Aram Karam (; born 1926) was one of the first great

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i footballers, who earned a reputation for scoring goals from apparently impossible long-range situations. He was an ethnic

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. He was a son of a Levy soldier from Habbaniya. Aram was a striker capable of having the ball in the back of the net within a blink of an eye. After playing for various teams on

RAF Hinaidi Royal Air Force Hinaidi or more commonly known as RAF Hinaidi (or Hinaidi Cantonment), is a former Royal Air Force station near Baghdad in the Kingdom of Iraq. It was operational from 1922 until 1937, when operations were transferred to RAF ...

in Baghdad from 1936 in his youth, he joined Arsenal Sports Club Habbaniya in 1943 and later played for the C.C. Team and founded RAF Levy Civilian of Habbaniya. In 1951, Aram was one of 16 players to be selected to play for Iraq’s first ever national team. He missed Iraq’s first international game against Turkey in Izmir on 6 May, which ended 7-0 to the hosts, but competed in the second game six days later against Ankara Select. Aram proved to be a valuable player on the day as he scored Iraq’s first goal and ended the game with a hat-trick but was unable to prevent a 7-5 defeat. The next year, he joined Sharakat Nafat Al-Iraq in

Kirkuk Kirkuk ( ar, كركوك, ku, کەرکووک, translit=Kerkûk, , tr, Kerkük) is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, located north of Baghdad. The city is home to a diverse population of Turkmens, Arabs, Kurds, ...

. Aram was not only the captain of the team but also the head coach. In 1954, the team won the Northern Iraqi Championship and also won 6 consecutive Middle East Oil Companies Championships under his leadership. In 1960 Aram retired and became head of sports at the club while also helping the Iraqi national team. Aside from football, the forward also won six consecutive tennis titles in the Persian Gulf Tennis Championships.

References

External links

* Assyrian American Association of Modest

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karam, Aram 1926 births Living people Sportspeople from Baghdad Iraqi footballers Iraqi football managers Assyrian sportspeople Assyrian footballers Association football forwards Iraqi Assyrian people