Iraq ace Kasim hails Shenaishil
Newcastle (IraqiNews.com) Midfielder Yaser Kasim hailed the influence of interim Iraq coach Radhi Shenaishil ahead of Friday’s third place play-off with the United Arab Emirates despite the former international only taking over less a month prior to the start of the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015.
Iraq had crashed out of the 2014 Gulf Cup in the group stage under Hakem Shakir following defeats by Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates either side of a draw with Oman.
And with Shakir departing soon after, Qatar SC coach Shenaishil agreed to take on the role just over three weeks prior to the start of the tournament and subsequently led Iraq to a first semi-final appearance since winning the title in 2007 having beaten Asia’s number one ranked side Iran in the quarter-finals.
Iraq did lose Monday’s semi-final 2-0 to Korea Republic, and Shenaishil’s side will return to Newcastle Stadium on Friday to face the United Arab Emirates, although the future of the coach remains unclear ahead of the third place play-off.
“People didn’t see us as getting this far, especially after the disruptions we have had with the new manager coming in. But obviously that has been a blessing in disguise as the training has become a lot better as well as the standards required have become better and I have really enjoyed that,” said Swindon Town midfielder Kasim, who missed the defeat by Korea due to suspension.
“We will have only had him by the end of this tournament for 40 days, and you look at other teams who have had their managers for a couple of years or at least year, but we have come through; we have got to the semi-finals.
“I missed it through suspension, I would have loved to be influenced the outcome, and from a personal point of view there is a bit of a what if about the semi-final, but I am proud of what we have achieved in such a short amount of time and now we need to make sure we take this project to another level.”
Shenaishil, who also enjoyed a short spell in charge the Lions of Mesopotamia in 2009, is set to return to the Qatar Stars League outfit after Friday’s meeting having maintained Iraq’s record of at least reaching the quarter-finals at the last six editions of the AFC Asian Cup.
The UAE, meanwhile, lost their semi-final 2-0 to Australia having eliminated defending champions Japan in the quarter-finals.
“We were disappointed after the semi-final loss. It was one of those where we were so close yet so far, but we are looking for a win and that means third spot in the Asian Cup which is something to be proud of for sure,” added Kasim, who only made his Iraq debut in the final qualifier for the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 against China in March 2014.
He stressed “The UAE are quite consistent, they have been together for quite some time and the manager has been there for a while so they have a good structure in place and they seem to be a good footballing side so we will go out there and play our football, hopefully enjoy it, and get the result, but they are a good team.” /End/