.

(Soundbite of cheering crowd)

FLINTOFF: After that, the green-clad Iraqis never managed to threaten Qatar's goal.

In the Iraqi capital, the Qatari victory received sports(ph) (unintelligible) recognition. But no matter how much ammunition may have been laid by, the night's quiet was broken only by the ubiquitous hum of sidewalk generators and the breeze in the palms.

(Soundbite of rainfall and thunder)

Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Baghdad.

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