| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Emad Mohammed Ridha | ||
| Date of birth | July 24, 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Karbala, Iraq | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Center Forward / Second Striker / Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Sepahan | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1998 | Karbalaa FC | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–2002 | Al-Zawraa | ||
| 2002–2002 | Al-Gharrafa | ||
| 2002–2003 | Al-Zawraa | ||
| 2003–2004 | Al-Gharrafa | ||
| 2004–2005 | Al-Wakra | 30 | (11) |
| 2005–2006 | Foolad | 14 | (8) |
| 2006–2010 | Sepahan | 104 | (57) |
| 2010-2011 | Zamalek SC | 2 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Shahin Bushehr (loan) | 11 | (3) |
| 2011– | Sepahan | 7 | (3) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2000– | Iraq | 103 | (28) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 September 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Emad Mohammed Ridha (Arabic: عماد محمد رضا, born 24 July 1982 in Karbala, Iraq) is an Iraqi football striker who currently plays for Sepahan in Iran Pro League and the Iraq national football team. Emad Mohammed has been a regular starter for Iraq ever since he played for the youth national team. Emad Mohammed ended his international career with the Iraqi national team on July 19 2011 just before the national team's first World Cup (2014) qualification games with Yemen. He later came out of retirement for international duty when the legendary Zico was appointed coach of the Iraqi National team.
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At first glance, Emad Mohammed does not appear to have the physical prowess to which young, aspiring strikers often aspire. However, that has not stopped the diminutive forward giving nightmares to opposition defenders. Small but stocky, blessed with lightning pace and an eye for goal, Mohammed is the epitome of the traditional Asian striker, relying on agility and intelligence more than physical stature. As a youth, Mohammed was inspired by his eldest brother, Khaled, who played for a local club. But it was Emad who quickly proved to be the family's greatest footballing talent. Indeed, by the age of 15, he has already been brought into the Iraq U-16 national team by coach Adnan Hamad.
Under the tutelage of Hamad, Mohammed developed quickly and eventually graduated to the national U-19 side. The Karbala-born striking prodigy impressed throughout the AFC Youth Championship 2000, scoring four times, including twice in the final against Japan as Iraq won the Asian title, after that he was offered a transfer contract to Italian giants AC Milan but was denied by son of Iraqi president back then Uday Saddam Hussein; who was the president of the Iraqi FA .
Mohammed's meteoric rise to fame soon earned him a lucrative contract with Qatari giants Al-Gharrafa. Then, in 2005, he signed a deal with Iranian club Foolad before joining giants Sepahan just a year later.
Having thrived at continental level, Mohammed also showed himself to be capable of making an impact on the global stage when he played a key role in Iraq's fairy tale run to the semi-finals at the Olympic Football Tournament Athens 2004. After opening his account in the opening 4-2 victory over Portugal a result which helped pave the way to the last eight, the striker further showcased his predatory instincts in the quarter-final match against Australia, where he scored the only goal with a spectacular bicycle-kick.
Although he did not feature in the Iraq squad that won the AFC Asian Cup in 2007, Mohammed did make his presence felt that same year at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, scoring two goals in the opening four minutes in Sepahan's 3-1 win over Waitakere United.
He was left out of Iraq's opening 1-1 draw with China in Asia's third round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but has reclaimed his regular place in the five subsequent outings. The talented hitman duly proved his worth with two goals, again haunting Australia by netting the only goal before going on to score the equaliser in Iraq's 2-1 away win against China.
Mohammed's 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa dream was brought to an abrupt end when Iraq failed to reach Asia's final qualifying round after their loss to Qatar last June. Yet disappointed as he was, with the FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009 just around the corner, the Iraqi marksman has a fresh chance to showcase his talent to the world.
On June 25, 2007 Emad renewed his contract with Sepahan for another season in a deal thought to be worth in the region of $600,000.[1] He had a good season with Sepahan in Persian Gulf Cup 2006-07 where he was the top scorer for Sepahan in the league and ACL. In Persian Gulf Cup 2009-10, he had perhaps his best season thus far in his career, scoring 19 goals and becoming the top goal scorer for the season and the champion of the Iran Pro League with Sepahan.
On June 17, 2010, Emad arrived in Cairo and signed an unannounced-value 3-year-contract with Egyptian giants Zamalek SC in a mammoth deal after refusing his previous Iranian club and Al-Ahly temptations.
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Qatar | League | Emir of Qatar Cup | Asia | Total | ||||||
| 2004-05 | Al-Wakra | Qatar Stars League | 30 | 11 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 30 | 11 |
| Iran | League | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Total | ||||||
| 2005-06 | Foolad | Persian Gulf Cup | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 8 |
| 2006-07 | Sepahan | 21 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 33 | 12 | |
| 2007-08 | 26 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 10 | ||
| 2008-09 | 29 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 35 | 16 | ||
| 2009-10 | 28 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 19 | ||
| Egypt | League | Egypt Cup | Africa | Total | ||||||
| 2010–11 | Zamalek | Egyptian Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Iran | League | Hazfi Cup | Asia | Total | ||||||
| 2010-11 | Shahin Bushehr | Persian Gulf Cup | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 11 | 3 |
| 2010-11 | Sepahan | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2011–12 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | ||
| Total | Qatar | 30 | 11 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 30 | 11 | |
| Total | Iran | 136 | 65 | 6 | 1 | 30 | 7 | 174 | 72 | |
| Total | Egypt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Career total | 168 | 74 | 6 | 1 | 30 | 7 | 200 | 82 | ||
| Season | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 06–07 | Sepahan | 3 |
| 07–08 | Sepahan | 1 |
| 08–09 | Sepahan | 1 |
| 09–10 | Sepahan | 1 |
| 10-11 | Shahin Bushehr | 4 |
| 11-12 | Sepahan | 0 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Arash Borhani |
Persian Gulf Cup top scorer 2009–10 |
Succeeded by Reza Norouzi |
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