دهوك يلعب مباريتان وديتان في بلغاريا
Iraqi first division club Duhok are preparing to travel to Bulgarian capital Sofia, where they will play 2 friendly matches.
The side, now coached by Shaker Mahmoud, a member of Iraq’s 1986 World Cup team has changed considerably since the end of the war with many players like Ali Hussein Jalil, Yassir Aydan, Ali Numan & Mazin Jabar returning to Basra, Kirkuk and Baghdad, leaving the team with mainly local players.
The team will travel to Sofia at the start of next week.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Arbil have seen the return of their star player Salahaddin Saimand. The former Asso player, who has played 6 times for Iraq and was a member of the Iraqi youth team that claimed the 2000 Asian Youth Championship in Tehran, was injured at the beginning of the year
Bernd Stange included him in the Olympic squad for the 10-day training camp in Dubai, but Salahaddin was unable to travel because of a reoccurring injury.
Before the war, he left for Russia, where he was living with his brother. There were rumours that Salahaddin had retired but he is now back and fit again to represent his home city of Arbil and his country.
Former Iraqi cup winners Talaba, who play Shaab Ab of Yemen in the 1st Arab Champions League on October 28, have started training without 3 key players all of who are with the national team in Manama.
The club’s officials hope to have Qusai Hashim and keeper Saad Nassir available for the second leg on November 5 in Damascus but striker Younis Mahmoud looks like he has played his last game for the club as he is set to join Al-Wahda of the UAE.
Al-Zawraa, who have European based Zaid Yasin training with them, managed a 1-1 draw with Al-Nafat at the Al-Zawraa stadium. The White Seagulls play Al-Aqsa of Palestine on the 29 October and the 31 October in Damascus