Hussam Fawzi Naji (born 3 September 1974) is an Iraqi football manager and former player who played as a forward. He was the captain of the Iraq national team.

Hussam Fawzi
Personal information
Full name Hussam Fawzi Naji
Date of birth (1974-09-03) 3 September 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth Iraq
Position(s) Forward, second striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994-1999 Al-Zawraa
1999-2001 Dubai CSC
2001-2005 Al-Zawraa
2005-2006 Pegah
International career
1995–2004 Iraq 44 (17)
Managerial career
2014–2015 Al-Karkh SC (assistant manager)
2018–2019 Al-Diwaniya (assistant manager)
2019–2020 Al-Qasim
2021 Al-Zawraa SC (assistant manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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Hussam was a leader of the Iraqi strikeforce capable of moments of genius during a game. He scored two goals against Al-Shorta in the 2–1 win in the Iraqi Cup final in 1996.

The greatest moment in his career came when he scored one goal and set-up another against Iran at the 1996 Asian Cup and was later awarded man of the match. The goal came after Hussam had pounced on a ball from Samir Kadhim, who had sent a long ball from the Iranian defence straight into the Iranian box and to the feet of the player, the striker ferociously shot from an impossible angle from the right and scored, starting endless celebrations from the Al-Makhtoum Stadium on to the streets of Iraq.

His 2 goals for Iraq in the Pan-Arab final underlined his importance to the team after Iraq was 4–0 down with less than 20 minutes left.[1]

He represented Iraq whilst playing his club football at Al-Zawraa. He played for in Iraq at the time when Uday Hussein was in charge of the national team. Hussam was included in the 1996 and 2000 squads for the Asian Cup.

Punishment

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The Iraqi football team came into public attention when newspapers started publishing stories of how Uday Hussein was known to punish players physically for achieving poor results in matches. This was used as one of the many reasons used by Tony Blair for justifying the Iraq War.[2]

As a result of difficulties and the resulting Iraq War Hussam was unable to play international football for a while, however with the overthrow of Saddam Hussein football started to be played again. (The Iraqi league had previously been suspended since March 2003.) Hussam captained Iraq for the first time on 13 August 2003 against Iran in the first international after this, and for the determination in a difficult time, the 2003 FIFA Presidential Award was presented to the Iraqi footballing community, whom Husam represented at the award ceremony as the National Team captain.[3]

After the war Hussam spoke about his experiences in London, saying:

When players get punished in the West, they get wages taken away, but never their physical safety. There were tortures, there were imprisonments, but this is the time to rebuild.

— Hussam Fawzi[2]

He also admitted the after the Iraqi players were relieved the past was behind them[4] but he refused to justify the war.[5]

International goals

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Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fawzi goal.[6]
List of international goals scored by Hussam Fawzi
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 11 August 1996 Amman International Stadium, Amman   Pakistan 2–0 3–0 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2 5 December 1996 Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai   Iran 1–0 2–1 1996 AFC Asian Cup
3 23 May 1997 Lahore Stadium, Lahore   Pakistan 1–0 6–2 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
4 4–2
5 20 June 1997 Al Shaab Stadium, Baghdad   Pakistan 4–1 6–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
6 7 August 1999 Pamir Stadium, Dushanbe   Kyrgyzstan 2–1 5–1 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
7 2–1
8 19 August 1999 Amman International Stadium, Amman   Bahrain 1–0 2–0 1999 Pan Arab Games
9 23 August 1999 Amman International Stadium, Amman   Oman 1–0 3–0 1999 Pan Arab Games
10 2–0
11 29 August 1999 Amman International Stadium, Amman   Libya 2–1 3–1 1999 Pan Arab Games
12 31 August 1999 Amman International Stadium, Amman   Jordan 1–4 4–4 1999 Pan Arab Games
13 2–4
14 23 May 2000 King Abdullah International Stadium, Amman   Lebanon 2–1 2–1 2000 West Asian Football Federation Championship
15 13 August 2003 Azadi Stadium, Tehran   Iran 1–0 1–0 LG Cup
16 20 October 2003 Bahrain National Stadium, Manama   Malaysia 5–1 5–1 2004 Asian Cup qualifiers
17 9 June 2004 King Abdullah International Stadium, Amman   Taiwan 3–0 6–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

References

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  1. ^ Hassanin Mubarak. "Player Database". iraqsport.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2003.
  2. ^ a b Rohrer, Finlo (18 May 2004). "'I want to be the Iraqi Kevin Keegan'". BBC. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  3. ^ "Stars come out for 13th FIFA World Player Gala". FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 April 2008.
  4. ^ "Iraqi team rise from ashes of war". Reuters.
  5. ^ Herbert, Ian (29 May 2004). "Playing at home is out, so Iraqi national team rattles in goals on tour". The Independent. London. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  6. ^ "IraqSport » International Results 2000-2005". www.iraqsport.com. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Iraq captain
2003 - 2004
Succeeded by