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[hawkmoon269]

Just some light hearted fun - since Ronaldo was playing!!!

Iraq 4 - 2 Portugal

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"If it wasn't for the war, this bus would be empty." The American voice spoke as the bus carrying two dozen reporters left Athens on the three-hour journey to Patras, Greece's third city and the setting for last night's Olympic football match between Iraq and Portugal. Few Americans, of course, would be interested in the prospect of watching Cristiano Ronaldo or Hugo Viana demonstrating Old Europe's version of a game the United States believes fit only for women and children.
As it turned out, Ronaldo and Viana had little to show in a match dominated by a confident, aggressive and enterprising Iraq. Portugal's petulance was more in evidence than their skills, leading to the expulsion, six minutes into the second half, of Luis Boa Morte, who left the field in a shower of cans and plastic bottles from the opposition's supporters.

About 2,000 Iraqi fans, the majority of whom turned out to be domiciled in Greece, were clustered together in the main stand of a new 20,000-seat stadium in the shadow of Mount Panachaikon in the Peloponnese, easily matching the combined total of Portugal's supporters and the locals. Before kick-off they applauded Sepp Blatter, president of Fifa, applauded Ala Hikmat, the sprinter who is the only woman in Iraq's small Olympic team, and applauded the arrival of their own players with enough fervour to fill the empty stands with noise.

The IOC's keenness on welcoming a team representing the new Iraq explains the presence in Athens of boxers, judokas, swimmers, weightlifters, taekwondo fighters and runners. Olympic qualifying standards were set aside to enable it. But the footballers earned their place on merit.

Formerly the plaything of the late Uday Hussein, Saddam's son, they qualified after a campaign in which they were forced to play their home matches in Amman, the Jordanian capital, since their opponents showed little enthusiasm for the trip to Baghdad. A 3-1 victory over Saudi Arabia was the highlight, and they had a stroke of luck when Kuwait and Oman played out a goalless draw that put them through.

Bernd Stange, a German coach, had masterminded their progress through qualifying but stepped down after receiving threats to his life. An Iraqi coach, Adnan Hamad Majeed, took over and was on the touchline last night as his players went out to face a young Portugal side featuring two representatives of the Premiership, Boa Morte and Ronaldo, plus a third, Viana, who recently returned from Newcastle to Sporting Lisbon.

Iraq appeared in the Olympic finals in 1980, included at the last minute after anti-Soviet withdrawals. They finished in a four-way tie for fifth place with Algeria, Cuba and Kuwait and this time, to judge from their performance in last night's tempestuous match, they may do even better.

They began brightly, but their fans were silenced after 13 minutes when the Fulham player sent Hugo Almeida down the left to put in a low cross which the central defender Haidar Jabar turned into his own net from two yards. Three minutes later, however, Jorge Ribeiro played a terrible back-pass into the path of Emad Mohammed and watched aghast as the striker, who plays for Al Ittihad in Qatar, shot against Moreira's legs before tucking away the rebound.

A loutish forearm smash from Ronaldo constituted Portugal's immediate response, bringing a lenient yellow card for the Manchester United teenager as Iraq's team doctor swabbed the blood from the forehead of Younis Mahmoud, Emad's taller partner in Iraq's attack.

Emad and Younis combined to provide the opening that gave Iraq a deserved lead after 29 minutes, the latter hitting the bar with a side-foot shot from six yards and Hawar Mulla Mohammed nodding home the rebound. Once again Portugal took the wrong sort of revenge, Boa Morte's elbow on Hawar going unpunished, although Bruno Alves was soon picking up the team's second caution for a foul on Younis.

Ronaldo hit the inside of a post with a 25-yard free-kick and saw the ball rebound to safety a minute before the interval. But his team were not to be denied and, when a right-wing corner was cleared, Boswinga followed the trajectory of the dropping ball, met it on the volley with his right foot and saw his shot skim inside Nour Sabri's post from 30 yards.

Far from showing dismay, Iraq came out for the second half looking much the brighter and received encouragement when Boa Morte was sent off after 51 minutes for a sly kick at the back of Bassim Abbas's right leg as the two challenged for the ball on the touchline, under the linesman's eyes. Fifa's president can hardly have been impressed by the reaction of the Iraqi fans, although some of them turned and gestured to their fellows to stop the bombardment.

Six minutes later the two Mohammeds again exacted justice when Younis met Emad's cut-back and put his side back into the lead with a side-foot shot from close range. With Portugal in abject disarray, Salih Sadir added a fourth in injury-time.

Iraq (4-4-2): Nour Sabri; Bassim Abbas, Haidar Jabar, Haidar Abdul Razzaq, Haidar Abdul Amir; Nashat Akram (Salih Sadir, 71), Abdul Wahab Abu Al Hail; Hawar Mulla Mohammed (Mahdi Karim, 80), Qusai Munir; Emad Mohammed (Ahmed Manajid, 76), Younis Mahmoud.

Portugal (4-1-4-1): Moreira; Meira (Martins, 74), Frechaut, Alves, Ribeiro; Costa; Ronaldo, Viana (Danny, 60), Boswinga (Meireles, 63), Boa Morte; Almeida.

Sent off: Boa Morte (51min).

Referee: D Evehe (Cameroon).

[addicted norwegian]

Now Ronaldo`s got even more to sulk about. First loosing the final of Euro 2004, now this. Good thing for him that he needn`t cry again until after the end of this season, when manure finishing fifth, and Ferguson nearly is choked, having 4 packs of juicy fruits stuck in his throat while injuring his players from kicking footballshoes in the locker room again  

[laza]

Well Sepp B said that clubs shouldnt complain about players going to Olympics as they will learn from their experience which will benefit their club . And he is right, Ronaldo will learn to sulk better when MANCS are getting smashed

[hawkmoon269]

By West Brom !!!  

[116-1065305004]

Iraq

From Beavis

[who the hell is diarra]

HA HA

[wiped]

That's a nice bit of Propaganda for the Bush regime ...