Ahmed Radhi Humaiesh Al-Salehi, ( ar, أحمد راضي هميش الصالحي, 21 April 1964 – 21 June 2020) was an
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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
i
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
forward.
Regarded as one of Iraq and Asia's best players of all-time, Radhi scored the only
Iraqi goal in the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
during its
1986 edition, a low shot to the corner of the net against
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
in a 2–1 defeat. He was voted as the
Asian Footballer of the Year in 1988.
Club career
Radhi started to make a name for himself after he was forced to switch childhood club
Al-Zawraa for new powerhouse
Al-Rasheed, the club founded and owned by
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
's eldest son
Uday. Alongside fellow legend
Adnan Dirjal, Radhi led the club to reaching the
1988–89 Asian Club Championship
The 1988–89 Asian Club Championship was the 8th edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation.
Al-Sadd of Qatar won the final and became Asian champions for the first time.
Qualifying Group round ...
final, losing to Qatari side
Al Sadd
Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in th ...
on away goals.
He later had a four-year spell at
Al-Wakrah
Al Wakrah ( ar, الوكرة, al-Wakra) is the capital city of the Al Wakrah Municipality in Qatar. Al Wakrah's eastern edge is the shores of the Persian Gulf and Qatar's capital Doha is situated to the city's immediate north. Governed by Sheikh ...
in Qatar before finishing his career with Al-Zawraa.
International career
Radhi was given his debut for
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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
against
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
on 21 February 1982 by
Ammo Baba
Emmanuel Baba Dawud (27 November 1934 – 27 May 2009), better known as Ammo Baba ( ar, عمو بابا, syr, ܥܡܘ ܒܒܐ), was an Iraqi Assyrian football player and coach of the Iraq national football team.
He scored the first international ...
, who acknowledged his talent and supported the player in his first years of senior football. Coach Baba however left Radhi out of the 1984 Summer Olympics squad citing a lack of effort by the player.
[Asian Icons: Ahmed Radhi (Iraq)](_blank)
- The AFC He then scored 8 goals in World Cup qualification, leading Iraq to a first World Cup finals, in Mexico in 1986.
With Iraq he won 2 Arab Cups, 1 Pan-Arab Games & a Gulf Cup, while he also did represent Iraq in the
Olympics in 1988, scoring a goal each in games against Zambia and Guatemala. In 1988, he was voted
Asian player of the year and 9th best Asian player of the century in 1999.
Personal life
Radhi had three daughters and one son.
He fled Iraq in 2006 because of the sectarian violence and moved with his family to the Jordanian capital
Amman, but returned to Iraq in 2007 for a career in politics. In October 2007, he was nominated by the opposition
Iraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front (Arabic: جبهة التوافق العراقية ''Jabhet Al-Tawafuq Al-'Iraqiyah'') also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Par ...
to the
Council of Representatives of Iraq, replacing
Abd al-Nasir al-Janabi Abdul Nasir Karim Yusuf al-Janabi is an Iraqi politician and a former member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives for the Sunni Arab-led Iraqi Accord Front.
A Salafist, he was appointed in 2005 to the committee which drafted the constitution o ...
, who had resigned to join the insurgency.
He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2014 and 2018 elections with the National Alliance, a coalition of Sunni and Shia figures.
Death
Radhi was admitted into Al Nuaman General Hospital in
Adhamiyah on 13 June 2020 after contracting
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
. He left the hospital only to be readmitted on 18 June after his condition worsened. On 21 June, Radhi was pronounced dead at the age of 56 following complications from
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq
The COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). During the pandemic, Iraq reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infect ...
.
Details about his death were later revealed, that he was about to be taken to be treated in
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, but delays in finalizing his medical report postponed the proposed flight. However, the death happened after Radhi removed his
artificial ventilation to go to the restroom by himself, later on the medical staff found him dead. His resting place is the Karkh Cemetery in
Abu Ghraib.
Career statistics
International goals
:''Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.''
Honours
* Chosen in the Asia's Top 10 Players of the Century list by IFFHS.
See also
*
List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
In men's association football, a cap is traditionally awarded in international football to a player making an official match appearance for their national team. In total, over 600 players have played in 100 or more international matches. The re ...
*
List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals
In total, 76 male footballers to date have scored at least 50 goals with their national team at senior level, according to FIFA documents and RSSSF statistics. Since October 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been also publish ...
References
External links
*
*
*Ahmed Radhi at https://www.ahmedradhi.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radhi, Ahmed
1964 births
2020 deaths
Sportspeople from Baghdad
Association football forwards
Iraqi footballers
Olympic footballers of Iraq
Iraq international footballers
FIFA Century Club
Footballers at the 1982 Asian Games
Footballers at the 1986 Asian Games
Asian Games medalists in football
Asian Games gold medalists for Iraq
Medalists at the 1982 Asian Games
1986 FIFA World Cup players
Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Al-Zawraa SC players
Al-Rasheed players
Al-Wakrah SC players
Iraqi Premier League players
Qatar Stars League players
Iraqi expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Qatar
Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in Qatar
Asian Footballer of the Year winners
Iraqi football managers
Al-Shorta SC managers
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya managers
Al-Zawraa SC managers
Iraqi Accord Front politicians
Iraqi sportsperson-politicians
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq
Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates
Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates