Iraq head coach Graham Arnold couldn’t help but stop, smile and wave to the hundreds of Iraqi football fans who gathered at Sydney Airport to welcome the Australians home after leading the Arab team to their first FIFA World Cup in 40 years.
When the 62-year-old Arnold emerged from the airport Sunday night, he was greeted enthusiastically by jubilant Iraqis who sang, danced to the beat of drums and tambourines, held placards proclaiming their love for their coach and chanted his name.
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Fans waved Iraqi and Australian flags and chanted “Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, oi, oi, oi,” Arnold told local media after returning from Mexico, where his team won the intercontinental play-off final against Bolivia on Tuesday.
The 2-1 victory came at a tumultuous time with Iraq embroiled in a Middle East conflict that left several players stranded in various parts of the region and threatened to thwart their trip to the playoff tournament.
But Iraq overcame logistical nightmares and strong opposition from South America to return to the world-famous tournament for the first time since 1986.
The Mesopotamian lion also returned home to a hero’s welcome. Thousands of fans lined the streets of central Baghdad on Saturday as players sat on double-decker buses and celebrated with their compatriots.
Arnold was not part of the celebrations, but Australia’s Iraqi community made sure the coach didn’t feel left out.
“Crazy, crazy. We never expected anything like this here in Australia. Of course in Iraq, but it’s unbelievable,” Arnold told Australian broadcaster SBS as he stood in front of fans inside the terminal.
“First of all, I would like to apologize to everyone in Iraq for not being able to return to Iraq for the celebration due to airspace closures.
“It’s amazing to see this here. Thank you.
“I’m very proud of the players and what they did. It was very important to make a lot of Iraqis happy and that was the most important thing.”
According to Australian media reports, local Iraqi soccer fans learned of Arnold’s return flight from the Iraq Football Association (IFA) and decided to meet him at the airport.
Fans could be seen chanting “One, one, one, Arnold No. 1” as the coach looked out at the surrounding scene.
Arnold, a former Australian national team coach, took over the Iraq national team in May and led them to three wins, three draws, and two losses in the World Cup qualifiers.
As a result, Iraq advanced to the fifth and final round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifying round, defeating the United Arab Emirates 3-2 on aggregate in November and qualifying for the FIFA playoff tournament.
In early March, the former Australian international asked FIFA to either postpone the final play-off match against Iraq or find a way for players to arrive in Mexico well in advance of the match to deal with the fallout from the US-Israel war against Iran.
His appeal was heard as FIFA arranged a chartered flight for the Iraqi team and support staff, arriving in Mexico just a week before the March 31 final.
After the victory, Arnold was full of praise for the Iraqi players who took part in the game as the war raged on.
“Everything going on in the Middle East made things a little bit difficult,” Arnold said after the playoff final.
“I banned social media from the day I got here,” he added. “We didn’t want them thinking about what was going on in the Middle East, because they had to focus on their work here.”
Arnold said qualifying for the World Cup was a great privilege for the players. “Iraq has nothing to lose.”
Iraq will be in one of the toughest groups at the World Cup. Group I opponents will be France, Norway and Senegal.
The Middle East team will face Norway in the opening game on June 16 in Boston. The second leg will be against 2018 champions France in Philadelphia on June 22nd, and the final group match against Senegal will be played four days later in Toronto, Canada.
