Rebin Sulaka #2

Profile

The 1.92m journeyman centre-back has come a long way from when he first put on an Iraqi jersey more than a decade ago. Back then Sulaka, who was born in Iraq but grew up in Sweden, was only at the start of his career, understanding just a few words of Arabic as his parents spoke mainly Chaldean Neo-Aramaic at home. Now 34 years old with more than 50 appearances for Iraq, Sulaka has a good command of the Arabic language, allowing him to communicate with the rest of the squad and help ease new players into the team. After starting his club career in Sweden, he has played in nine different countries, including Norway, Serbia, Bulgaria and Switzerland, and is now enjoying his second stint in Thailand. He will be the second Iraqi player from Ankawa, a suburb of Erbil, to play at the World Cup after Basil Gorgis, who was sent off early against Belgium in 1986 in a case of mistaken identity.

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