Mahdi Karim Ajeel (, born December 10, 1983) is an Iraqi former

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 lea ...

.Mahdi Karim Ajeel
/ref> He last played as a winger for

Al-Talaba Al-Talaba Sports Club () is an Iraqi professional sports club based in Al-Rusafa, Baghdad. Its football team competes in the Iraq Stars League, the top flight of Iraqi football. Founded in 1969, the club was named Al-Jamiea but became known a ...

and the

Iraq national football team The Iraq national football team () represents Iraq in men's international football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association (IFA), the governing body for football in Iraq. Iraq's usual home venue is the Basra International Stadium. I ...

Player info

Mahdi Kareem Ajeel's successful conversion to a right winger initially came as a result of his failure claim a more central striking role in the face of competition from the likes of

Younis Mahmoud Younis Mahmoud Khalaf (; born 3 February 1983) is an Iraqi former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward for the Iraq national football team, Iraq national team and is currently the ...

. Kareem's club career began with Al Naft, where he displayed his predatory instincts by scoring regularly for the local powerhouse. However, his career as a centre-forward effectively ended when he moved to Al Talaba in 2002. With Alaa Kadhim,

and Ahmed Salah all in their prime and ahead of Kareem in the pecking order for a starting place, the youngster found himself switched to the right wing. Not that it took long for the versatile player to adapt to his new position; indeed, it was on the wing that Kareem really came into his own. Having thrived in his new role at the club level, he quickly broke into the Iraqi Olympic team under Adnan Hamad. There, he formed one half of a dynamic wing duo with Hawar Mulla Mohammed, whose surging down the left flank were as significant as Kareem's in breaking down opposition defences. Both figured prominently with the Iraq junior side as they came through Asia's hard-fought qualifying round to book an appearance at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, where they would stun the watching world by storming into the last four. The high point of Kareem's international career arrived later in the year when Iraq won their first continental title at year's AFC Asian Cup. He also figured prominently in Iraq's qualifying campaign for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, scoring four times in the 7–0 victory over

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. This display helped earn him a move to

Al Ahly Tripoli Al Ahli Sports Club ( ; ), also known as Al Ahli Tripoli, is a Libyan professional football (soccer), football club based in Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. It is the second most successful Libyan club in history after Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), Al-I ...

, where he has scored 11 times in 18 appearances. Then he went to the Qatari Club Al-Khor, where he had a great season. In 2009, Iraq played disastrous Gulf Cup. After that he moved to the Iraqi club Arbil FC. He made great matches in the AFC Cup against Al-Kuwait, where he also scored a goal.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

Iraqi Premier League The Iraq Stars League (), is the highest level of the Iraqi football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Iraqi Premier Division League. It is governed by the Iraqi Pro League Asso ...

**Winner: 1 ***2011–12 with

Erbil Erbil (, ; , ), also called Hawler (, ), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city is the capital of the Erbil Governorate. Human settlement at Erbil may be dated back to the 5th millennium BC. At the h ...

Iraq FA Cup The Iraq Cup (), commonly known as the Iraq FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in men's domestic Football in Iraq, Iraqi football organised by the Iraq Football Association. Firs ...

**Winner: 1 ***2002–03 with

* Iraqi Super Cup **Winner: 1 ***2002 with

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

**Winner: 1 ***2005–06 with

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC (, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Division and has won the championship tit ...

Cypriot Super Cup The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is ...

**Winner: 1 ***2006 with

Country

* 4th place in

* 2007 Asian Cup winner *

2012 Arab Nations Cup The 2012 Arab Cup () was the ninth edition of the Arab Cup for national football teams affiliated with the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The tournament was hosted by Saudi Arabia between 22 June and 6 July 2012. It is the second t ...

Bronze medallist

Individual

* Champion with Apollon Limassol FC (CYP) in 2005-2006 * Best Foreign Player (Libyan Premier League 2007-08) (voting sponsored by Libyana and Al-Madar) * Goal of the Season (Libyan Premier League 2007-08, against Al-Madina) (voting sponsored by Libyana and Al-Madar)

References

External links

*
Profile on Iraqsport
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karim, Mahdi 1983 births Living people Iraqi expatriate men's footballers 21st-century Iraqi sportsmen Iraq men's international footballers Apollon Limassol FC players Men's association football midfielders 2004 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2007 AFC Asian Cup players 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2011 AFC Asian Cup players AFC Asian Cup–winning players Iraqi men's footballers Olympic footballers for Iraq Footballers from Baghdad Al-Khor SC players Erbil SC players Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Cypriot First Division players Al-Talaba SC players FIFA Men's Century Club Al-Shorta SC players Asian Games bronze medalists for Iraq Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists in football