{"id":484601,"date":"2026-06-09T21:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T21:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/484601\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T21:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T21:42:16","slug":"it-was-madness-in-baghdad-rene-meulensteen-on-coaching-iraq-and-helping-ronaldo-world-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/484601\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It was madness in Baghdad\u2019: Ren\u00e9 Meulensteen on coaching Iraq and helping Ronaldo | World Cup 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iraq\u2019s journey to their first World Cup finals tournament in 40 years<\/a> involved sacrifices unmatched by any other side. After 20 qualifiers, the team faced a decisive playoff in the Mexican city of Monterrey but, with Iraq <\/a>dragged into the Middle East war and airspace closed<\/a>, several staff and players had an arduous job getting there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had to travel from different cities to Baghdad by car or bus,\u201d says Ren\u00e9 Meulensteen, the assistant to Iraq\u2019s head coach, Graham Arnold. \u201cSome of those journeys took up to eight hours. Then, from Baghdad they travelled roughly 15 hours on bumpy roads to Amman, in Jordan, where occasional flights were still operating. The other Asian\u2011based players made their own way to Amman, so they could all travel together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fifa had arranged a private charter, but the squad faced a nine\u2011hour delay. An eight-hour flight to Lisbon followed, then a two-hour stopover, before a 12\u2011hour journey to Mexico.<\/p>\n

It was hardly ideal preparation for what Meulensteen, a former Manchester United coach under Alex Ferguson, describes as \u201cthe most important game in their lives\u201d. But the team arrived with time for recovery and beat Bolivia 2\u20111<\/a> to secure the tournament\u2019s final spot in front of a crowd that featured plenty of support for Iraq.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the remaining tickets were given to local Mexicans, so they were there in a big number, together with a large group of Iraqis based in the US,\u201d Meulensteen says.<\/p>\n

The location provided a full\u2011circle moment. \u201cWe told the players: \u2018Let\u2019s realise what kind of journey we\u2019ve had to get here and perhaps the match is meant to be here, as Iraq\u2019s previous World Cup<\/a> participation was staged in Mexico.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Back home, the scenes were electric. \u201cIt was absolute madness in Baghdad, where it was early in the morning,\u201d says Meulensteen, who was shown videos of celebrations. \u201cThe whole nation has been craving something to celebrate and this gives people a huge boost of energy and hope. You can really feel the sense of pride; there\u2019s a genuine feelgood factor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iraq had to travel to Mexico and beat Bolivia to qualify for their first World Cup in 40 years. Photograph: Raquel Cunha\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Qualification adds to achievements such as fourth place at the 2004 Olympics, where they beat Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s Portugal, and winning the 2007 Asian Cup. That triumph briefly united a country gripped by civil war and the 1986 World Cup and 2004 milestones also came against a backdrop of conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cIraq is still a country that is really feeling the after\u2011effects of the second Gulf war,\u201d Meulensteen says. \u201cYou can see that in the cities. They are recovering, but logistically and organisationally you can\u2019t compare it to Dubai or places in Saudi Arabia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meulensteen, 62, enjoys the culture and the squad. \u201cYou should hear them on the bus to training and matches, singing and listening to music. It\u2019s absolutely brilliant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iraq have been drawn in arguably the toughest group, with France, Senegal and Norway. \u201cIt\u2019s like Manchester United against Grimsby,\u201d Meulensteen says, but the minnows won that tie<\/a> last August and the Dutchman too intends to defy the odds, just as he and Arnold did with Australia at the last World Cup tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had France, Denmark and Tunisia in our group and weren\u2019t given much chance of going through either,\u201d he says. \u201cBut that\u2019s where our biggest strength lies: the element of surprise.\u201d Australia beat Denmark and Tunisia and gave the eventual winners, Argentina, a tough game in the last 16.<\/p>\n

The Iraqi players soak up the crowd\u2019s adulation as they tour the Baghdad streets in April, as they celebrate qualifying for the World Cup. Photograph: Hawre Khalid\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Iraq\u2019s squad is made up of players born there and others with Iraqi heritage. Not all speak Arabic, but Meulensteen has an intermediate level after his early coaching years in Qatar. To make that move in 1993, he had to marry his girlfriend, because living together out of wedlock was not allowed.<\/p>\n

Meulensteen arrived at United eight years later via the academy director, Lee Kershaw, and a recommendation from Dave Mackay, who had met Meulensteen while managing Qatar\u2019s under-17s. Meulensteen started in the academy before taking on individual work with first\u2011team players. That role intensified in 2007 after a brief spell as Br\u00f8ndby\u2019s head coach and he worked closely with Ronaldo. \u201cI had several sessions with him on and off the pitch, using videos to show certain things. We focused on the key aspects of finishing, dividing the penalty area into zones to make him aware of his positioning, the type of crosses coming in and the best finish for each situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Meulensteen more generally encouraged Ronaldo to focus less on flair and more on efficiency. \u201cI told him it\u2019s all about being as unpredictable as possible, varying your game \u2026 over the years, he mastered that perfectly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat really stood out with Cristiano was his drive for perfection. And that\u2019s still the case. At Carrington, we had this fenced cage with rebound boards. After training he would often go in there by himself for another 10 or 15 minutes. I also showed him exercises using those boards to handle the ball in different creative ways. He absolutely loved that.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the work we did that season \u2013 on the pitch and everything we discussed \u2013 I eventually compiled into a DVD for him. It was basically a PowerPoint presentation with video clips, in which I also explained the importance of setting goals, how people with clear targets are far more successful than those without them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meulensteen retains a strong relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson after 12 years at Carrington. Photograph: Matthew Peters\/Manchester United\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

At the start of 2007\u201108, Meulensteen asked Ronaldo what his target was for the season after scoring 23 goals the previous season. Ronaldo answered 30. \u201cWhat about 40?\u201d Meulensteen replied. Ronaldo agreed and scored 42 as United won the Premier League and Champions League.<\/p>\n

In the summer of 2008, Meulensteen was promoted to first\u2011team coach and entrusted with designing and leading training. \u201cSir Alex basically explained to me on three flipchart sheets how he believed Manchester United<\/a> should play. And that became the navigation system for designing all the training sessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt covered principles both defensively and in possession. But the final sheet, he said, was the most important, as it defined Manchester United the most. He said: \u2018When we attack, I want to do so with pace, power, penetration and unpredictability. And I want you to apply those four things in every training session in some way.\u2019 When you look back, during the period when we were at our best, you could see all those elements.\u201d<\/p>\n

After leaving United in 2013, Meulensteen\u2019s work included a spell at Fulham and time in the US, Israel and India before he helped Australia to reach the World Cup finals tournament. He gained invaluable experience that has proved useful in his work as a coach, including in helping players to cope with doubts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they experience fear, I ask them to give it a shape. What exactly is that fear? It could be the fear of the consequences of not winning a match. You don\u2019t always have control over everything that comes into your head, like what you see and what you hear. But I encourage them to focus on what they want, their desires \u2013 like playing well, scoring a goal or reaching the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ren\u00e9 Meulensteen says the group of death holds few fears for Iraq after playing 21 games to qualify. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

When working with players, he asks them to \u201cadd\u201d things to their game rather than change anything. Ferguson also attached great importance to the impact of words. \u201cHe always said the two most important coaching words are: well done,\u201d Meulensteen says. When training sessions were nearing their end, Ferguson would often walk past, tap Meulensteen on the shoulder and offer that very compliment.<\/p>\n

The two developed a strong bond. \u201cHe is a great storyteller and has very broad interests. He reads a lot and knows a great deal about politics and history. He is absolutely fascinated by the American civil war; he knows so much about it. But also about movies, actors and actresses, you name it. He was incredibly well rounded.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt United, when we were on the bus or train to away games, we would often play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on my iPad. The number of times we made it to the end is unbelievable. He knew things I would have never known.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every now and then they meet up for a cup of tea. \u201cWe\u2019ll sit there for an hour and a half, two hours, and the time just flies by. It\u2019s fantastic.\u201d United, Meulensteen says, provided a \u201cbeautiful period\u201d of his life. He hopes to add another this summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iraq\u2019s journey to their first World Cup finals tournament in 40 years involved sacrifices unmatched by any other…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-484601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}