"we can bring happiness to the Iraqi people."

I love "cindarella" sports stories and the Iraqi team is a great one that will conclude tomorrow when they play in the final of the Asian Cup against the heavily favored Saudi team. They have beaten a host of teams to get to the final that they weren't expected to defeat. What is especially inspirational though is that they are a mixture of the various ethnic groups in Iraq. Win or lose, it is a great thing for the Iraqi people.

The Iraqi captain of the team told the press:

All the players have faced some difficult times but we know we can bring happiness to the Iraqi people. We share a great responsibility to bring [them] happiness through football so we always just concentrate on the match. We love football and we love our country and we are ready to defend it.

NYT article on how the tournament is bringing Iraqi's together
Official Website of the Asian Cup
Preview of the game from Soccernet