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Interesting article on the Athletic about Al-Hamadi who spent a little while in our academy before turning down the offer of a professional contract here in favour of dropping down the leagues to play more first-team football. Looks like it worked out for him.
I've copied the article if anyone is interested and doesn't have a subscription for the website.
I've copied the article if anyone is interested and doesn't have a subscription for the website.
Ali Al-Hamadi: The AFC Wimbledon striker who is a star for Iraq
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By Nancy Froston
7h ago
6
Save Article
Ali Al-Hamadi is getting used to being recognised on the streets of London.
Sometimes, it is because fans of AFC Wimbledon clock him going about his daily business, but more often than not, it is fans of the Iraq national team that stop him for a photo.
It happens while the 21-year-old is chatting to The Athletic, fresh off international duty that brought two wins against Vietnam and Indonesia under manager Jesus Casas in their bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
In part, the appetite for football in his home nation is what has made him a star in two corners of the globe, but his form this season helps — 11 goals in 23 games for club and country have put him on course for his best season yet. He scored twice on Saturday in AFC Wimbledon’s 4-2 win over Notts County.
“There’s a lot of Arabs in this area, so I bump into a few fans every now and then,” Al-Hamadi says. “The guy who stopped me then was an Iraq fan. The other day I was with one of my friends and it happened. I don’t mean it in an arrogant way, but because it’s happening quite a lot now, I’m kind of used to it and my friend was like, ‘Mate, that is crazy that someone would just recognise you’. It is mad, but I forget about it until it happens when I’m on the phone or I’m with someone else and I realise how weird it is to be recognised on the street.”
At the double for @AFCWimbledon!#EFL | #SkyBetLeagueTwo pic.twitter.com/Sv30UhAeGG
— Sky Bet League Two (@SkyBetLeagueTwo) November 12, 2023
Attention from Iraq fans is not a new thing to Al-Hamadi, with the most recent international break bringing his 11th cap and first time playing in the country. Even before his first call-up for the national team under Dick Advocaat in November 2021, the social media accounts of his former clubs at Wycombe Wanderers, Swansea City and Bromley have all become inundated with fans following his progress. His 239,000 followers on Instagram are more than any other player at Wimbledon and the two fanbases have formed a unique bond online, with a group of supporters travelling to Vietnam to watch him in action last week.
“It’s absolutely mental,” he says. “If you asked people at my previous clubs who were the social media managers or who were in charge of the club accounts, people just show so much support it’s crazy. They’re football-mad in Iraq, it’s all they talk about and it’s such a footballing country. Whatever club I’ve been to, there’s been a bond between fans, it’s special. Playing for Iraq is immense pressure. The other day against Vietnam, I started and you feel that pressure. You’re expected to win every game; it’s a pressure I can’t describe because it’s so different to playing for your club, but it’s a privileged pressure.
“There are 40-odd million people wanting you to win a game of football and that’s not something many people get to experience. Playing at home the other day, there were 65,000 or so people. I’ve played at Stamford Bridge, but the atmosphere in Basra was 100 times better because of the energy and intensity, it’s hard to describe. People told me about it before I went to play there but I almost didn’t believe it. Once you’ve played there for the first time, it’s even madder than you expect it to be. To score there as well, it’s the maddest moment.”
Play: Video
Al-Hamadi scored his first Iraq goal in July this year and another two in wins over Jordan and Indonesia in the past two months. After walking away from a professional contract after spending time with Swansea’s academy in order to speed up his route to first-team football, he has found his feet under Johnnie Jackson’s leadership at Wimbledon as they chase promotion back to League One following relegation in 2022.
“I left Swansea when I had a contract offer there and it would have been really easy to stay comfortable in that amazing environment with great facilities,” says Al-Hamadi. “But I chose to gamble. There are ups and downs with that, trying lots of different clubs and getting rejected, I went on loan spells, like to Bromley in the National League, and now I’m at Wimbledon and loving it. Playing every week is what every player wants. As a player, when you feel loved and appreciated, that’s when you play your best football. That’s all the gaffer has done — he’s given me the trust to go and perform in the way I want to do it.
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Al-Hamadi is one of League Two’s most exciting talents (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
“When you compare it (taking the risk to pursue first-team football) to the struggles my family went through, it gives you perspective to think that it isn’t really that hard or scary. I’ve always been willing to take the risks and the gamble to take the path of most resistance.”
The Al-Hamadi family story is a remarkable one, which explains a lot of why Ali is able to keep his feet on the ground despite his rising star status in football. Both his parents, Ibrahim and Asseel, are Iraqi and sought asylum in the UK when Ali was one as they settled in Toxteth, Liverpool, before welcoming two more children. His father, a lawyer, was imprisoned and tortured for taking part in a peaceful protest against Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship while Ali was still an infant. Football has provided a welcome opportunity to return to his homeland and make his family proud.
Flew to Vietnam to support the Iraqi Scouser. YOU DONS @alikalhamadi @AFCWimbledon pic.twitter.com/62MrsqTygw
— Tom Garbutt (@tomus_garbutt) November 21, 2023
“My dad had a stroke in the past few years so his heart isn’t the best anyway, but watching me play for Iraq probably doesn’t help,” he says. “When I was growing up, even though I was raised in this country as if I was born here, I still don’t feel as if this is my home. I only really feel that sense of belonging when I go back to Iraq and I’m with the national team. I speak the language, I’m part of the culture and part of a bit of history as one of a few players who represents them but plays over here in Europe. When I was younger, I didn’t expect it to go this way. I grew up thinking as a kid, like everyone, that I wanted to play for England even though I’m from Iraq.
“Every time I speak about it, it gives me a good reminder and puts things in perspective of where I am and why I am doing what I’m doing. My whole family’s journey to this country was not straightforward. They had to leave their family and friends behind and move to a completely new country to start fresh where they don’t speak the language, know the culture, have any money or have any jobs waiting.
“Anyone who has worked with me as an athlete and as a person will tell you that I’m really driven and don’t take anything for granted. There are times where, as every human does, I don’t feel like working as hard or I’ve not got the right attitude towards my craft. But having that experience behind me just springboards me back towards what I want to do, it re-energises me.”
Targeting success on two fronts — promotion with Wimbledon and World Cup qualification with Iraq — will require complete dedication from Al-Hamadi, who is a key source of goals for both teams. In his own words, “top players want a challenge” and in a competitive League Two and with another round of World Cup qualifiers on the horizon, he faces a busy remainder of the season.
“Asia has four more slots now and we’ve always been the best of the rest, that’s how we’ve described Iraq,” says Al-Hamadi. “We’ve always been the best of the rest of the Asian teams that don’t qualify for the World Cup. Now there are more spots, if we don’t qualify we’d be really down and disappointed. Some people think it’s an easy feat to play for Iraq, but it’s not. So many great players have played for the country. I’m living my childhood dream of playing international football, I try to grasp the opportunity with both hands.”
