Emad Mohammed
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Emad Mohammed Reza | ||
| Date of birth | 24 July 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Karbala, Iraq | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Center Forward, Second Striker, Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1998 | Karbalaa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2002 | Al-Zawra'a | ||
| 2002 | Al-Ittihad | ||
| 2002–2003 | Al-Zawra'a | ||
| 2003–2004 | Al-Ittihad | 18 | (7) |
| 2004–2005 | Al-Wakrah | 30 | (11) |
| 2005–2006 | Foolad | 14 | (8) |
| 2006–2010 | Sepahan | 104 | (50) |
| 2010–2011 | Zamalek | 2 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Shahin Bushehr (loan) | 11 | (3) |
| 2011–2012 | Sepahan | 22 | (9) |
| 2012–2014 | Al-Zawraa | 30 | (15) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2000–2012 | Iraq | 103 | (27) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2014–2015 | Al-Zawraa | ||
| 2015–2016 | Najaf | ||
| 2016– | Najaf | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 March 2014. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 October 2013 |
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Emad Mohammed Ridha (Arabic: عماد محمد رضا, born 24 July 1982) is a coach and former Iraqi football striker. He currently manages Najaf in the Iraqi Premier League.
At first glance, Emad Mohammed does not appear to have the physical prowess to which young, aspiring strikers often aspire. However, that has not stopped the diminutive forward giving nightmares to opposition defenders. Small but stocky, blessed with lightning pace and an eye for goal, Mohammed is the epitome of the traditional Asian striker, relying on agility and intelligence more than physical stature.
As a youth, Mohammed was inspired by his eldest brother, Khaled, who played for a local club. But it was Emad who quickly proved to be the family's greatest footballing talent. Indeed, by the age of 15, he has already been brought into the Iraq U-16 national team by coach Adnan Hamad.
Under the tutelage of Hamad, Mohammed developed quickly and eventually graduated to the national U-19 side. The Karbala-born striking prodigy impressed throughout the AFC Youth Championship 2000, scoring four times, including twice in the final against Japan as Iraq won the Asian title.
He was surprisingly brought into the 24-man 2000 Asian Cup squad a few weeks before the finals in Lebanon after scoring two goals in 4 games for the Iraqi B team in a tournament in Indonesia and also scoring 2 goals to help a weakened Al-Zawraa team to beat Emirates club Al-Ain 2-1 in the first round of the 2000 Asian Club Championship. He broke into the Al-Zawraa's first team during season 1998-1999 and was voted Iraqi Leagues’ young player of the year and striker of the year for 2000. He went on to make his full international debut on January 31, 2000 against Lebanon in Beirut in a 0-0 draw.
In 2001, he was offered a transfer contract to Italian giants AC Milan but was denied by son of Iraqi president back then Uday Saddam Hussein; who was the president of the Iraqi FA.
Mohammed's meteoric rise to fame soon earned him a lucrative contract with Qatari giants Al-Gharrafa. Then, in 2005, he signed a deal with Iranian club Foolad before joining giants Sepahan just a year later.
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