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An Iraqi pilot gave Graham Arnold a special ring. He’s been charmed ever since
The former Socceroos boss is a national hero in Iraq for not only qualifying them for their first World Cup in 40 years, but immersing himself in their culture.
San Francisco: As he boarded one of the team’s first government-chartered flights after taking over as coach of Iraq, Graham Arnold was stopped by a gift-bearing pilot who gave him an ornate silver ring with a huge amber gemstone.
“He said, ‘This will bring you luck, and take us to the World Cup,’” Arnold recounts.
Arnold calls it his “Iraqi ring”, but it’s actually known as an aqeeq ring – and in the Islamic world, it is steeped in meaning. The prophet Muhammad is said to have worn one on his right hand. Many people wear them for spiritual protection and good fortune. To present one to a foreigner is to offer them a cultural invitation, and to wear it proudly a symbol of gratitude and commitment.
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Australian has had to contend with war, 50C heat and playoffs to steer country to a first World Cup in 40 years
Twenty-eight months, 21 games, four rounds, a 117th-minute penalty and a playoff. A coach stuck in Dubai where he watches war start over the water, bombs shaking everything. A team trapped in Baghdad first and Jordan next, missiles flying around them. A scrambled 9,000-mile trip to Mexico where it all rests on one night, the very last country to make it. And, when they do finally land, the hero whose goal took them there is held up by the FBI and the man whose photographs are due to document history is turned back. There may never have been a journey to a World Cup quite like Iraqâs.
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