| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wathik Naji Jassim Al-Kaissi | ||
| Date of birth | July 1, 1940 | ||
| Place of birth | , Baghdad, Iraq | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
Wathiq Naji ( Arabic: واثق ناجي Wathik Naji Jasim [Where name واثق in Arabic language can be pronounced as Wathiq or Wathik in English language.]) (born on 1 July 1940 in Baghdad, Iraq), is a former Iraqi national football player and Technical Manager (Head Coach) for the Iraq national football team. Wathiq Naji had prepared the Iraq national football team for the FIFA World Cup qualification in 1985. Hence, he successfully managed to guide the Iraq national football team to the last qualifying round of the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. This came after subsequent and hard fought qualifying rounds which ended with a notable win over the United Arab Emirates national football team (The Head Coach of the UAE team was Carlos Alberto Parreira at that time). Where this is the only time in the Iraq football history that the squad could qualify to the FIFA World Cup.[1]
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Naji received a Grad A Certificate for professional Football Coaching in 1978 from the German Football Association (DFB) in Frankfurt Germany. In 1967, he awarded a Higher Diploma in Football and Sport Science from the German University of physical culture and sport, which is better known as Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur und Sport (DHfK) in Leipzig, This university is attached later to the University of Leipzig after the German reunification on 3 October 1990. In 1961, he completed his undergraduate study and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Baghdad Iraq.
Naji attended many professional courses such as Cologne 1973, London 1969 and Germany 1983.
Wathik Naji married in 1966 from a high educated Iraqi woman and he has one daughter and two sons, his first baby (girl) was born in 1967, then he got his first son on 1969 followed by the second son in 1975. In 2005 he and his wife Mrs. Asia Abdulah Habbib performed their Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. He and his family left Iraq and repositioned in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia due to the current situation in Iraq after 2003 invasion of Iraq.
From 1958 to 1967, Naji was a player in the Iraq Super League. From 1963 to 1966 he was player in the Iraq national football team.
Wathiq Naji was the technical manager of the Iraq national football team for several decades, beginning in the 1970s. As a Technical Manager (Head Coach), he managed to achieve the following honours:
1973–1974 Iraqi national football team.
1974–1975 Iraqi national football youth team – won the AFC Youth Championship cup, Kuwait, 1975.
1979–1980 Iraq national Olympic football team -Qualified to the 1980 Summer Olympics
1982 Salahuddin Club, Champion, Won the Iraq Super League.
1982 Salahuddin Club, Champion, Won The Rovers Cup of the British football enthusiasts.
1983 Salahuddin Club, Champion, Won the Tournament Arab Clubs cup which was Hosted by Al-Wihdat club in Jordan.
1984 Al-Shorta club, Iraq.
1985 Al Zawraa club, Iraq.
1985 Iraq national football team -Qualified to the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.
1987–1988 Iraq national youth team -Qualified to the AFC U-17 Championship and reached the Fourth Place in Finals, Thailand, 1988.
1989, 1990, 1995, 1996 Al-Wihdat, Jordan- Qualified to the Arab Champions League, Egypt, Cairo 1996.
1997 Tadamon Sour, Lebanese Premier League, Beirut, Lebanon.
1998 AL-Nasr Club, Libyan Premier League, Libya – Qualified to the Arab Cup Winners' Cup (Lebanon 1998).
1999/2000 Al Swihli Club, Libyan Premier League, Libya – Qualified to the African Cup Winners' Cup.
2001 Kuala Lumpur FA, Malaysian Super League it was known as Malaysian League (M-League) before 2004, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia- Qualified to the Malaysia Cup.
2002 Bahrain (football club), Bahraini Premier League, Manama, Bahrain.
2002–2003 Iraq national Olympic football team.
2004 Tadamon Sour, Lebanese Premier League, Beirut, Lebanon.
2005–2006 Consultant in the Iraqi Football Association (Technical Committee).
2007/2008 Al-Nejmeh Sporting Club, Lebanese Premier League, Beirut, Lebanon.
2009 Sabah FA, Malaysia Premier League, Malaysia.
Wathiq Naji coached also many football clubs in Iraq such as Al-Naft, Kut, Al-Sinaa and Najaf FC.
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