Ahmed Radhi

Ahmed Radhi
Personal information
Full name Ahmed Radhi Amaiesh Al-Salihi
Date of birth (1964-03-21) 21 March 1964
Place of birth Baghdad, Iraq
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
Al-Shorta
Al-Zawraa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1982–1984 Al-Zawraa 60 (38)
1984–1990 Al-Rasheed 128 (69)
1990–1993 Al-Zawraa 71 (54)
1993–1997 Al-Wakrah 20 (16)
1997–1999 Al-Zawraa 59 (34)
National team
1982–1997 Iraq 121 (62)
Teams managed
1999–2001 Al-Shorta
2001 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
2002–2003 Al-Zawraa
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Ahmed Radhi Amaiesh Al-Salehi (Arabic: أحمد راضي هميش الصالحي‎‎, born on 21 March 1964 in Baghdad, Iraq, but originally from Basra) is a former Iraqi footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as Iraq's best player of all-time, Radhi scored the only Iraqi goal in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, a low shot to the corner of the net against Belgium in the 2–1 defeat. He was voted the 1988 Asian Footballer of the Year.

Career

Ahmed Radhi was perhaps one of the most outstanding Iraqi goalscorers of his generation.

He was a striker capable of scoring any kind of goal whether a volley from 35 yards, a free-kick or an easy tap-in. He starred at the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico, scoring Iraq’s first & only goal in the World Cup in a 2–1 defeat against Belgium, he was also denied a goal in Iraq’s first World Cup game against Paraguay when the referee blew his whistle a split-second before his header crossed the line.

After the finals, his club Al-Rasheed were offered $1m by Uruguayan giants Nacional for their star player, but it was quickly rejected. With Al-Rasheed, he won 3 Iraqi league and two cup titles and a record three Arab Club Championships.

With Iraq he won 2 Arab Cups, 1 Pan-Arab Games & a Gulf Cup, while he also represented Iraq in the Olympics in 1988. In 1988, was voted Asian player of the year and 9th best Asian player of the century in 1999.[1]

Radhi's international career came to a bitter end in 1997; when he failed to save Iraq from a shocking first-round elimination in the 1998 World Cup Asian qualifiers. Two years later, Radhi ended his career as a footballer in 1999, after he led local side Al-Zawra'a to another league title. He became manager of Al-Shorta and led them to win the Umm Al Ma'arik Cup in 2000 by beating his former club Al-Zawraa in the final. He had the opportunity to sign Younis Mahmoud for Al-Shorta but he turned him down after he had a trial. He also managed Al-Zawraa from 2002 to 2003.

In October 2007, he was nominated by the opposition Iraqi Accord Front to the Council of Representatives of Iraq, replacing Abd al-Nasir al-Janabi, who had resigned to join the insurgency.[2]

Career statistics

International goals

Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first. [3]

Honours

Player

Club

Rasheed
Zora
Championship

Individual

Manager

Al-Shorta

References

  1. ↑ Hassanin Mubarak. "Player Database". iraqsport.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2003.
  2. ↑ Soccer star joins parliament, San Diego Union Tribune, 2007-10-05, accessed on 2008-01-06
  3. ↑ "Ahmed Radhi- Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Asia All Time best player". teammelli.com. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Adnan Dirjal		 Iraq captain
1993 – 1996 		Succeeded by
Laith Hussein
Awards
Preceded by
Mubarak Mustafa		 Qatari League top scorers
1994 		Succeeded by
Mohammed Salem Al-Enazi
Preceded by
No Award		 Asian Footballer of the Year
1988 		Succeeded by
Kim Joo-Sung
Preceded by
N/A		 Arab Nations Cup top scorers
1988 		Succeeded by
N/A
Preceded by
Abandoned due to War		 Iraq Super League top scorers
1986 		Succeeded by
Raheem Hameed
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