Emad Mohammed


Emad Mohammed Ridha is a coach and former Iraqi football striker.

Playing career

At first glance, Emad Mohammed does not appear to have the physical prowess to which young, aspiring strikers often aspire. However, that has not stopped the diminutive forward giving nightmares to opposition defenders. Small but stocky, blessed with lightning pace and an eye for goal, Mohammed is the epitome of the traditional Asian striker, relying on agility and intelligence more than physical stature.
As a youth, Mohammed was inspired by his eldest brother, Khaled, who played for a local club. But it was Emad who quickly proved to be the family's greatest footballing talent. Indeed, by the age of 15, he has already been brought into the Iraq U-16 national team by coach Adnan Hamad.
Under the tutelage of Hamad, Mohammed developed quickly and eventually graduated to the national U-19 side. The Karbala-born striking prodigy impressed throughout the AFC Youth Championship 2000, scoring four times, including twice in the final against Japan as Iraq won the Asian title.
He was surprisingly brought into the 24-man 2000 Asian Cup squad a few weeks before the finals in Lebanon after scoring two goals in 4 games for the Iraqi B team in a tournament in Indonesia and also scoring 2 goals to help a weakened Al-Zawraa team to beat Emirates club Al-Ain 2-1 in the first round of the 2000 Asian Club Championship. He broke into the Al-Zawraa's first team during season 1998-1999 and was voted Iraqi Leagues’ young player of the year and striker of the year for 2000. He went on to make his full international debut on January 31, 2000 against Lebanon in Beirut in a 0-0 draw.
In 2001, he was offered a transfer contract to Italian giants AC Milan but was denied by son of Iraqi president back then Uday Saddam Hussein; who was the president of the Iraqi FA.
Mohammed's meteoric rise to fame soon earned him a lucrative contract with Qatari giants Al-Gharrafa. Then, in 2005, he signed a deal with Iranian club Foolad before joining giants Sepahan just a year later.
Having thrived at continental level, Mohammed also showed himself to be capable of making an impact on the global stage when he played a key role in Iraq's fairy tale run to the semi-finals at the Olympic Football Tournament Athens 2004. After opening his account in the opening 4-2 victory over Portugal a result which helped pave the way to the last eight, the striker further showcased his predatory instincts in the quarter-final match against Australia, where he scored the only goal with a spectacular bicycle-kick.
Although he did not feature in the Iraq squad that won the AFC Asian Cup in 2007, Mohammed did make his presence felt that same year at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, scoring two goals in the opening four minutes in Sepahan's 3-1 win over Waitakere United.
He was left out of Iraq's opening 1-1 draw with China in Asia's third round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but has reclaimed his regular place in the five subsequent outings. The talented hitman duly proved his worth with two goals, again haunting Australia by netting the only goal before going on to score the equaliser in Iraq's 2-1 away win against China.
Mohammed's 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa dream was brought to an abrupt end when Iraq failed to reach Asia's final qualifying round after their loss to Qatar last June. Yet disappointed as he was, with the FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009 just around the corner, the Iraqi marksman has a fresh chance to showcase his talent to the world.
On 25 June 2007, Emad renewed his contract with Sepahan for another season in a deal thought to be worth in the region of $600,000.
He had a good season with Sepahan in Persian Gulf Cup 2006-07 where he was the top scorer for Sepahan in the league and ACL. In Persian Gulf Cup 2009-10, he had perhaps his best season thus far in his career, scoring 19 goals and becoming the top goal scorer for the season and the champion of the Iran Pro League with Sepahan.
On 17 June 2010, Emad arrived in Cairo and signed an unannounced-value three-year-contract with Egyptian giants Zamalek SC in a mammoth deal after refusing his previous Iranian club and Al Ahly temptations.

Managerial career

Start with Al-Zawraa

Emad Mohammed started his managerial career with hometown club Al-Zawraa. He retired from his playing career mid-season in 2014 to take over from Jamal Ali. The young manager did well in the regular season, finishing second in group A, level on points with Al Jawiya. However, Al Zawra’a massively underperformed in the playoffs, finishing dead last in group 1. Al Zawra’a decided not to extend his contract for the following season.

Al Najaf

Emad took over 7 games into the next season from the resigning Ali Wahab. The team ended up finishing 7th in group B, easily avoiding relegation. Emad was rehired the following season, replacing his replacement, Hatif Shamran. Al Najaf finished in 9th place overall, with 49 points. The team was knocked out in the round of 16 of the Iraqi FA Cup due to the team forfeiting their match against Amanat Baghdad. Al Najaf chose not to renew his contract once again.

Naft Al Wasat

Emad was appointed as manager of Naft Al Wasat on February 5, 2018 to replace Adil Nima. Prior to that, he rejected working for Al Talaba, due to the poor administrative state. He was sacked 7 rounds before the end of the season. A picture on the internet went viral the day of his sacking, a conversation between him and Al Zawraa player Ali Rehema, agreeing to fix the match for the latter. The picture turned out to be a hoax.

Statistics

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 April 2001Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
6–1
9–1
2002 World Cup qualification
2.23 April 2001Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty
3–0
4–2
2002 World Cup qualification
3.2 August 2001Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
2–0
2–2
Friendly
4.17 August 2001Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
2–0
4–0
2002 World Cup qualification
5.7 September 2001Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
1–0
1–2
2002 World Cup qualification
6.22 September 2001Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok
1–1
1–1
2002 World Cup qualification
7.28 September 2001Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
1–0
1–0
2002 World Cup qualification
8.22 July 2002Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
1–0
2–1
Friendly
9.19 June 2004Azadi Stadium, Tehran
1–1
2–1
2004 WAFF
10.19 June 2004Azadi Stadium, Tehran
2–1
2–1
2004 WAFF
11.25 June 2004Azadi Stadium, Tehran
1–3
1–3
2004 WAFF
12.16 November 2004Al-Gharafa Stadium, Doha
3–0
4–1
2006 World Cup qualification
13.3 December 2004Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
3–1
3–1
Friendly
14.5 December 2005Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
2–0
5–1
2005 West Asian Games
15.16 February 2006Ayutthaya Stadium, Bangkok
1–1
4–3
Friendly
16.16 February 2006Ayutthaya Stadium, Bangkok
3–2
4–3
Friendly
17.16 February 2006Ayutthaya Stadium, Bangkok
4–3
4–3
Friendly
18.15 July 2006Al Abbassiyyine Stadium, Damascus
1–0
3–1
Friendly
19.25 July 2006Al Abbassiyyine Stadium, Damascus
1–0
2–1
Friendly
20.16 October 2007Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha
2–2
2–3
Friendly
21.22 October 2007Punjab Stadium, Lahore
5–0
7–0
2010 World Cup qualification
22.7 June 2008Al-Rashid Stadium, Dubai
1–0
1–0
2010 World Cup qualification
23.14 June 2008Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium, Tianjin
1–1
2–1
2010 World Cup qualification
24.13 July 2009Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
4–0
4–0
Friendly
25.12 October 2010Khalifa International Stadium, Doha
1–0
2–1
Friendly
26.12 October 2010Khalifa International Stadium, Doha
2–1
2–1
Friendly
27.6 November 2011Doha
1–0
1–0
Friendly

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Country