A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days

May Iraq be as successful as a country as its soccer team is:

Iraq completed one of sport's great fairytales by beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the Asian Cup final on Sunday to provide a rare moment for celebration in their war-torn homeland.

The Saudis had been bidding to become the first four-times winners of the tournament but Iraq, riding a wave of global sentiment, upset the hot-favourites for a rare slice of sporting glory.

"This is not just about football... this is more important than that," Iraq's Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira told a news conference.

"This has brought great happiness to a whole country. This is not about a team, this is about human beings."

Iraqi captain Younis Mahmoud scored the winner in the 71st minute when he climbed above the defence at the far post and headed a perfectly-weighted corner from Hawar Mulla Mohammed into the net.

This is just wonderful. Of course, the end of the story is heartbreaking, indicating that the team cannot even return home with its trophy for fear of their lives. And they won't be able to in the near future unless they get some serious assistance from other countries.

Countries like ours, for instance.