Salih Sadir - Information

Information

The talented player from the southern city of Najaf, is one of Iraq's most gifted individuals, who excelled playing for the Olympic team in the qualifying rounds – his performances compensated for the absence of Nashat Akram in Iraq's midfield. Before the war, he was named one of the two best players in the 2003–2004 season by an Iraqi FA panel and became a regular in Stange's Olympic squad making his debut in the 2–1 defeat to Qatar in the former Oman and Perth Glory coach's first game in charge of Iraq. Saleh Sadeer was one of Bernd Stange’s favourite players when the German first arrived in Iraq. He scored an important goal in the 1–1 draw with Vietnam in Hanoi that helped Iraq to progress to the second round. He started his playing career with Sha’abiya team Nasour Al-Jumhuriya before joining Al-Najaf where he progressed through the youth ranks under coach Zuhair Khadim. In 1999, he was promoted into the first team by Najih Hemoud and became a regular. Under coach Hemoud, Al-Najaf became one of Iraq's most entertaining teams with Saleh Sadeer – and captain Falah Hassan, Abbas Wahoudi, Saeed Muhsin, Ali Hashim and Qasim Jalout. In 2003 after the war, he moved to Talaba where he made several outstanding performances in the Arab Champions League – which earned him a move to Egyptian giants Zamalek for next season. After playing one season with Al Zamalek, he joined Lebanon league champions Al-Ansar where he helped them to two consecutive Lebanon league titles.