The beautiful game has been
dealt a blow in the Iraqi football fraternity that will see it send off one of
its shining stars in Anwar Jassam Houbi on 16 September 2024 at the age of 77
years. Anwar Jassam was born in 1947 in Baghdad; the talented player has scored his
way into folklore of both Iraqi soccer and fans’ affection spanning different
years. If there is such a thing as the Iraqi Football Hall of Fame for the
nations football team, then one cane that Anwar Jassam would have his own first-class
section and he would probably be coaching the team in the VIP section too!
Entering the playing field
during the period of 1960s, the stocky Anwar Jassam played as a defender when joining
Sikak Al-Hadeed football club, he was a hard-nosed player to boot. But, as we
learnt later, he wasn’t merely adept at saving goals—he was masterly at
creating them. In 1971 while still a player Anwar Jassam left his shoes and started
managing his former club Sikak Al-Hadeed club. But that was not all of it.
Anwar Jassam was able to manage Al-Zawraa
club in which he found the heights of success in his career. In the Iraqi
League, in 1978–79, Anwar Jassam took the side to the title, while in Iraq FA Cup, he
has the record of the Five-time title-winner – The most by any coach. He was a
serial winner- a position akin to the friend who always wins Monopoly, but they
don’t seem to be a terrible person.
The duties of the chairman
interfered not only club football, but also the entire monumental scheme of Anwar Jassam. Anwar Jassam has also managed the Iraqi national team at various times; 1980,
1985 and 1995 Iraqi national team. Anwar Jassam was also the coach of the Iraq U20 team
in 1989 which was probably when he trained the future stars of the team as
well.
Through growing other clubs such
as Al-Naft, Al-Talaba and a short stint with the Jordanian Club Al-Wehdat; he
was able to establish himself as one of most formidable managers in the region.
Thus, one can conclude that Anwar Jassam’s contribution to the sport is priceless. For years, he single-handedly
influenced the course of Iraqi football and so, one could fairly argue that he
was always on first team — whether as player or as a coach, a manager – when it
came to retirement, though, it looked like he hadn’t quite got the memo; this
man just never knew how to quit!
Anwar Jassam may have died but his legacy will
remain etched in AFCON’s history as memorable as that half-time pep talk which
encourages the team after the full-time blow.
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