Ali Adnan Kadhim

Personal life

Ali Adnan Kadhim Nassir Al-Tameemi was born in the Iraqi capital in the Aadhimiya vicinity on December 19, 1993. The attack minded left back comes from strong footballing stock with both his father and uncle having played at the top level during the 1970s and 80s. His father Adnan Kadhim had played for the Iraqi youth team in 1977, and won the 1977 AFC Youth Championship in Tehran, and was a part of the squad of the first Iraqi youth side to play at the 1977 FIFA World Youth Championship in Tunis, that same year. However, even though he played for first division clubs Al-Shabab, Al-Tijara and Al-Rasheed, he never made the ascent from club football to senior international football.

His uncle Ali Kadhim is considered one of the best strikers in the history of the national team, and scored 35 goals for the national team, from 1970 to 1980. This was the national record until Hussein Saeed broke it in 1982.

Ali Adnan Kadhim regards his father as his idol and teacher in both life and sport. Throughout his career, his father has been by his side and was often seen at the Baghdad FC stadium watching his son from the sidelines.

Early years

Ali Adnan was graduated from prestigious Ammo Baba Football School, situated opposite the Al-Shaab Stadium, where he spent the early part of his football education. In his five years at the school, and despite being one of the youngest kids at the time, he excelled and progressed from the Baraem ("Buds") and Ashbal ("Cubs") teams. The player sees his time at the school as an important foundation of his career and a key part of his development. He moved from the school, to one of Iraq’s top clubs Al-Zawraa – joining one of the best youth set-ups in the country, and also his uncle’s former club, playing at Nasha’een (Under 17) level and then the youth team. After spending a season in the youth team at city rivals Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, he transferred to big spenders Baghdad FC.

Baghdad FC

There he first played for the Baghdad FC’s youth side and was invited to the senior team by head coach Yahya Alwan, at a relatively young age but because of the depth in the squad, he returned to the youth set-up. It was only after Karim Kurdi was appointed head coach of the club in 2010, that Ali Adnan became a regular with the seniors. The coach was able to give the attacking left sided player the confidence in his own abilities and Ali Adnan went from strength to strength, dislodging his idol and team-mate, the Iraqi international Bassim Abbas on the left flank, first at club level and then with Iraq. He scored seven goals for Baghdad FC in total. Two were in the 2010/11 season (against Naft Maysan and Al-Hassanin), three were in the 2011/12 season (two against Kirkuk FC and one against Al-Sinaa) and two were in the 2012/13 season (against Al-Minaa and Al-Kahraba).

During the 2013 winter transfer window, the player received an offer from Saudi club Ittihad Jeddah FC, to replace Croatian player Anas Sharbini. However the deal fell through when his agent was unable to complete the transfer. The player had been expected to fly to Saudi Arabia to hold negotiations but obtaining a visa to Saudi Arabia would have taken two days and the transfer window would close on the following day, so the deal could not be completed.

Caykur Rizespor

On August 1, 2013 Ali Adnan officially agreed to sign a five-year contract deal with Caykur Rizespor for $650,000. Ali Adnan chose the shirt number 53, as it was the same year the club Caykur Rizespor was established, in 1953, stating that he feels that Caykur Rizespor is like his home. On September 1, 2013 Ali Adnan scored his first goal in the Turkish Super Lig for Caykur Rizespor against Kayseri Erciyesspor in the 7th minute from long distance. On September 14, 2013 Ali Adnan scored his second goal with Caykur Rizespor against Gaziantepspor from a free kick from 35 metres.

During the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup, several clubs had shown interest. Ali Adnan has been linked with Spanish Club Sevilla, English club Arsenal, Turkish clubs Galatasaray, Bursaspor and Caykur Rizespor, Italian clubs Genoa and Livorno. Also the Qatari club Al-Gharrafa showed interest in him.

Galatasaray was set to sign Iraq U-20 star Ali Adnan Kadhim, the Turkish media reported on July 12. The Turkish champions were set to finalize talks with the 19-year-old left-back. Galatasaray has been looking for a player for the left back position, where it had faced problems last season.

On September 2, 2013 Napoli made a €7 Million transfer bid to Caykur Rizespor for Ali Adnan on a five-year deal, but it was rejected by Caykur Rizespor's board of directors.

On September 10, 2013, the Turkish media reported that Galatasaray would make a second attempt to sign Ali Adnan in the winter transfer window. Recently on June 2014, Ali Adnan has been linked with Seria A team A.S. Roma and English Club Chelsea FC.

Udinese

On 1 July 2015, Ali Adnan was announced as Udinese's new signing with a five-year contract. This made Ali the first Iraqi player to play in the Serie A. He made his competitive debut for the club in a 3–1 victory against Novara in the Coppa Italia, and his Serie A debut came in a 1–0 win away to defending champions Juventus.

International career

On December 3, 2012 at the age of 18, he announced his arrival on the international stage when he made his debut for the national side against Bahrain in Doha. In the process, Ali Adnan became the first graduate from Ammo Baba’s football school to play for the senior team, only eleven years after the foundation of the school.

The player had not been selected by Brazilian coach Zico prior to the Bahrain game, but after he left the job, due to a dispute over unpaid wages, Hakim Shaker, Ali Adnan's youth coach, was appointed to take charge of the senior side, and his first decision was to take the step to call-up the left back for the game. His display cemented his place as the best left back in the country, winning plaudits for his displays at the 2012 WAFF Championship.

He scored his first goal for Iraq national team in a 3–1 win over China PR during 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification.

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup

Ali Adnan's breathtaking and scintillating performances have been the highlight of the Iraq U-20's matches at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. His goal against England U-20, that brought Iraq level at 2-2, epitomized his never-ending dynamism and drive, in the 93rd minute of the game, he cut inside from the by-line, bamboozling the opposition with his trickery, before darting past the English defense and blasting the ball past the keeper. His eagerness to get down the flank with his marauding runs; the ability to strike the ball from anywhere outside the penalty box with such ferocity and accuracy, and his all-round physical superiority over his competitors have caught the attention of observers at the tournament, and there have been rumors that scouts from clubs from top European leagues have been watching the 19 year-old.

Playing style

Ali Adnan is somewhat the Iraqi Ian Harte, a left-back with a ferocious set piece. He is a tall and physical but fast player, which lends well to Iraq’s counter-attack philosophy, and to Turkish media, Ali Adnan is known as the new Gareth Bale or Asia's Gareth Bale. Ali Adnan is an attack-minded left back, possesses a strong physique and a powerful long-range shooting ability. Ali Adnan bursts from the back straight into the opposite half of the field with some sublime footworks propelling him to go past defenders and midfielders with ease. Always brimming with energy and full of athletism coupled with his unrivaled strength, opponents find it a tough task taming the wild and audacious left-back who is often than not, seen in the third half of the field entertaining viewers with dazzling skills and screamers from long ranges. Ali Adnan has still managed to stand out on account of his marauding runs down the left wing, as well as his useful habit of popping up with vitally important goals. In spite of his attacking prowess, Ali Adnan serves as a good pillar for his team when defending. With regard to his delivery crosses, overconfidence serves as his bane and falters on quite few occasions but looking at his tender age, with hard work he could overcome this and be a star to watch in the future.

Iraq national team goals

International

Individual