Falah Hassan

Falah Hassan Jassim (, born 1 July 1951) is an Iraqi former international football player, and current president of Al-Zawraa Sport Club in Baghdad. He played as a forward.

Early life Falah Hassan was born in 1951 in the village of Mimouna, in a district of Qal'at Saleh. His father was a farmer and after the 1958 Revolution, his family moved to Al-Thawra (now Al-Sadr) in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, taking advantage of the new government's initiative in building low cost housing for families wanting to move to Baghdad, it was there he first played the game on the streets of the city.

During the 1970s, Falah Hassan was seen as one of the greatest players in Asia, and was offered lucrative contracts to play professionally abroad, in 1978 he received two offers one from Belgium and the other from the Emirates. Al-Shaab from the UAE reportedly offered Falah and teammate Ali Kadhim a contract to play for them in 1978, while after the arrival of Belgium’s army team in Baghdad, the delegation nearly reached an agreement for a move to a club in Belgium however the officials at the Iraqi FA turned it down saying that Falah Hassan was a national treasure, and that he should not be sold abroad. A year earlier in a dire 0–0 draw with English club Derby County in Baghdad, the player ran rings around the opposition defence.

After a dispute with the Iraq FA that led to a suspension from the national side in 1978, Falah returned the following year to guide Iraq to their first Gulf Cup victory, and then went on to lift the 1979 CISM World Military Championship in Kuwait, beating Italy 4–3 on penalties.

Career statistics

International goals Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.

No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 20 August 1973 March 28 Stadium, Benghazi 3–1 3–1 1973 Palestine Cup 2. 2 June 1974 Stade El Menzah, Tunis 1–2 1–2 Friendly 3. 14 August 1974 Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad 3–0 4–0 Friendly 4. 3 September 1974 Amjadieh Stadium, Tehran 2–0 3–0 1974 Asian Games 5. 21 November 1975 Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad 1–0 1–0 1976 AFC Asian Cup qualification 6. 28 November 1975 2–0 3–0 7. 2 December 1975 2–0 2–1 8. 26 December 1975 Stade El Menzah, Tunis 3–0 4–0 1975 Palestine Cup 9. 27 March 1976 Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha 1–0 4–0 4th Arabian Gulf Cup 10. 29 March 1976 2–0 4–1 11. 1 April 1976 3–0 7–1 12. 11 June 1976 Aryamehr Stadium, Tehran 2–2 2–3 1976 AFC Asian Cup 13. 25 January 1977 National Stadium, Kampala 1–1 1–1 Friendly 14. 15 July 1978 Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur 1–1 2–1 1978 Merdeka Tournament 15. 29 March 1979 Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad 1–0 3–1 5th Arabian Gulf Cup 16. 3 April 1979 3–0 5–0 17. 6 April 1979 4–0 7–0 18. 5–0 19. 8 April 1979 1–0 2–0 20. 21 July 1980 Republican Stadium, Kiev 3–0 3–0 1980 Summer Olympics 21. 25 July 1980 Dinamo Stadium, Minsk 1–0 1–1 22. 6 February 1981 King Abdullah Stadium, Amman 1–0 2–0 Friendly 23. 2–0 24. 16 September 1981 Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur 4–0 4–0 1981 Merdeka Tournament 25. 19 February 1982 Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad 1–0 3–1 Friendly 26. 2–0 27. 3–0 28. 7 March 1982 Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad 1–0 3–0 Friendly 29. 2–0

Post-playing career Falah Hassan has been the president of Al-Zawraa SC since 2010. The club has been into lots of success under Hassan's regime, winning many trophies and playing in Asian competitions.