Ammo Baba - Coaching Career

Coaching Career

Due to a serious injury he sustained in 1965 while playing for Iraq at the Pan Arab Games in Cairo, Ammo was nearly forced to retire from the game but returned to play for a further five years. He began his coaching career at Al-Maslaha (Passenger Transport) team in Baghdad in 1967 in a player-coach role. A year earlier while returning from injury, the Iraq FA named him coach of the Baghdad XI side for a match against East Germany however they were beaten 4-0 by the Germans and Ammo was relieved of his duties.

In 1978, Baba was appointed as Iraq's football military national team coach, leading the team to its third CISM World Military Championship title a year later beating nations such as Austria, Morocco, and Greece, on the way to the final where they beat Italy, on penalties.

The same year he was appointed as the head coach of Iraq's national team for the first time. He would be appointed and re-appointed on seven different occasions, during the 1980s and 1990s (see below for exact years). Iraqis often call the 1980s as the "golden years" of Iraq football, where Baba led the national team to numerous tournaments and many titles.

Throughout his coaching years, Baba was also the Olympic team head coach, where he led the team to two Olympic appearances in Los Angeles 1984, and Seoul 1988.

In addition, Baba led Iraq to three titles in the Gulf Cup (1979, 1984, 1988), the Asian Games of 1982, and the Arab Nations Cup in 1988.

Baba also found success in the Iraqi League, where he led Al Talaba to a title in 1981. After leaving the national scene, Baba was hired by Al Zawraa, and led them to a title in 1994.