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| Iraq | |||
| Iraq Coach Criticizes Coalition | |||
| 2003-11-04 | |||
| We’re taking hits from all sides. Iraq’s "In a country without any working cinemas or theaters, where people are afraid to go out at night, the successes of our team are a matter of huge national pride," Bernd Stange said Sunday. "That’s important for the return of normalcy. Doesn’t the coalition, doesn’t Paul Bremer understand this?" Add this to the lessons learned so that we can do better in NK. Must support soc.... Stange, from Germany, complained that Bremer, Iraq’s chief U.S. administrator, had provided no support for the team and had not even called to congratulate the players after they qualified for the Asia Cup, the continent’s most prestigious competition that will be played in China in June. The Associated Press called coalition spokesmen several times but they were either out of their office or would not comment.
Stange, who used to coach East Germany and Australia’s Perth Glory, took over the Iraqi national team in November. He remained outside the country during the U.S.-led invasion that ended in May with the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Uday hired him. Must use some interesting motivational techniques.
Hey, bring back those shorts you bloody bastard. That’s it I’m putting you in the book. "I came here and found nothing, no balls, no nets, no funds, no competitions and no players," he said. "The main stadium had been turned into a parking lot for American tanks and its turf destroyed." And they drank all the #$!%# gatorade. Stange quickly reassembled the team ahead of the qualifiers for the Asia Cup which Iraq had to play in Malaysia and Bahrain because it was impossible to have home games. We would have provided covering fire. "We started from zero and we had three months to prepare for the qualifiers, but we did it," he said. "We came ahead in our group of teams that had spent millions to get to China." I’m thinking that Mr. Strange has a single track mind. Maybe he should walk through one of the Stange lauded his "as extremely talented and motivated" players as well as the leadership of the Iraqi association, including interim president Hussain Saeed Mohamed and vice president Ahmed Rhady and other volunteers "who are working 20 hours a day without pay to revive the national league." I was told that there would be quite a few talented Kurds and Shia for the team, but they all seem to be missing. "But for the coalition, I only have hard words," Stange said. "I know that soccer is not the most important thing in life, but this country has always been crazy about the game and they should understand that our successes are helping boost morale and lift Iraq from the ashes." He said that without an immediate infusion of money for soccer, it will be impossible to keep the national team together because all of its members have already signed or have been offered lucrative contracts in the Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia. "If there is no change, I will leave my job by the end of the year," Stange said.
I bet Bremer thought we sould get some slack in comparison to Uday. | |||
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #13 ! One of the things that makes the beautiful game beautiful, is the fact that you only need one thing to play it - A BALL.... Sheesh....... A ball..... hell, no bat no respect. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-11-4 9:06:24 PM |
| #12 LOL Frank! One of the things that makes the beautiful game beautiful, is the fact that you only need one thing to play it - A BALL. And an opponent if possible. You need somthing to represent goalposts, but stones will suffice for that. Brazil didn't get to be the greatest footballing nation on earth because it throws money at the sport, for freak's sake - it's for precisely the opposite reason. It's good that this whingeing guy's complaints are unwittingly illlustrating the improving situation in Iraq, and I appreciate his dedication to the national team, but come on...! |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-11-4 5:43:37 PM |
| #11 How can they call it Football when they don't use their hands? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-11-4 5:03:33 PM |
| #10 Everybody knows soccer is boring. Well, to everyone else anyway. I seem to be the only person I know who can actual follow it and not fall asleep. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-11-4 4:06:14 PM |
| #9 Okay, at first I was gonna lay into this coach as a whining opportunist but Liberalhawk and Mercutio are right. It would have been better if he complained to the Iraqi Governing council but he's got the right idea, make the authorities work for the people. Oh, and Dakotah's comment was damn funny. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-11-4 3:48:15 PM |
| #8 It's all about the "GGGGGOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!" |
| Posted by: snellenr 2003-11-4 3:26:04 PM |
| #7 US Army should help Iraq to build a decent national team as long it is for playing American football.. "Rasheed back, 7 step drop, pass to Ahmad is..... caught and he is dropped at the 36 yard line for gain of 8 on the play. 3rd and a long 3...." |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-11-4 3:20:23 PM |
| #6 US Army should help Iraq to build a decent national team as long it is for playing American football (ie the thing played at Superbowl). :-) |
| Posted by: JFM 2003-11-4 3:14:17 PM |
| #5 Millions for baseball, but not one penny for soccer!! |
| Posted by: Dakotah 2003-11-4 3:13:24 PM |
| #4 U.S. Army delivers soccer balls to northern Iraq...they plan to hand out 11,000 in Kurd territory and 52,000 total in-country.... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2003-11-4 2:56:34 PM |
| #3 He's German. He grew up with it, or at least has had a decade to get used to it. He's also a whining snot; why not ASK people to help out? I'm sure some US soccer fans would be willing to kick in some cash to help out. Instead, he whines that the CPA isn't doing enough to subsidize a freaking sport while bombs are going off. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-11-4 2:28:29 PM |
| #2 Think it through. This is a GOOD thing. Are the complaints about lack of power, food or medicine? Are they about midnight raids and law-abiding citizens dragged off, never to be seen again? Remember this is six months after the country was blitzed. No, they're about sports. On a par with the whining in Boston. GREAT news. |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2003-11-4 2:26:08 PM |
| #1 somebody's lobbying for a narrow special interest? Cheers all around!!! What could be less Baathist, or less Islamist, then this? this guy is ready for democracy, American Style. Iraq needs a thousand guys like this. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-11-4 2:09:16 PM |