Amir Aldaraji: Iraqi midfielder's incredible journey

Amir Aldaraji parents were forced to flee to the United States in 1994, where he was born in 2001 in Virginia. 

But he was raised in Nashville. And he states that they speak a lot of Arabic at home and there are loads of Iraqis in Tennessee.

Aldaraji started at a very young age when some coaches found out that he’s a prodigy. 

He started at Barcelona Academy in San Diego at a very early age. Then his parents moved back to Tennesse. 

When he turned 14, he started to receive invitations from various MLS Academies clubs for trials at clubs such as Dallas, LA Galaxy and Chicago Fire. 

He said It was difficult to accept these offers due to school at the time. And he also received an opportunity to play for the USA U-15. 

He attended the camp and played two games for them, which was a really good experience for the youngster. 

Amir had a difficult time at a young age facing his mom's death but he moved on trying to get back to work to do what he loves.

He moved to Chicago with his uncle to play for the academy, which coaches suggested after they saw him playing for Tennessee Sc U16. They told him its a good and fresh start with a bright future ahead.

Amir Aldaraji wants to join Iraq National Team

Amir Aldaraji always used to think about representing his home country Iraq and one day after some great performances, he got called up to Iraq National team U-16 to represent Iraq in the AFC Championship. 

Aldaraji also got called up to the U-20 National Team, which he accepted. 

He always felt that it was an honor to represent Iraq and that he wanted to make his parents and his people very proud.

He was about to go to Europe for a trial but because of the pandemic situation it didn’t work out how it was supposed to.

But after this situation is over, he’ll attend many trials and will most certainly accept an offer that will prove to be the foundation on which his journey will be built.

Final Thoughts

His Coach Gary Madison stated that he has a strong family background of working hard and that shows every day in training. 

"He’s a smart and hard working person. He is very skillful and got magical passing ability. The youngster plays either left wing or as an attacking midfielder. 

Aldaraji always looks up to help and assist his teammates to score. Amir is a fast player I hope he’ll make it big one day."

His dad has been a huge influence and has supported him endlessly during this time. He got many offers right now from Middle East and a host of European clubs.  

“I wish for the return of security , peace and safety to my beloved nation and despite all that we’ve gone through, I have high hopes for Iraqi football.”

And as he said, we will wait for football to get back to normality and for him to show his magic on the pitch.