• Source: Ahmed Radhi

Ahmed Radhi Humaiesh Al-Salehi (Arabic: أحمد راضي هميش الصالحي, 21 April 1964 – 21 June 2020) was an Iraqi footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed "Al-Saher" (The Magician) in his playing days and regarded as one of Iraq's and Asia's best players of all time, Radhi scored the only Iraqi goal at the FIFA World Cup in its 1986 edition, a low shot to the corner of the net against Belgium in a 2–1 defeat. He was voted the Asian Footballer of the Year in 1988.




Club career


Radhi started to make a name for himself after he was forced to switch childhood club Al-Zawraa for new powerhouse Al-Rasheed, the club founded and owned by Saddam Hussein's eldest son Uday. Alongside fellow legend Adnan Dirjal, Radhi led the club to reaching the 1988–89 Asian Club Championship final, losing to Qatari side Al Sadd on away goals. He later had a four-year spell at Al-Wakrah in Qatar before finishing his career with Al-Zawraa.




International career


Radhi was given his debut for Iraq against Jordan on 21 February 1982 by Ammo Baba, who acknowledged his talent and supported the player in his first years of senior football. Coach Baba however left Radhi out of the 1984 Summer Olympics squad citing a lack of effort by the player. He then scored 8 goals in World Cup qualification, leading Iraq to a first World Cup finals, in Mexico in 1986.
With Iraq he won 2 Arab Cups, 1 Pan-Arab Games & a Gulf Cup, while he also did represent Iraq in the Olympics in 1988, scoring a goal each in games against Zambia and Guatemala. In 1988, he was voted Asian player of the year and 9th best Asian player of the century in 1999.




Personal life


Radhi had three daughters and one son.
He fled Iraq in 2006 because of the sectarian violence and moved with his family to the Jordanian capital Amman, but returned to Iraq in 2007 for a career in politics. In October 2007, he was nominated by the opposition Iraqi Accord Front to the Council of Representatives of Iraq, replacing Abd al-Nasir al-Janabi, who had resigned to join the insurgency.
He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2014 and 2018 elections with the National Alliance, a coalition of Sunni and Shia figures.




= Death

=
Radhi was admitted into Al Nuaman General Hospital in Adhamiyah on 13 June 2020 after contracting COVID-19. He left the hospital only to be readmitted on 18 June after his condition worsened. On 21 June, Radhi was pronounced dead at the age of 56 following complications from COVID-19 during the pandemic in Iraq.
Details about his death were later revealed, that he was about to be taken to be treated in Jordan, but delays in finalizing his medical report postponed the proposed flight. However, the death happened after Radhi removed his artificial ventilation to go to the restroom by himself, later on the medical staff found him dead. His resting place is the Karkh Cemetery in Abu Ghraib.




Career statistics






= International goals

=
Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.




Honours






= Player

=
Al-Rasheed
Iraqi Premier League: 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89
Iraq FA Cup: 1986–87, 1987–88
Arab Club Champions Cup: 1985, 1986, 1987
Al-Zawraa
Iraqi Premier League: 1990–91, 1998–99
Iraq FA Cup: 1990–91, 1992–93, 1997–98, 1998–99
Umm al-Ma'arik Championship: 1991–92
Iraq
Asian Games: 1982
Arabian Gulf Cup: 1984, 1988
Arab Games: 1985
Arab Cup: 1988
Individual
Asian Footballer of the Year: 1988
Arabian Gulf Cup top scorer: 1988
Arab Cup top scorer: 1988
Iraqi Premier League top scorer: 1985–86, 1991–92
Chosen in the Asia's Top 10 Players of the Century list by IFFHS.




= Manager

=
Al-Shorta
Umm al-Ma'arik Championship: 2000–01




See also


List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals




References






External links


Ahmed Radhi – FIFA competition record (archived)
Ahmed Radhi at National-Football-Teams.com
Ahmed Radhi at https://www.ahmedradhi.com

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Tim nasional sepak bola Irak
• Piala Dunia FIFA 1986
• Al-Shorta SC
• Al-Mu'tashim Billah
• Piala Negara-Negara Afrika 2000
• Liga Champions Dua AFC
• Komune di Mauritania
• Daftar khalifah
• Skuad Piala Dunia FIFA 2002
• Babak gugur Piala Asia AFC 2015
• Ahmed Radhi
• Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium
• Iraq at the FIFA World Cup
• Uday Hussein
• Al-Karkh SC
• List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals
• Iraq national football team
• Hussein Saeed
• 2024–25 Iraq Stars League
• Asian Footballer of the Year