Iraq pulls off fairytale Asian Cup

July 29, 2007

Iraq, underfunded and under-prepared, come through adversity to win Asian Cup soccer tournament in Jakarta. None of the Iraqi players have been untouched by the war and although they have tried to mask their grief, there were constant reminders of the sectarian violence at home during the tournament in Jakarta. At least three players in the squad have lost relatives in the past two months and all the players wore black armbands during the final in memory of the 50 people killed by suicide bombers after the semi-final win over South Korea.