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Stress factor threatens Iraq's bronze ambition
Iraq coach Adnan Hamd has warned his weary footballers that Olympic Games stagefright is threatening their dreams of delivering a bronze medal.
Iraq coach Adnan Hamd has warned his weary footballers that Olympic Games stagefright is threatening their dreams of delivering a bronze medal to their country for the first time since 1960.
The scrutiny under which they've been under, as they blazed a trail through the tournament, eventually told in the quarter-finals when they surrendered meekly 3-1 to Paraguay.
Now they face their final chance of grabbing a first medal since weightlifter Abdul Wahid Aziz took bronze in Rome 44 years ago when they take on Italy in the third-place play-off in Salonika on Friday.
"My players wanted badly to win, but they were too affected by the stress to do it," said Hamd.
"The first goal that Paraguay scored had a very negative impact on all of them and the stress became even more intense."
Despite that setback, which followed impressive wins against Portugal and Australia, Hamd insists Iraq can still end their Olympics on a high note against an Italian side packed with Serie A talent.
"Now we are going to try and win the bronze medal and should we make it, it will be a great achievement. A success of that magnitude will be uplifting for our country."
Striker Ahmed Salah, one of only six players to earn his living outside of Iraq, believes his side learnt enough lessons from their quarter-final loss to shock an Italian side now keen to get home and prepare for the new domestic season.
"We were a better team than Paraguay," said Salah who plays in Egypt with Zamalek.
"We missed many opportunities and didn't win. Now we head for the bronze medal match."
Italy coach Claudio Gentile believes his team's poor preparation played a major part in their crushing 3-0 semi-final defeat to Argentina.
"Of course they were better than us, but you have to remember that my team's last competitive match before coming to the Olympics was on June 8," said the man who guided the side to success at this year's under-21 European championships in Germany.
"Argentina, on the other hand, played in the Copa America and that's why we weren't as fit as them.
"It's a bitter disappointment, but we can take some consolation from our performances here and hold our heads high. We played the game in the right spirit, but we made far too many mistakes."
