Alaa Abdul-Zahra

Alaa Abdul-Zahra Khashen Al-Azzawi (Arabic: علاء عبدالزهرة خشَن العزاوي , born 22 December 1987 in Baghdad, Iraq), is an Iraqi football player who currently plays for Al-Shorta in the Iraqi Premier League.

Alaa Abdul-Zahra
Abdul-Zahra in 2011
Personal information
Full name Alaa Abdul-Zahra Khashen Al-Azzawi
Date of birth (1987-12-22) 22 December 1987[1]
Place of birth Baghdad, Iraq
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, Forward
Team information
Current team
 Al-Shorta
Number 10
Youth career
Al-Karkh
Al-Difaa Al-Jawi
2003–2004 Al-Zawraa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Al-Zawraa 30 (9)
2006–2007 Mes Kerman 11 (4)
2007–2008 Shabab Al-Ordon 2 (1)
2008 Al-Merrikh 18 (11)
2008–2009 Al-Khor 35 (24)
2009–2011 Al Kharaitiyat 42 (16)
2011–2012 Al-Wakrah 10 (4)
2012 Qatar SC 9 (2)
2012–2014 Duhok 47 (26)
2014 Tractor Sazi 5 (0)
2014–2015 Al-Shorta 17 (6)
2015–2017 Al-Zawraa 53 (32)
2017–2020 Al-Shorta 79 (53)
2020–2021 Al-Zawraa 22 (13)
2021– Al-Shorta 45 (16)
International career‡
2004–2006 Iraq U20 8 (9)
2006–2008 Iraq U23 28 (15)
2007–2021 Iraq[3] 126 (17)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 July 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 November 2021

He is also a member of Iraq national team. He can be deployed as an attacking midfielder or a second striker, and since 2016 plays a striker. He is the third-most capped player in the history of the Iraq national team.

Club career

Early life

Affectionately nicknamed 'the Kaká of Iraq'[4] Alaa's road towards fame looked relatively straightforward. At the age of 16, he got his playing career off to a dream start when he was discovered and signed by Iraqi powerhouses Al-Zawraa.

Al-Zawraa

In 2004 at the age of 16, Alaa Abdul-Zahra made a move to Al-Zawraa. He was part of Al-Zawraa's squad for the AFC Champions League in 2005 with the number 29 shirt. A year later he won with them the Iraq Super League in 2006.

Mes Kerman

After the AFC Youth Championship 2006, Alaa Abdul-Zahra signed a one-year contract with the newly promoted Iranian Premier League club Mes Kerman. He played 11 times for them and scoring 4 goals, as the team finished in 7th place,[5] before moving to play in Jordan.

Shabab Al-Ordon

Alaa Abdul-Zahra signed with Duhok FC Before the start of Iraq Super League (2007-2008) but he didn't go to Iraq, Instead he signed another contract with the Jordanian club Shabab Al-Ordon, and claimed that signing with Duhok FC was incomplete.

On 29 December 2007 in his first appearance with Shabab Al-Ordon, Alaa Abdul-Zahra scored his first goal with his new team against Hussein Irbid in Jordan Cup, helped his team to win 3–2 and qualify to the quarterfinals, then on 3 Jan 2008 Alaa Abdul-Zahra played his 2nd and last match with Shabab Al-Ordon this season against Al-Arabi Irbid in Jordan League, which they won 2–3.

Al-Merrikh

Alaa Abdul-Zahra and his Olympic team's mate Saad Attiya signed a Contract with Sudan giant club Al-Merrikh.[6] He won Sudan Premier League and Sudan Cup 2008, and scored 9 goals.

Time in Qatar

After the success in the Sudanese League, Alaa signed a contract with the Qatari side Al-Khor.[7] which he played with 14 league matches scoring eight goals. After the great months he spent in Al-Khor Alaa moved to another Qatari club this time with Al Kharaitiyat. Scoring 16 goals in 42 occasions, the club finished 8th in the league that season.

In June 2011, Alaa signed a one-year deal with Qatar side Al-Wakrah.[8] playing 10 times and scoring 3 goals, the team finished 7th in the league.

In June 2012, Alaa signed a Half Season with Qatar side Qatar SC.[9] and scored 2 goals.

Duhok

Before the start of the 2012–13 season, Abdul-Zahra signed with Duhok FC and made a total of 47 appearances in 2012–13 and 2013–14 scoring 26 goals, plus a further 5 goals in the AFC Cup.

Tractor Sazi

On 20 July 2014, Abdul-Zahra joined Tractor Sazi with signing a one-season contract with the club.[10] He played his first match for Tractor Sazi on 8 August 2014 against Zob Ahan. after a Less than two months with Tabrizi side, decided leave Tractor Sazi. After pressure from the national team coach to leave the club, And his desire to play the striker instead of the midfielder. He officially released on 10 September 2014.[11]

Al-Shorta

Alaa Abdul-Zahra signed with Al-Shorta in September 2014.[12] and scored 8 goals. The club finished 3rd in the league that season and reached the round of 16 at the AFC Cup.

Return to Al-Zawraa

Alaa Abdul-Zahra returned to Al-Zawraa in July 2015.[13] he became instrumental to the team as Al Zawraa went on to win the Iraqi League 2015–16. The team also finished second in the Iraq FA Cup, after a 2–0 loss to Al Quwa Al Jawiya. The following season, Ala'a finished as the top goal scorer of the Iraqi league for the first time in his career with 23 goals,[14] however Al Zawraa failed to retain the title and finished in a disappointing 4th place. The team reached the final of the Iraqi FA Cup once again, where he scored the winner in the 94th minute to win the championship.[15]

Second stint at Al-Shorta

On 13 September 2017, Abdul-Zahra signing a one-season contract with Al-Shorta.[16] He scored many goals continuously after sacked Brazilian coach Marcos Paquetá on 27 March 2018.[17][18] He finished his season with Al-Shorta with 22 goals, including 5 penalties, in 37 matches in the league, as the team finished in 4th position. In the 2018–19 season, he achieved the top scorer of the league with 28 goals,[19] as his club won the league title.

On 14 September 2019, he won his first Super Cup with Al-Shorta, after a 4–3 victory on penalties, over his former club Al-Zawraa.[20]

Third stint at Al-Zawraa

In late June 2020, Abdul-Zahra rejoined Al-Zawraa,[21] where he played for one season, as the club finished second in the league table in the 2020–21 season.

Third stint at Al-Shorta

In August 2021, Abdul-Zahra returned to Al-Shorta, then extended his contract for another year in 2022.[22] He won two consecutive league titles in 2021–22 and 2022–23, in addition to another Super Cup trophy.

On 27 July 2023, he scored the only goal from a penalty in a 1–0 victory over Club Sfaxien in the Arab Club Champions Cup first match.[23]

International career

He first made his mark on the international scene with Iraq's youth team at the 2004 AFC Youth Championship in Malaysia. Two years later, he would repeat this feat by figuring prominently at the 2006 AFC Youth Championship, where the striking prodigy finished as the tournament's second-top scorer with four goals despite his team's early exit at the quarter-final stage. From there, he went on to showcase his predatory talents in Asia's qualifying final round for the Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008 by topping the scoring charts with a six-goal haul.

At senior level, he featured in two of Iraq's eight qualifying matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup at South Africa, coming off bench to play in a goalless draw against Pakistan before featuring in the 2–0 loss to Qatar.

Alaa played for the Iraq national team from June 2007 to January 2018, scoring 15 goals. In October 2019, he was called up by Iraq team for games against Hong Kong and Cambodia.

International goals

As of 29 May 2021 [24][25]

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.10 January 2009Royal Oman Police Stadium, Muscat Kuwait1–11–119th Arabian Gulf Cup
2.13 July 2009Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad Palestine3–04–0Friendly
3.26 November 2010May 22 Stadium, Aden Bahrain1–03–220th Arabian Gulf Cup
4.2–1
5.2 December 2010 Kuwait2–12–2
(a.e.t.)
(4–5 p)
6.26 March 2011Khalid Bin Mohammed Stadium, Sharjah North Korea1–02–0Friendly
7.2–0
8.29 June 2011Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil Syria1–21–2
9.23 July 2011 Yemen1–02–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.6 September 2011Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang Singapore1–02–0
11.5 July 2012Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah Saudi Arabia1–01–02012 Arab Nations Cup
12.16 October 2012Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha Australia1–01–22014 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.11 November 2013Prince Mohammed Stadium, Zarqa Syria2–12–1Friendly
14.26 August 2015Saida International Stadium, Saida Lebanon3–23–2
15.1 June 2017Basra Sports City, Basra Jordan1–01–0
16.29 November 2019Khalifa International Stadium, Doha United Arab Emirates2–02–024th Arabian Gulf Cup
17.29 May 2021Al Fayhaa Stadium, Basra   Nepal1–06–2Friendly

Style of play

Abdul-Zahra, a playmaker and offensive play, and is often involved in passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativity, and passing ability. and More recently play striker.

Honours

Club
Al-Zawraa
Al-Merreikh
Al-Shorta

International
Iraq

Individual

See also

References
  1. "fifa tournaments players". Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  2. "Ala'a Abdul-Zahra Al-Azzawi".
  3. Mubarak, Hassanin (2020). Iraqi national team matches 2010-2019.
  4. "nicknamed the kaka of iraq". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
  5. "Iran Premier League Stats". iplstats.com.
  6. "المريخ السوداني يتعاقد مع الثنائي العراقي علاء عبد الزهرة وسعد عطية". 9 July 2019.
  7. "العراقي علاء عبد الزهرة ينضم لفريق الخور القطري". 9 July 2019.
  8. "علاء عبد الزهرة يوقع للوكرة القطري". 9 July 2019.
  9. "العراقي عبد الزهرة ينتقل من الوكرة لنادي قطر". 9 July 2019.
  10. "Tractor Sazi singning with Alaa".
  11. "Alaa leaves Tabrizi club". 10 September 2014.
  12. "علاء عبد الزهرة ينضم لكرة الشرطة".
  13. "الزوراء يتعاقد مع لاعبين بينهم علاء عبد الزهرة ومحمد كاصد".
  14. "علاء عبد الزهرة يتوج بلقب هداف الدوري العراقي". 9 July 2019.
  15. "Iraqi FA cup once again".
  16. "signing with Al Shorta". alghadpress.com.
  17. "بالتراضي.. الشرطة ينهي خدمات البرازيلي باكيتا" (in Arabic).
  18. "16 Goals since April". Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  19. "Iraqi Premier League 2018/2019 Scorers List". Goalzz. Kooora.com. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  20. "ركلات الترجيح تمنح الشرطة لقب كأس السوبر لاول مرة في تاريخه" (in Arabic). azlsport.com. 14 September 2019.
  21. "الزوراء يخطف صفقتين من الشرطة والقوة الجوية" (in Arabic). Kooora. 29 June 2020.
  22. "الشرطة يجدد عقد قائده علاء عبد الزهرة" (in Arabic). Kooora. 16 August 2022.
  23. "عبد الزهرة يقود الشرطة العراقي للفوز على الصفاقسي في البطولة العربية" (in Arabic). alghad.tv. 27 July 2023.
  24. "Ala'a Abdul-Zahra". National Football Teams. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  25. Amin, Tareq (27 March 2011). "Iraq defeats North Korea 2/0 in friendly". Iraqi News. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
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