Asian Cup 2015: Iraq captain Younis Mahmoud may look at A-League move after tournament
IRAQ skipper Younis Mahmoud has revealed he is considering a career in the A-League, with Sydney FC seemingly the frontrunners to snare his services.
IRAQ skipper Younis Mahmoud has revealed he is considering a career in the A-League, with Sydney FC seemingly the frontrunners to snare his services.
The 31-year-old striker, currently without a club, said Sydney’s Iraqi international Ali Abbas – who is missing the Asian Cup because of a season-ending knee injury – had spoken to him about a move to the Harbour City.
“I’ve been in contact with my friend Ali Abbas and he told me Sydney was interested in me,” he said.
Mahmoud said he was yet to decide his club future, with his sole focus being Iraq’s Asian Cup campaign, which kicks off on Monday night when they meet Jordan at Suncorp Stadium.
The scorer of 51 goals from 130 appearances for his country, Mahmoud said he also had offers from clubs in Qatar and China.
Mahmoud has not played club football since 2013, saying he had retired from football but then last year being asked to return to the international set-up to lend his experienced to an emerging Iraq team.
He elected to concentrate on his commitments with Iraq and is likely to reassess his future, both at club and national level, after the Asian Cup.
“I’m here to do my best and hopefully I can produce something to make the people happy,” he said.
“We’re here to win and bring happiness to our people.”
Jordan are on a similar mission, with the clash in Brisbane likely to be crucial to both teams’ chances of advancing to the knockout stages from Group D, which also contains tournament favourites Japan.
“Japan are obviously the strongest team in our group,” Jordan coach Ray Wilkins said.
“If we can win (tonight), more often than not, you can qualify out of the group. We keep our fingers crossed that can happen.
“If we’re not to go through, it won’t be for the want of trying because they’ve been quite exceptional in training and exceptional in the build-up as well.
“Jordan has qualified for the last two occasions so that’s the minimum we want to achieve, and hopefully we push on from there.”
Wilkins’ future as Jordan coach is likely to depend on his side reaching at least the knockout stages. His tenure is scheduled to end at the conclusion of the Asian Cup, but he’s keen to remain in the job.
“The experience has been an immense experience,” the former England international midfielder said.
“It ends unfortunately at the end of this month, (but) we hope it can continue. But the only way it can continue is if we’re productive. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”
Jordan v Iraq
Suncorp Stadium, 8pm (EDT)
TV: Live, Fox Sports 4
Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Iraq captain Younis Mahmoud may look at A-League move after tournament