Ahmed Radhi (original) (raw)

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Iraqi footballer and manager (1964–2020)

Ahmed Radhi

Radhi (right) in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Ahmed Radhi Humaiesh Al-Salehi
Date of birth	(1964-04-21)21 April 1964
Place of birth	Baghdad, Iraq
Date of death	21 June 2020(2020-06-21) (aged 56)
Place of death	Baghdad, Iraq
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1979–1980	Al-Shorta [1]
1980–1981	Al-Zawraa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1981–1985	Al-Zawraa		(11)
1985–1989	Al-Rasheed		(43)
1989–1993	Al-Zawraa		(78)
1993–1997	Al-Wakrah		(11+)
1997–1998	Al-Zawraa		(7)
1998	Al-Arabi	1	(1)
1998	Dibba Al-Hisn
1998–1999	Al-Zawraa		(7)
International career
1982–1997	Iraq	121	(62)
Managerial career
1999–2001	Al-Shorta
2001	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
2001–2002	Iraq U20
2002–2003	Al-Zawraa
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ahmed Radhi Humaiesh Al-Salehi (Arabic: أحمد راضي هميش الصالحي, 21 April 1964 – 21 June 2020) was an Iraqi footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed "Al-Saher" (The Magician) in his playing days and regarded as one of Iraq's and Asia's best players of all time, Radhi scored the only Iraqi goal at the FIFA World Cup in its 1986 edition, a low shot to the corner of the net against Belgium in a 2–1 defeat. He was voted the Asian Footballer of the Year in 1988.

Radhi started to make a name for himself after he was forced to switch childhood club Al-Zawraa for new powerhouse Al-Rasheed, the club founded and owned by Saddam Hussein's eldest son Uday. Alongside fellow legend Adnan Dirjal, Radhi led the club to reaching the 1988–89 Asian Club Championship final, losing to Qatari side Al Sadd on away goals.[2] He later had a four-year spell at Al-Wakrah in Qatar before finishing his career with Al-Zawraa.

International career

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Radhi was given his debut for Iraq against Jordan on 21 February 1982 by Ammo Baba, who acknowledged his talent and supported the player in his first years of senior football. Coach Baba however left Radhi out of the 1984 Summer Olympics squad citing a lack of effort by the player.[2] He then scored 8 goals in World Cup qualification, leading Iraq to a first World Cup finals, in Mexico in 1986.

With Iraq he won 2 Arab Cups, 1 Pan-Arab Games & a Gulf Cup, while he also did represent Iraq in the Olympics in 1988, scoring a goal each in games against Zambia and Guatemala. In 1988, he was voted Asian player of the year and 9th best Asian player of the century in 1999.[3]

Radhi had three daughters and one son.[4]

He fled Iraq in 2006 because of the sectarian violence and moved with his family to the Jordanian capital Amman, but returned to Iraq in 2007 for a career in politics.[5] In October 2007, he was nominated by the opposition Iraqi Accord Front to the Council of Representatives of Iraq, replacing Abd al-Nasir al-Janabi, who had resigned to join the insurgency.[6]

He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2014 and 2018 elections with the National Alliance, a coalition of Sunni and Shia figures.

Radhi was admitted into Al Nuaman General Hospital in Adhamiyah on 13 June 2020 after contracting COVID-19.[7] He left the hospital only to be readmitted on 18 June after his condition worsened. On 21 June, Radhi was pronounced dead at the age of 56 following complications from COVID-19 during the pandemic in Iraq.[8][9]

Details about his death were later revealed, that he was about to be taken to be treated in Jordan, but delays in finalizing his medical report postponed the proposed flight. However, the death happened after Radhi removed his artificial ventilation to go to the restroom by himself, later on the medical staff found him dead.[10] His resting place is the Karkh Cemetery in Abu Ghraib.[11]

| Club | Season | Qatar Stars League | Qatar Sheikh Jassem Cup | Crown Prince Cup | Qatar Emir Cup | Other | Total | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ----- | ---- | ----- | ---- | ----- | ------ | | | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Assist | | | Al-Wakrah Sport Club | 1993–94 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1994–95 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | +7 | +6 | | | | | 1995–96 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 7 | | | 1996–97 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 4 | | | Career total | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

| Club | Season | Qatar Stars League | Qatar Sheikh Jassem Cup | Crown Prince Cup | Qatar Emir Cup | Other | Total | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ----- | ---- | ----- | ---- | ----- | ------ | - | | | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Assist | | | | Al-Arabi Sports Club | 1997–98 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | | | Career total | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | | |

International goals

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Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	10 October 1983	Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah	United Arab Emirates	2–2	2–2	1984 Olympics qualifiers
2.	25 March 1984	Royal Oman Police Stadium, Muscat	Qatar	1–2	1–2	7th Arabian Gulf Cup
3.	15 March 1985	Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City	Lebanon	5–0	6–0	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	6–0	6–0
5.	18 March 1985	1–0	6–0
6.	2–0	6–0
7.	3–0	6–0
8.	29 March 1985	King Abdullah Stadium, Amman	Jordan	3–2	3–2
9.	19 April 1985	Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City	1–0	2–0
10.	5 May 1985	Yuva Bharati Krirangan, Calcutta	Qatar	1–0	2–1
11.	6 August 1985	Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca	Libya	2–0	2–0	1985 Pan Arab Games
12.	14 August 1985	Saudi Arabia	1–0	2–1
13.	2–0	2–1
14.	1 November 1985	Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad	Bahrain	3–1	3–1	Friendly
15.	8 June 1986	Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca	Belgium	1–2	1–2	1986 FIFA World Cup
16.	21 September 1986	Daegu Stadium, Daegu	Oman	4–0	4–0	1986 Asian Games
17.	23 September 1986	Pakistan	5–1	5–1
18.	27 March 1987	Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City	United Arab Emirates	1–1	1–1	1988 Olympics qualifiers
19.	8 April 1987	Manama National Stadium. Manama	Bahrain	2–1	3–1	Friendly
20.	Bahrain	3–1	3–1
21.	1 May 1987	Al-Rashid Stadium, Dubai	United Arab Emirates	1–0	3–0	1988 Olympics qualifiers
22.	8 January 1988	Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat	Qatar	4–1	4–1
23.	25 February 1988	Stade El Menzah, Tunis	Tunisia	1–0	2–0	Friendly
24.	8 March 1988	King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh	Kuwait	1–0	1–0	9th Arabian Gulf Cup
25.	13 March 1988	Qatar	2–0	3–0
26.	Qatar	3–0	3–0
27.	16 March 1988	Saudi Arabia	1–0	2–0
28.	9 July 1988	Amman International Stadium, Amman	Tunisia	1–0	1–1	1988 Arab Nations Cup
29.	15 July 1988	Saudi Arabia	1–0	2–0
30.	Saudi Arabia	2–0	2–0
31.	19 July 1988	Jordan	1–0	3–0
32.	17 September 1988	Daejeon Hanbat Stadium, Daejeon	Zambia	1–0	2–2	1988 Olympic Games
33.	19 September 1988	Guatemala	1–0	3–0
34.	27 January 1989	Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad	Oman	1–0	3–1	1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
35.	3 February 1989	Jordan	1–0	4–0
36.	2–0	4–0
37.	3–0	4–0
38.	4–0	4–0
39.	10 February 1989	Qatar	1–0	2–2
40.	3 November 1989	Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City	South Yemen	1–0	6–2	1989 Peace and Friendship Cup
41.	2–0	6–2
42.	8 November 1989	Kuwait	1–1	2–1
43.	2–1	2–1
44.	12 November 1989	Uganda	1–0	1–1
45.	3 March 1990	National Stadium, Kuwait City	United Arab Emirates	1–2	2–2	10th Arabian Gulf Cup
46.	18 August 1992	National Stadium, Irbid	Ethiopia	1–0	13–0	1992 Jordan International Tournament
47.	5–0	13–0
48.	7–0	13–0
49.	10–0	13–0
50.	13–0	13–0
51.	20 August 1992	Congo	1–0	3–0
52.	2–0	3–0
53.	25 April 1993	Changwon Civic Stadium, Changwon	South Korea	1–1	1–1	Friendly
54.	26 May 1993	Kofahi Inter Stadium, Irbid	Yemen	5–1	6–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
55.	28 May 1993	Pakistan	4–0	8–0
56.	30 May 1993	China	1–0	1–0
57.	14 June 1993	Chengdu Sports Centre, Chengdu	Jordan	4–0	4–0
58.	16 June 1993	Yemen	3–0	3–0
59.	22 October 1993	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha	Iran	1–0	2–1
60.	24 October 1993	Saudi Arabia	1–0	1–1
61.	28 October 1993	Japan	1–1	2–2
62.	23 May 1997	Lahore Stadium, Lahore	Pakistan	6–2	6–2	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification