Iraq
Pride of lions | Iraqi Asian Cup victory reminds a civilization what ‘normal’ feels like
Baghdad, Aug 9 | A triumphant march through the Asian Cup tournament in July contributed to the resurgence of the Arabic phrase Assood al-Rafidain (Lions of Mesopotamia) to refer to the Iraqi national football team.
“It’s a way of labeling them with this unifying and historic cultural icon,” says Newsweek Baghdad corresondent Larry Kaplow, who appeared on our Aug 7 podcast. Rising above divisions by ethnicity and sect, the Iraqi team, which trains and plays matches in Jordan, defeated Saudi Arabia 1–0 on Jul 29 to lift the Asian Cup for the first time.
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A penalty! The goalkeeper wonders into which corner it will go. If he knows the opposing player, he knows the kicker's favorite corner, but the kicker knows he knows. So the goalkeeper wonders if he might choose the other corner this time. But the kicker knows that, too, so maybe he'll go for his favorite. And so on and so on. (Peter Handke, The Goalkeeper's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick, 1970)
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