Iraq coach: 'Forget politics, it's time for football'

Iraq coach Wolfgang Sidka is focused only on the game in hand against neighbours Iran, a sentiment many fans agree with.

Iraq coach Wolfgang Sidka during training. Karim Jaafar / AFP

Four years ago, as Iraq arrived in Kuala Lumpur for their Asian Cup semi-final against South Korea, they had to wait all day to get into their hotel rooms.

The players of another team were occupying the rooms and had refused to check out at the designated time. Jorvan Vieira, the then coach, vividly remembers the occasion.

"We arrived at our hotel in Kuala Lumpur, but we had to wait eight hours before we could get our rooms because the Iran team refused to leave the hotel," said Vieira, who guided Iraq to a memorable win. "They had lost [in the quarter-finals against South Korea] and they were to leave, but they refused.

"We had to leave our bags in one room, go to eat and then go for training. And then at midnight, we started moving into our rooms."

The incident might have been caused by some necessity of the Iran team to stay on. But given the political history between the two neighbours, you could weave many a conspiracy theory into the episode.

Sporting rivalries between neighbouring nations are a common occurrence. But when it comes to Iraq and Iran, there are added dimensions. Like with India and Pakistan, political distrust and ambiguity cloud the relationship.

Given this fractious history and the unpredictable status of their relationship, a football match between Iran and Iraq has the potential to become more than just a sporting exchange.

However, Wolfgang Sidka, the Iraq coach, said: "It is just a football match. We have the same border, but our focus is not on anything other than football. It's a derby match but nothing beyond it."

Aliakbar Shirazi, a travelling fan from Tehran, does not see today's Group D game at Doha's Al Rayyan Stadium as anything more than an important match. "Nothing more, nothing less," he said. "I have not come here for the politics, but the football. I am here to support Team Melli through all their matches, not just Iraq.

"Of course, it is a derby game… we are neighbours, but I don't think anybody - Iraqis or Iranians - will be bothered about the past history between the two nations. That is politics, this is football and slightly bigger than politics for us."

Kifah al Kaabi, an Iraqi-American journalist working for Dubai Sports, seems to agree.

"This is going to be a huge game for both the teams," he said. "It is not just about football; we are neighbours and there are many elements to it, but politics is not one of them.

"It [an Iran-Iraq match] used to be a political game, not a football game. But I believe it is much less now than before."

By some twist of fate, Iraq have been in the same group as Iran in each of their first four appearances (1972, 1976, 1996 and 2000) in the Asian Cup. Iran won three of those four matches.

Afshin Ghotbi, the Iran coach, is confident of continuing that impressive record tonight in their Asian Cup opener.

"As you know Iraq are defending champions, but we defeated them in the West Asian Cup about six months ago," Ghotbi said.

"Iran face a tricky match against the team, but we can beat them again. Iraq are familiar opponents and I expect a classic game against them."