Former Iraqi national soccer coach Emmanuel Baba Dawud, lauded as one of the country's greatest sporting figures, has died at the age of 74, hospital officials said on Thursday. Dawud, known as the Sheikh of Iraqi coaches and "Ammo Baba," died on Wednesday night of complications from diabetes, said medical officials at Azadi hospital in Dohuk in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
The striker was known for his attacking style, scoring the nation's first goal in the 1957 Pan Arab Games. Named coach of the national team in 1978, Dawud, a Christian, led Iraq to Olympic appearances under Saddam Hussein's rule in 1984 and 1988.