From Urmia to the national side: Youra and Ammo

I have written two books on the history of Iraqi football from 1958 to 1968. The first volume looks extensively into the lives of two of Iraq’s greatest-ever footballers Youra Eshaya and Ammo Baba (who is on the cover of both books). The two played in Iraq’s first official international against Morocco at the 1957 Pan Arab Games and also appeared in Iraq’s first Olympic side who took part in the 1960 Olympic qualifiers.

The book looks at how they reached the RAF base in Habbaniya where they began their playing careers and also Youra’s time in England and how Ammo Baba almost moved to play in the English Football League and how he won a league title as a player-coach at the age of 24.

The ancestors of the duo originated from the northern region of Iran in Urmia and their lives were forever intertwined when their families were forced to leave their villages situated only miles apart and separated by a local river, and settle in Iraq. The families eventually found their way to the British Air Force base in Hinaidi and then Habbaniya, where they lived only a few blocks from each other. The pair had grown up together and had been close friends from an early age, going on to become two of Iraq’s best-ever footballers, playing on the same team, with the deft wizardry of Youra and the prolific goalscoring talents of Ammo Baba.

As children, they had been inseparable, often seen by locals carrying a ball under their arms and running around the immaculately kept grass lawn of the local British cemetery in Habbaniya to have a kick about around the tombstones.

The pair had played together from almost the day they were born. Youra was two years older than Ammo Baba and they played on the same team for the RAF Employees, the C.C. team, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Nadi Al-Athori and the Iraqi Army and national team.

The Assyrian duo despite always being competitive with each other on and off the pitch, were very close, however, an incident in 1960 in a friendly match with Tunisia in Tunis in which Youra was sent off saw them fall out and drove a wedge between the two. The episode occurred after the Tunisian referee had made several dubious calls against the Iraqi Army team they were both playing for.

Iraq had taken an early lead after only 12 minutes through Ammo Baba and went into the half-time break 1-0 up, but just a few minutes after the restart, a penalty was awarded to the home side after the ball had brushed the hand of an Iraqi player.

After remonstrating with the referee arguing the handball was accidental, the whole team walked off the field but were persuaded by Colonel Ismail Arzouqi the sports secretary of the Army to return to the field. The players however were despondent for the rest of the game and the Tunisians took advantage and managed to score twice to take the lead.

In the last twenty minutes, the ball was at the feet of Ammo Baba and with the referee with his back turned towards him, Ammo deliberately aimed the ball at the referee’s back. However when the referee turned around to have a look to see who had kicked the ball, Ammo jokingly shouted, “Why Youra, why did you hit the referee.” A perplexed Youra replied, “Me? It was you who hit him!” But the referee none-the-wiser to what had happened, ushered Youra off the field instead while Ammo stayed on.

The head of the delegation, Ismail Arzouqi, explained the reason for Youra’s sending off was that the player had got into an argument with the referee over one of his calls. The Iraqi players’ claimed, according to the sports secretary of the Army Games Committee, that the linesmen had awarded a corner to Iraq but the referee had overruled him and made his own conclusion over what had happened and awarded a goal kick, which angered Youra and his dissent towards the official saw him sent off.

An FA committee had been drawn up to discuss the incident after the Tunisian referee’s report on the conduct of Saadi Abdul-Karim, Youra and Ammo and after some deliberation the FA and FIFA wanted the players reprimanded. FIFA had quoted the Tunisian referee Bahri Ben Said who had criticised the behaviour of some of the Iraqi players. However, Col. Arzouqi replied the fixture had been played between two friendly Arab countries and the Iraqi teams played “clean football,” and then went onto state the Iraqi Army team came under the jurisdiction of the International Military Sports Council (CISM) and was therefore not answerable to FIFA over the sanctioning of any of its players.

Following his sending off, Youra left Baghdad a day before Ammo Baba’s wedding, destined for England for treatment on an injury he had suffered in the same game, and they did not speak from that day.

In London, Youra saw a renowned ENT specialist on Harley Street, after he was advised by a doctor who had examined him in Tunisia that he should see a specialist in England. Irked by the actions of his childhood friend, he had angrily flown to England to have surgery on a broken nose. Youra had two operations and spent three months there to recuperate – where he met his future wife - and one day a letter from England arrived at Ammo Baba’s house and the old friends reconciled and on his return, all was forgiven.

A young Youra and Ammo Baba in the early 1930s.

On Youra’s return to Baghdad, the pair lined up in front of a packed crowd against the Tunisians, Youra and Ammo Baba enacted their revenge and won 3-2, with Ammo scoring “with his famous’ double-kick” or bicycle kick. Two days later on Christmas Day, they were lining up together for Nadi Al-Athori (Assyrian Club) against the Tunisians, however, this time they lost 3-1. 

From 1956, they played together for Iraq, Youra would often as on the fields of Habbaniya to the Kashafa, be the provider for Ammo to score the goals.

You can buy my book from Amazon Lions of Mesopotamia: Iraqi Football in the Two Republics Vol.1