Emmanuel Baba Dawud (27 November 1934 – 27 May 2009), better known as Ammo Baba (, ), was an Iraqi

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 ...

player and coach 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 ...

. He scored the first international goal for Iraq in 1957 against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

at the 2nd Pan Arab Games in

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and later returned to the team as the coach in 1978.

Playing career

Ammo Baba was born in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the 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 ...

, of Assyrian ethnicity. He emerged in the Middle Eastern football scene at the age of 16 at a 1951 Pan Arab School Championship in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

playing for the Iraq against the home nation Egypt. He had been discovered by Iraqi schoolboys' coach Ismail Mohammed while playing for the Liwa Al-Dulaim school province team. Mohammed gave him the nickname 'Ammo Baba' and advised him to move to Baghdad to play for one of Iraq's top teams. Ammo who is still revered by generations who never saw him play, was an instinctive out and out goalscorer, known for his bicycle kicks or backward double-kicks as they are known in Iraq, heading ability, and the power of his shooting. He had an opportunist's eye for goal but also displayed magnificent technique and virtuoso skill of a great footballer. Ammo was born in

on the British controlled military camp RAF Hinaidi but moved with his family to live on the Civil Cantonment on the large RAF base in Habbaniya in 1937, where he first learnt to play the game of football. After playing for his school team, he moved to RAF Employees' (Assyrian) Club in 1951 replacing legendary striker and fellow Assyrian Aram Karam, where he played with other famous Assyrian footballers such as Hormis Goriel, Emmanuel "Ammo Simsim" Samson and Youra Eshaya. In 1954 he signed for Baghdad-based

Al-Haras Al-Malaki Al-Haras Al-Malaki () was an Iraqi football team based in Baghdad. They participated in the first ever national cup tournament held in Iraq: the 1948–49 Iraq FA Cup. They also won seven Iraq Central FA Premier League titles in a row (the top- ...

where he was a huge success, scoring bundles of goals, season after season. The goalscorer wore the legendary number 8, though that is not the number a forward normally wears, it did not stop him from scoring. The prolific marksman was once the captain of a short-lived Arab national team during the mid-Sixties, in a Nasser-inspired experiment in Arab unity which failed due to the fact that, which Ammo Baba puts it 'no one wanted to play against us'. It had been the initiative of Arab radio station Sawt Al-Arab (Voice of the Arabs) in Cairo, and two of the best players from each Arab country were called up to take part in the team, from Iraq Ammo Baba, and Qais Hamed were selected. The team organised in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

did not play in any international competitions, managing only to play a few local teams in Cairo and Alexandria. Ammo Baba had been picked alongside Qais Hamed, and the team was able to beat Al-Ismaili, Al-Ittihad Alexandria, draw with Zamalek and lose to Tersana, with Ammo scoring the first goal for the Arab team, and hit another two goals against Al-Ismaili. After brilliant scoring record for both Iraq and

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya () is an Iraqi sports club based in Al-Rusafa, Iraq, Rusafa District, Baghdad that competes in the Iraq Stars League, the top-flight of Football in Iraq, Iraqi football. Founded in 1931, it is the oldest existing club in Iraq. ...

, he was spotted by English 2nd Division side

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

managed by former Iraqi military coach Frank Hill and was offered a contract to play for them, but when the call from

Meadow Lane Meadow Lane is a football (soccer), football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County F.C., Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 201 ...

came, he could not leave the country, due to a sudden coup led by the Iraqi General Abdul-Karim Qasim on 14 July 1958. A year earlier another former coach of his,

William Cook William, Will, Willie, Bill or Billy Cook may refer to: Sportsmen Association football (soccer) * William Cook (footballer) (1907–1968), English footballer who played for Darlington and Gateshead * Willie Cook (footballer) (1906–1981), Sc ...

offered him a chance to play for

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

, then in the English Third Division and there were also offers from Chelsea and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

but Ammo decided to stay in Iraq. By the age of 20, becoming one of Iraq's most prolific goalscorers at both local and international level, with a near perfect 100% goal-scoring ratio from 1955 to 1960. As a player, he could adapt to any position, and played in defence, midfield and attack in his playing career. A national championship winning coach at the age of 23 at Al-Athori, made even more impressive when you think it was done with an Assyrian only club policy, and in 1967, Ammo was coaching two teams in the Iraqi league. He went on to play and coach Al-Athori (Assyrian Sports Club) to the Iraqi Cup Championship in 1960 beating his former employers Al-Jawiya 3-0 in the final, before returning to Al-Jawiya in 1962 after Al-Athori were relegated from the Iraqi first division. He later played for

Maslahat Naqil Al-Rukab Amanat Baghdad Sports Club () is an Iraqi professional football team based in Karkh District, Baghdad, that competes in the Iraqi Premier Division League, the second tier of Iraqi football. Formed in 1957 as Amanat Al-Asima (), the team merged ...

and Al-Kuliya Al-Askariya before calling it a day in 1970.

International goals

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

Coaching career

Due to a serious injury he sustained in 1965 while playing for Iraq at the

Pan Arab Games The Arab Games (), also known as the Pan-Arab Games, are a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab world. They are organized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees. The first Games took place in 1953 in Alexandr ...

, Ammo was nearly forced to retire from the game but returned to play for a further five years. He began his coaching career at

(Passenger Transport) team in

in 1967 in a player-coach role. A year earlier while returning from injury, the Iraq FA named him coach of the Baghdad XI side for a match against East Germany however they were beaten 4-0 by the Germans and Ammo was relieved of his duties. In 1978, Baba was appointed as Iraq's football military national team coach, leading the team to its third

CISM World Military Championship The World Military Cup is an international association football competition contested by national military teams. Organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM), the tournament was first held in 1946 under the title World Military ...

title a year later beating nations such as

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, and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, on the way to the final where they beat

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, on penalties. The same year he was appointed as the head coach of Iraq's

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

for the first time. He would be appointed and re-appointed on seven occasions, during the 1980s and 1990s (see below for exact years). Iraqis often call the 1980s as the "golden years" of Iraq football, where Baba led the national team to numerous tournaments and many titles. Throughout his coaching years, Baba was also the Olympic team head coach, where he led the team to two Olympic appearances in

Los Angeles 1984 The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

, and Seoul 1988. In addition, Baba led Iraq to three titles in the Gulf Cup (1979, 1984, 1988), the Asian Games of 1982, and the Arab Nations Cup in 1988. Baba also found success in the Iraqi League, where he led Al Talaba to a title in 1981. After leaving the national scene, Baba was hired by Al Zawraa, and led them to a title in 1994.

Managerial statistics

Personal life

Ammu Baba was one of the few prominent Iraqis to openly confront

Uday Hussein Uday Saddam Hussein (; 18 June 1964 – 22 July 2003) was an Iraqi politician and businessman. He was the eldest son of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and his first wife Sajida Talfah. Owing to his family connections, Uday held various roles i ...

, the president of the Iraqi Football Association, once even refusing to accept a medal from him in front of 50,000 fans after a game in 1992. After the Iraq war, all of his family, including his children, moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

where there is a sizeable Assyrian community, while he stayed in

, where he ran a football academy for teenagers. On 20 January 2006, the 71-year-old Baba was attacked in his home, where he was tied, blindfolded, beaten and then robbed. Ammo Baba died in

Dohuk Duhok (; ; , ) is a city in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is the Capital (political), capital city of Duhok Governorate. Name The city of Duhok received its name from the Kurdish languages, Kurdish words ’du’ (two) and ’hok’ (lump) as a ...

at the age of 74 on Wednesday, 27 May 2009, due to complications from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

. He was buried at Baghdad's largest stadium as he requested before his death. The Al-Rusafa Stadium under construction in the north of

was renamed to the Ammo Baba Stadium in his honour.

Honours

Player

Al-Haras Al-MalakiThe Football Poet.. Ammo Baba
/ref> *

Iraq Central FA Premier League The Iraq Central FA Premier League, also known as the Iraq Central FA First Division and previously named the Iraq FA Baghdad First Division (), was the top-level division of football in Baghdad and its neighbouring cities between 1948 and 1973. ...

: 1954–55, 1955–56 *Army Cup: 1955, 1956 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya *

: 1957–58, 1961–62, 1963–64 * Iraq Central FA Perseverance Cup:

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

*Army Cup: 1959, 1964 *Authority Director Cup: 1964 Iraq Military *Arab Military Games: 1965 Iraq * Tripoli Fair Tournament:

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

Player-manager

Al-Athori *

: 1959–60

Manager

Al-Tamim Province XI *Republic Championship: 1976 Iraq *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

Arab Cup The FIFA Arab Cup (), or Arab Cup, is an international association football competition organized by FIFA. It is held every four years with the participation of senior men's national teams of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA), ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

Arabian Gulf Cup The Arabian Gulf Cup (, ''Kaʾs al-Khalīj al-ʿArabī''), also referred to simply as the Gulf Cup, is a biennial association football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation for its eight member nations. The history of ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Merdeka Tournament Merdeka Tournament () is an international friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day. It is mainly played at Independence Stadium, in Kuala Lumpur. "Merdeka" is the Malay word for independence. As of 202 ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

Iraq Military *

World Military Cup The World Military Cup is an international association football competition contested by national military teams. Organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM), the tournament was first held in 1946 under the title World Military ...

: 1979 Al-Talaba *

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 ...

: 1980–81 Al-Rasheed *

Arab Club Champions Cup The Arab Club Champions Cup (, ) is a club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by top clubs from the Arab world. The tournament is contested by a total of 37 teams from Asia and Africa. F ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

Al-Zawraa *

: 1993–94 *

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 ...

: 1993–94

References

BBC video interview

BBC reporting his funeral

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baba, Ammo 1934 births 2009 deaths Iraqi Assyrian people Iraqi Christians Men's association football forwards Iraqi men's footballers Iraqi football managers Iraq national football team managers Footballers from Baghdad Assyrian sportspeople Al-Zawraa SC players Diabetes-related deaths Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya players Qatar SC managers Al-Shorta SC managers Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate football managers in Qatar Iraq men's international footballers Assyrian footballers Al-Zawraa SC managers Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya managers Iraqi expatriate football managers