Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail Labid Al-Zirjawi (; born 21 December 1975) is an Iraqi professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player who is the head coach of the Iraqi Women's National team

Club career

Abu Al-Hail started his career by playing 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 ...

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 ...

. He has also played for Al-Shaab of the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

. In 2003, he moved to the Iranian Pro League club Esteghlal Ahvaz. After three seasons he joined the

Esfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city has a population of approximately ...

i club

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club (, ''Bâšgâh-e Farhangi-Varzeši-ye Fulâd-e Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan, is an Iranian sports club based in Isfahan. It is best known for their football section that play in the P ...

. And stayed there for another 3 season where he won the

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (, ) formerly known as Pahlavi Cup () is an Iranian knockout football competition held annually by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian Football League, Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, h ...

once during his time and played many matches in

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

and

2007 FIFA Club World Cup The 2007 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament played in Japan from 7 to 16 December 2007. It was the fourth FIFA Club World Cup, a tourn ...

. He moved to Foolad for 2009–10 season but he was rejected by the new coach Majid Jalali. Abu Al-Hail started his career with Al Talaba in 1992. He left the club in 1999, moving to Al-Akhaa Al-Ahli of

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, and then to Al-Shaab of the United Arab Emirates. In 2003, he moved to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, playing for Esteghlal Ahvaz,

and Foolad. While at Esteghlal, Abu Al-Hail was given the captain's armband: it was the first time in the history of the Iranian league that a foreign player had become captain.

International career

Abdul-Wahab Abou Al-Hail was a key member of the Iraqi national team and one of the most coveted in Iraqi football. A jewel in the midfield, equipped with remarkable ball control, accurate passing, shooting and is particularly threatening at free-kicks. His coach Milan Zivadinovic once described him as 'Our Ronaldo', due to his importance to the side and his short 'Ronaldoesque' hair cut. He came onto the international scene during the Nehru Cup in 1997, missing a penalty in the shoot-out win over India. At international level, Abu Al-Hail featured prominently in

's qualifying campaign for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

under then coach Rudolf Belin. Olympic manager Adnan Hamad called the midfielder into his squad for the

2004 Summer 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 ...

. Abu Al-Hail was a member of 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 ...

. and was part of Iraq Olympic team in the

2004 Olympic Games 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 ...

, reached the 4th place. Abu Al-Hail was not selected in Iraq's title-winning

2007 AFC Asian Cup The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its h ...

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

as the national authorities stayed faithful to players from the former youth team that had won the AFC Youth Championship 2000.

Managerial career

Abu Al-Hail started his managerial career at Al-Talaba in 2013, remaining in charge until 2015. In December 2016, Abu Al-Hail became the head coach of his former club Akhaa Ahli Aley, in 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 ...

, for the 2016–17 season. In his second season as head coach, he finished fourth in the league. On 21 January 2020, he was appointed head coach of Ansar. He resigned on 20 March 2020, following Ansar's 2–2 draw to Safa. On 21 April 2021, Abu Al-Hail was appointed head coach of

Zakho Zakho, also spelled Zaxo (, , , , ) is a city in the Kurdistan Region, at the centre of the Zakho District of the Dohuk Governorate, located a few kilometers from the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing. Zakho is known for its celebrations of Newr ...

in Iraq. On may 2025 Abu Al-Hail was appointed as the head coach of the Iraqi women's national team

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Managerial

Honours

Player

Sepahan * Iranian Hazfi Cup: 2005–06 Iraq *

WAFF Championship The West Asian Football Federation Championship (), or simply WAFF Championship, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Notes

References

External links

* *
Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail
at iraqsport.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Hail, Abdul Wahab Living people 1975 births Iraqi men's footballers Footballers from Baghdad Men's association football midfielders Al-Talaba SC players Iraqi expatriate men's footballers 21st-century Iraqi sportsmen Expatriate men's footballers in Lebanon Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in Lebanon Lebanese Premier League players Akhaa Ahli Aley FC players Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates UAE Pro League players Al-Shaab CSC players Expatriate men's footballers in Iran Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in Iran Persian Gulf Pro League players Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C. players Sepahan S.C. footballers Iraq men's international footballers 2000 AFC Asian Cup players 2004 AFC Asian Cup players Olympic footballers for Iraq Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players Iraqi football managers Iraqi expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Lebanon Lebanese Premier League managers Akhaa Ahli Aley FC managers Al Ansar FC managers Iraq Stars League managers