Habib Jafar Akal (; born 1 July 1966) is a former
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 ...
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 lea ...
.
He was featured on the
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 ...
many times and is remembered for competing in various
Gulf Cup competitions. In the
1988 Gulf Cup, he was voted as the best player of the competition. He became a regular of the national team at a young age and was almost even called up for the
1986 World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had ...
in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, but he was thought to be to inexperienced by then-coach,
Evaristo de Macedo
Evaristo de Macedo Filho, (born 22 June 1933), known simply as Evaristo, is a Brazilian former footballer and coach.
Club career Madureira (1950–1952)
Raised in the north of Rio de Janeiro, Evaristo, like many children, played football simp ...
.
Career
He was a key player in the Iraqi national team during the late 1980s and through the 1990s. Habib first appeared in the national team in 1988, playing in the Arab Championship, Olympics in Seoul and the Gulf Cup, where he was voted as player of the tournament. Was an important part of a talented Iraqi side that nearly qualified for the World Cup in 1994.
However, in their penultimate match against Iran, he was sent off receiving a red card, and did not participate in their next and last game against Japan.
He spent his time with clubs in Iraq, and spent a 4-year spell in
Qatar
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
with
Al-Rayyan, Al-Ittihad (''now known as "
Al-Gharaffa"''), and
Al-Wakra, and in the latest part of his career, with
Dhofar
The Dhofar Governorate () is the largest of the 11 governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah Governorate and the southern border with Saudi Arabia's Easter ...
of
Oman
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
.
Retired from the international scene after being omitted from the Asian Cup squad in Lebanon in 2000, by Milan Zivadinovic, but was surprisingly brought back by Adnan Hamad after the sacking of Milan in February 2001. Habib was placed by the German-based Federation of Football History & Statistics as Iraq's 3rd best player of the century.
Career statistics
International goals
:''Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.''
See also
*
9th Arabian Gulf Cup
References
External links
Info on Habib Jaafar*
Footballers from Baghdad
Iraqi men's footballers
Living people
Expatriate men's footballers in Oman
Qatar Stars League players
1966 births
Iraq men's international footballers
Olympic footballers for Iraq
Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Iraqi expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar
Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in Qatar
Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in Oman
Al-Talaba SC players
Al-Rasheed SC players
Men's association football wingers
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