History
[edit]Jorvan Vieira
[edit]On 25 May 2007, Jorvan Vieira was appointed as head coach. Under him, Iraq reached the final of the 2007 WAFF Championship and won the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Vieira resigned after the Asian Cup.[1]
Jorvan Vieira was reappointed in September 2008. After a disappointing 2009 Arabian Gulf Cup, Vieira was sacked.
Egil Olsen
[edit]Egil Olsen was appointed as coach on 17 September 2007.[2] Under him, Iraq advanced to the third round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, but after a 1–1 draw with China, the FA sacked Olsen and replaced him with Adnan Hamad.[3]
Adnan Hamad
[edit]Hamad was appointed on 27 February 2008 to lead Iraq in the remaining 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Iraq failed to advance to the final round as a 1–0 defeat to Qatar saw them finish in third in the group. Following this, the Iraq FA disbanded the team and sacked Hamad.[4]
Bora Milutinovic
[edit]Under Bora, Iraq participated in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, which they qualified for by winning the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. They started the tournament with a 0–0 draw with hosts South Africa, before losing to UEFA Euro 2008 winners Spain by one goal to nil. Iraq drew the last game 0–0 with New Zealand and were knocked out.
Nadhim Shaker
[edit]Nadhim Shaker was appointed as caretaker coach between July and November 2009 and won the 2009 UAE International Cup.
Wolfgang Sidka
[edit]Wolfgang Sidka was appointed coach in August 2010 to lead Iraq in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.[5] Iraq reached the quarter finals, as they lost 1–0 to Australia. In the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Iraq advanced to the third round but Sidka's contract was not renewed and he was succeeded by Zico in August 2011.
Zico
[edit]Zico signed a contract with Iraq Football Federation on 28 August 2011 and first managed the national team in a match against Jordan on 2 September 2011. He won the group in the third round thus advancing to the final round.
Zico resigned as coach of the Iraqi national team on 27 November 2012 after little more than a year in the post, saying the country's football association had failed to fulfill the terms of his contract. He had 10 wins and six draws in 21 games with Iraq.[6]
Hakim Shaker
[edit]Hakeem Shaker took over as interim coach and lost the finals of both the 2012 WAFF Championship and 2013 Arabian Gulf Cup. He was reappointed in September 2013 and qualified for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup by beating China 3–1. However, Iraq finished bottom of the group in the 2014 Arabian Gulf Cup leading to the sacking of Hakeem Shaker and the appointment of Radhi Shenaishil.
Vladimir Petrovic
[edit]In February 2013, Vladimir Petrovic was appointed for the remaining World Cup qualifiers, but lost all three matches and Iraq finished bottom of their group. Petrovic was sacked in September 2013.[7]
Radhi Shenaishil
[edit]On 13 December 2014, Radhi Shenaishil was appointed as coach to lead Iraq in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. Under Radhi, Iraq defeated Iran in the quarter-finals in penalties and finished the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in fourth place, after losing 2–3 to United Arab Emirates in third/fourth place play-off. After the tournament, Shenaishil returned to managing Qatar SC.
On 20 April 2016, Radhi Shenaishil was re-appointed to lead Iraq in the final round. After losing five of their first seven games, Iraq were eliminated and Shenaishil was sacked.[8]
Akram Salman
[edit]Iraq appointed Akram Salman as manager but he was sacked in June 2015 after losing 4–0 to Japan in a friendly match.
Yahya Alwan
[edit]Yahya Alwan was appointed in August 2015. Due to poor performances, Abdul-Ghani Shahad replaced him as interim coach for the final qualifier in March 2016.
Abdul-Ghani Shahad
[edit]Abdul-Ghani Shahad was appointed as caretaker coach and led Iraq to qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and the final round by beating Vietnam 3–2.
Basim Qasim
[edit]Basim Qasim was appointed in May 2017 to lead Iraq for the remaining qualifiers. He led Iraq to the semifinals of the 23rd Arabian Gulf Cup. The FA decided not to renew his contract in August 2018.
Srecko Katanec
[edit]On 3 September 2018, Srečko Katanec was appointed as head coach on a three-year contract.[9] Under Katanec, Iraq reached the round of 16 of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup as they lost to eventual champions Qatar by one goal.[10]
In August 2019, Iraq finished as runners-up of the 2019 WAFF Championship. He also led Iraq to the semifinals of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup.
On 16 June 2021, it was rumoured that the Iraqi FA and Katanec are having collision after the former's failure to pay salary for the manager and it was hinted that Katanec might leave the Iraqi team.[11] He ended up resigning less than a week later.
Dick Advocaat
[edit]On 1 August 2021, Dick Advocaat was unveiled as the Iraq manager ahead of the third round of World Cup 2022 qualifiers. However, after 6 qualifiers with 4 draws and 2 losses, Advocaat, along with assistant manager Cor Pot resigned on 21 November 2021 ahead of the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup.
Željko Petrović
[edit]On 21 November 2021, it was announced that Željko Petrović, one of three assistants Advocaat had during his tenure, stayed on to become the caretaker manager which would last until the end of the Arab Cup, with Rahim Hameed, Advocaat's third assistant, to stay on as assistant manager. Despite crashing out of the group stages, he was given a permanent role, but Hameed was sacked. A win, a draw and a loss later, and Petrović was sacked on 2 February 2022.
Abdul-Ghani Shahad
[edit]Abdul-Ghani Shahad was appointed as caretaker manager of the national team for the second time, beating Zambia in a friendly in Baghdad, then taking on the UAE and beating them 1-0 but drawing against Syria. Despite being unbeaten in these three matches, Iraq failed to finish third and advance to the fourth round of qualifiers and the FA decided not to give Shahad the job full time.
Radhi Shenaishil
[edit]While the FA's search for a new manager was ongoing, newly appointed olympic team manager Radhi Shenaishil was made in charge of the national team for the 2022 Jordan International Tournament in September 2022, and then later was in charge of friendly games against Mexico and Ecuador.
Jesús Casas
[edit]On 5 November 2022, the FA confirmed that Jesús Casas will take charge of the national team for four years on an annual payment of $1m split into monthly wages. Radhi Shenaishil would lead the national team for the Mexico and Ecuador games in Spain, while he would take charge of the games against Costa Rica and Venezuela in Iraq, with his first came coming on 17 November 2022. Those two games were cancelled, so the national team played an intra-squad friendly under Casas’ view. His first official match came on 30 December 2022 against Kuwait at the Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium as a warm up game for the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup in Basra, then managed his first competitive match against Oman on 6 January 2023 at the aforementioned tournament.
List of managers
[edit]The team has had 41 different coaches, of whom 21 have been from Iraq.[12][13]
- Only record the results that affect the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. See FIFA 'A' matches criteria.
- As of 10 September 2024
| Managers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | From | To | Tenure | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win % | Major Tournaments and Regional Achievements |
 Cornel Drăgușin[14]
|
1962 | 1963 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 33.33 | ||
 Adil Basher
|
June 1963 | November 1964 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 66.67 | 1964 Arab Nations Cup - Champions | |
| Shawqi Aboud
|
July 1965 | September 1965 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.00 | ||
| Adil Basher
|
March 1966 | April 1966 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 | 1966 Arab Nations Cup - Champions | |
| Jalil Shihab
|
March 1967 | March 1967 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | ||
 Ljubomir Kokeza
|
March 1969 | March 1969 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | ||
 Yuri Illichev
|
November 1969 | July 1971 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 25.00 | ||
| Adil Basher
|
September 1971 | January 1972 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 75.00 | ||
| Abdelilah Hassan
|
May 1972 | May 1972 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.00 | ||
 Teleki Gyula
|
February 1973 | March 1973 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 50.00 | ||
| Thamir Muhsin
|
August 1973 | August 1973 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0.00 | ||
| Wathiq Naji
|
February 1974 | June 1974 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.00 | ||
| Thamir Muhsin
|
August 1974 | September 1974 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 50.00 | ||
| Wathiq Naji
|
January 1975 | January 1975 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | ||
 Danny McLennan
|
April 1975 | April 1976 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 61.11 | ||
| Lenko Grčić "Kaka"
|
June 1976 | January 1977 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16.67 | 1976 AFC Asian Cup - Fourth place | |
| Jamal Salih
|
July 1977 | July 1977 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 42.86 | ||
| Lenko Grčić "Kaka"
|
August 1977 | July 1978 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 53.33 | ||
| Ammo Baba
|
December 1978 | February 1980 | 16 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 75.00 | 5th Arabian Gulf Cup - Champions | |
| Wathiq Naji
|
February 1980 | March 1980 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | ||
| Anwar Jassam
|
June 1980 | July 1980 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | ||
| Vojo Gardašević
|
February 1981 | March 1981 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 66.67 | ||
| Douglas Aziz
|
March 1981 | March 1981 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | ||
| Ammo Baba
|
August 1981 | August 1984 | 23 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 60.87 | 1982 Asian Games - Champions 7th Arabian Gulf Cup - Champions | |
| Akram Salman
|
October 1984 | June 1985 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 75.00 | ||
| Anwar Jassam
|
July 1985 | August 1985 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 | 1985 Arab Nations Cup - Champions 1985 Pan Arab Games - Champions | |
| Wathiq Naji
|
September 1985 | September 1985 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50.00 | ||
 Jorge Vieira
|
October 1985 | November 1985 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | 1986 FIFA World Cup - Qualification | |
| Edu
|
February 1986 | March 1986 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| Zé Mário
|
March 1986 | April 1986 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 16.67 | ||
| Evaristo de Macedo
|
May 1986 | June 1986 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00 | 1986 FIFA World Cup - Group stage | |
| Akram Salman
|
July 1986 | October 1986 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 60.00 | ||
| Ammo Baba
|
February 1987 | June 1988 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 57.14 | 9th Arabian Gulf Cup - Champions | |
| Jamal Salih
|
July 1988 | July 1988 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| Ammo Baba
|
July 1988 | January 1989 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 33.33 | 1988 Arab Nations Cup - Champions | |
| Jamal Salih
|
January 1989 | October 1989 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 | ||
| Anwar Jassam
|
October 1989 | March 1990 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 40.00 | ||
 Adnan Dirjal
|
August 1992 | October 1993 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 54.55 | ||
| Ammo Baba
|
October 1993 | October 1993 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25.00 | ||
| Anwar Jassam
|
March 1995 | July 1995 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 | ||
| Ammo Baba
|
August 1996 | August 1996 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | ||
| Yahya Alwan
|
November 1996 | June 1997 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 63.64 | ||
| Ayoub Odisho
|
June 1997 | June 1997 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50.00 | ||
| Ammo Baba
|
August 1997 | August 1997 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | ||
| Akram Salman
|
November 1998 | November 1998 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | ||
| Najih Humoud
|
June 1999 | November 1999 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 61.54 | ||
| Adnan Hamad
|
January 2000 | September 2000 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 42.86 | ||
 Milan Živadinović
|
October 2000 | October 2000 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 25.00 | ||
| Adnan Hamad
|
January 2001 | September 2001 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 38.46 | ||
 Rudolf Belin
|
September 2001 | January 2002 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16.67 | ||
| Adnan Hamad
|
January 2002 | September 2002 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 2002 WAFF Championship - Champions | |
 Bernd Stange
|
October 2002 | April 2004 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 35.29 | ||
 Adnan Hamad
|
April 2004 | January 2005 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 38.89 | ||
| Akram Salman
|
12 January 2005 | 22 May 2007 | 2 years, 130 days | 27 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 44.44 | 2005 West Asian Games - Champions |
 Jorvan Vieira
|
25 May 2007 | 29 July 2007 | 65 days | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 35.71 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup - Champions |
 Egil Olsen
|
17 September 2007 | 26 February 2008 | 162 days | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 33.33 | |
 Adnan Hamad
|
27 February 2008 | 25 June 2008 | 119 days | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 25.00 | |
| Jorvan Vieira
|
2 September 2008 | 6 February 2009 | 157 days | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.00 | |
| Radhi Shenaishil
|
22 February 2009 | 21 May 2009 | 88 days | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | |
 Bora Milutinović
|
23 April 2009 | 20 June 2009 | 58 days | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0.00 | 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup - Group stage |
| Nadhim Shaker
|
10 July 2009 | 18 November 2009 | 131 days | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | |
| Wolfgang Sidka
|
8 August 2010 | 8 August 2011 | 1 year, 0 days | 27 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 48.15 | |
| Zico
|
28 August 2011 | 28 November 2012 | 1 year, 92 days | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 45.45 | |
| Hakeem Shaker
|
3 December 2012 | 6 February 2013 | 65 days | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 58.33 | |
| Vladimir Petrović
|
21 February 2013 | 10 September 2013 | 201 days | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 14.29 | |
| Hakeem Shaker
|
10 September 2013 | 29 November 2014 | 1 year, 80 days | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 33.33 | |
| Radhi Shenaishil
|
13 December 2014 | 21 February 2015 | 70 days | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 20.00 | 2015 AFC Asian Cup - Fourth place |
| Akram Salman
|
25 February 2015 | 17 June 2015 | 112 days | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.67 | |
| Yahya Alwan
|
3 August 2015 | 24 March 2016 | 234 days | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 37.50 | |
| Abdul-Ghani Shahad
|
24 March 2016 | 29 March 2016 | 5 days | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | |
| Radhi Shenaishil
|
20 April 2016 | 10 April 2017 | 355 days | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 18.18 | |
| Basim Qasim
|
22 May 2017 | 5 August 2018 | 1 year, 75 days | 17 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 47.06 | |
 Srečko Katanec
|
4 September 2018 | 30 June 2021 | 2 years, 299 days | 38 | 20 | 13 | 5 | 52.63 | |
 Dick Advocaat
|
31 July 2021 | 23 November 2021 | 115 days | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0.00 | |
 Željko Petrović
|
23 November 2021 | 2 February 2022 | 71 days | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 16.67 | |
| Abdul-Ghani Shahad
|
3 March 2022 | 29 March 2022 | 26 days | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 | |
| Radhi Shenaishil
|
7 August 2022 | 12 November 2022 | 50 days | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 25.00 | |
 Jesús Casas
|
12 November 2022 | present | 1 year, 346 days | 25 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 60.00 | 25th Arabian Gulf Cup - Champions |
References
[edit]- ^ "Iraq coach will quit after final - CNN.com". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
- ^ "Olsen takes Iraq job".
- ^ "Iraq sack Olsen". 27 February 2008.
- ^ "Iraq sack coach Hamad". 26 June 2008.
- ^ "FINISHED Iraq To Appoint Wolfgang Sidka As New Coach This Month - Report | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
- ^ "Zico resigns as Iraq national team coach - Turkish News".
- ^ "Iraq sack Serbian coach Petrovic - World - Sports".
- ^ "Iraq coach Shenaishil sacked after World Cup failure". Reuters.com. 11 April 2017.
- ^ "Katanec excited to lead Iraq". the-afc.com. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ "The AFC".
- ^ "Katančevo potrpljenje ima svoje meje, njegov čas se izteka, zveza pa mu dolguje še ogromno denarja - Novica - Nogomania".
- ^ "مباريات منتخب العراق".
- ^ "FIFA Arab Cup - buy your ticket now!". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
- ^ "Tortured to success: A life of football under Saddam and Uday Hussein". 29 January 2018.