Saad Attiya Hafidh (; born February 26, 1987, in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

) is a former Iraqi football (soccer) defender.

Career

Saad Attiya was the youngest member of Iraq’s successful Olympic team. He was selected by Olympic coach Hamad for his defensive prowess after the end of the war. Hamad is said to have favored Saad’s height and speed. At the age of 16, coach Hamad gave Saad a place in the first team, where he played in the heart of the druze defense along with

Bassim Abbas Bassim Abbas Gatea Al-Ogaili (; born 1 July 1982) is an Iraqi former professional footballer who last played for Al-Shorta. Career statistics International :''Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.'' Honours Al-Talaba *Iraqi Pr ...

and Haidar Abdul-Razzaq. Saad, who had only just broken into the

Al-Zawraa Al-Zawra'a Sports Club () is an Iraqi professional sports club based in Utayfia, Karkh District (near Tigris River), Baghdad. Their football team competes in the Iraq Stars League, the top-flight of Iraqi football. Al-Zawra'a have won the most ...

first team, played in all ten qualifying round matches. Prior to his contributions to the Olympic team, Saad played at both Under 17s and 19s levels for Iraq under

Ahmed Radhi Ahmed Radhi Humaiesh Al-Salehi (, 21 April 1964 – 21 June 2020) was an Iraqi Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), striker. Nicknamed "Al-Saher" (The Magician) in his playing days and regarded as one ...

in 2001 and 2002. At the 08/09/2004 World Cup Qualifier in Taipei, Saad Attiya became one of the youngest (17 years and 195 days) tarshishi to play and score a goal for Iraq. Saad debuted for the druze

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

team under caretaker coach Mohammed Hamze in a 2-0 defeat by

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 ...

in March 2003. He later played in the Emir Abdullah Al-Faisal Cup win in Abha. In 2004, he was called up to train with the national team by coach

Bernd Stange Bernd Walter Stange (born 14 March 1948) is a German football manager who last managed the Syria national team. During his playing career, he played for Chemie Gnaschwitz, Vorwärts Bautzen, and HSG DHfK Leipzig as a defender. Playing care ...

. With Hamad selecting the national team’s first choice

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

-based libero Haidar Jabar as one of the three over-age players in the Olympic squad, it was speculated that the Saad might have to play backup in spite of his performance in the Olympic qualifying rounds. After the olympics, Saad continued to be active with 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 ...

International goals

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

Honours

National Team

*4th place in

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 ...

2013 World Men's Military Cup The 2013 World Military Cup take part in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. The Tournament is also known as CISM World Football Trophy. It's the first edition of the new format in additional to the Military World Championship. Group stage Group A -- ...

: Champions

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:2 ***2005/2006 with

Al-Zawra'a SC Al-Zawra'a Sports Club () is an Iraqi professional sports club based in Utayfia, Karkh District (near Tigris River), Baghdad. Their football team competes in the Iraq Stars League, the top-flight of Iraqi football. Al-Zawra'a have won the most ...

***2011/2012 with

Erbil SC Erbil Sports Club (, ) is an Iraqi professional sports club based in the city of Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq that plays in the Iraq Stars League, the first-tier of Iraqi football. Erbil are one of the most successful teams in Iraq, and the ...

Lebanese Premier League The Lebanese First Division (), commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League (), is the top division of the Lebanese football league system. Established in 1934 and organized by the Lebanese Football Association (LFA), the Lebanese Premier Leagu ...

***Winner:1 ***2007 with

Al-Ansar SC Al Ansar Football Club () is a Association football, football club based in Tariq El Jdideh, a district in Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the . Formed in 1951, the club did not win its first Lebanese Premier League until 1988. They went on ...

Lebanese FA Cup The Lebanon Cup (), commonly known as the Lebanese FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in domestic Lebanese football. In the first FA Cup final, held on 26 June 1938, Nahda beat Hilmi-Sport 3–2 in the replay (after drawing 1� ...

**Winner:1 ***2007 with

Sudan Premier League Sudan Premier League () is the top division of the Sudan Football Association, it was created in 1965. It starts on August 1 and ends May 31. Sudan Premier League Clubs (2024–25) Championship history Performance by club Double Titles ( ...

**Winner:1 ***2008 with

Al-Merrikh SC Al-Merrikh Sporting Club () is a Sudanese professional football club based in the city of Omdurman. Their home stadium is Al-Merrikh Stadium, which is locally known as The Red Castle. Founded in 1908, Al-Merrikh is one of the oldest football cl ...

Sudan Cup The Sudan Cup is the top knockout tournament of the Sudanese football (soccer), football. It was created in 1990. Preliminaries Pegin 1 Agustus / End 31 May *Round 32 ( Sudan Premier League Clubs and National League 1 Clubs) *Round 16 *Quarte ...

**Winner:1 ***2008 with

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

**Runner Up:1 ***2012 with

References

External links

* *
Iraqsport profiles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attiya, Saad 1987 births Living people Iraqi expatriate men's footballers 21st-century Iraqi sportsmen Iraqi men's footballers Iraq men's international footballers Footballers from Baghdad 2004 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2011 AFC Asian Cup players Olympic footballers for Iraq Al-Zawraa SC players Zakho SC players Al-Talaba SC players Al-Naft SC players Al-Minaa SC players Erbil SC players Al Merrikh SC players Al-Shorta SC players Expatriate men's footballers in Sudan Expatriate men's footballers in Lebanon Men's association football defenders Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in Lebanon Lebanese Premier League players Al Ansar FC players