World NewsCup Win 'Unites' Iraq - Caborn |
England's World Cup bid ambassador Richard Caborn has sent his congratulations to Iraq for winning the Asian Cup.
Britain helped the Iraqi team with equipment and training facilities in the past and Caborn said the side deserved congratulations for their 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the final in Jakarta.Caborn, who will be writing to Iraq's Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira, said: "This shows the power of football that it can unite a nation where there are such problems.
"It is important we continue to work together to promote the love of sport and I congratulate the Iraqi team."
A 71st-minute header from Younes Mahmoud earned the Iraqis their first AFC title at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
The 24-year-old striker converted Hawar Mulla Mohammed's corner to give the war-torn nation the trophy and end Saudi Arabia's hopes of a record-breaking fourth continental title.
The Iraqi team were forced to prepare for the tournament outside their homeland as a result of the continuing security situation.
Vieira will not continue in his job despite guiding the nation to a surprise win.
"It's over. I don't have any offers, but it's over," said the Brazilian, who took over the team on May 23. "It's good for my family, it's good for my son and he can be proud of his father."
Vieira has been linked with the vacancy at South Korea, whose former coach Pim Verbeek stood down after their third-place finish in the competition.
Rather than looking to the future, however, 54-year-old Vieira highlighted the importance of the win to the people of Iraq.
"I wish that we could help Iraq and that this could be the transport to help them," he said.
"I'm very proud because it is very good when you can do good things. I didn't just win the Asian Cup, I did something good for the country by winning the Asian Cup.
"What we have done in this competition is help the country and it's very important for the Iraq people what we did for them."
Vieira paid tribute to his players, who had to overcome the emotional challenge of playing in the game just days after more than 50 fans were killed by several car bombs in Mosul.
The supporters were celebrating Iraq's penalty shootout win over South Korea when the explosions went off, and as a mark of respect Vieira and his team wore black armbands today to commemorate the dead.
"The Iraq players are fantastic people and you have to understand the difficulties," he said.
"They have had this situation for the past years and they have fantastic power inside themselves.
"I learned a lot from these people, it was a good learning process for me and something I will keep forever in my life."
Copyright (c) 2008 Press Association
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