Nashat Akram

Nashat Akram Abid Ali Al-Eissa (نشأت أكرم عبد علي العيسى; born 12 September 1984) is an Iraqi former professional footballer.

Popularly dubbed "The Maestro", he usually played as a playmaker or as an attacking midfielder and was known for his exceptional vision and excellent passing ability, as well as his ability to score goals from long range.

Nashat Akram started his senior career at Salahaddin FC and made his debut in the 1999–2000 season under the coach Ammo Baba.

Akram was Iraq's most promising young prospect in the early 2000s, and became an integral part of the Iraq national team as he helped them win the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, winning the man of the match award in the final and being voted for the Team of the Tournament as well as finishing in third place in the AFC Footballer of the Year award in 2007.

At Iraqi club level, he won the Iraqi Premier League title and three Umm al-Ma'arik Championship titles with Al-Shorta.

He also won league titles with Saudi club Al-Shabab, Qatari club Al-Gharafa and Dutch club FC Twente.

However, long before he made a name for himself at the senior level, Akram attracted attention across Asia when his creativity helped Iraq win the AFC Youth Championship 2000.

That same year, the 17-year-old made it into the first team of Iraqi giants Al-Shorta.

He scored his first goal for Salahaddin in a 6–1 win over Al-Samawa in the 1999–2000 Iraq FA Cup on 3 January 2000.

In 2000, aged 16, Nashat Akram transferred to Al-Shorta and made it into their first team, and from the first sight the analysts believed that Iraq would produce one of the most promising players in Asia.

In 2001, he was loaned out to Al-Zawraa for their matches in the Asian Club Championship.

After a series of brilliant performances, which included helping the team to glory in the Umm Al-Marek Cup and reaching the Iraq FA Cup final in 2002, the midfield prodigy began to be heralded as one of Asia's most promising talents.

And it did not take Akram long to live up to these sizeable expectations.

After making his national team debut against Saudi Arabia in a qualifying match for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, the 24-year-old also figured in Iraq's more recent qualifying campaigns, both times with little success.

In 2002, he became a regular starter with his team leading them to win the Umm al-Ma'arik Championship and reaching the Iraq FA Cup final; unfortunately for the young star, they finished 2nd.

After his great performance with Al-Shorta, Nashat Akram was called up to the Iraq Youth Team and later nominated for Asian Young Footballer of the Year.

Nashat's Al Shorta finished third on 2 of the 3 season he spent at the club, and were leading the league in his final season before it was cancelled due to war.

In 2003, he signed for Al-Nassr after their newly appointed coach Yugoslav Ljubiša Tumbaković was in awe of Nashat's performance in the Emir Faisal Abdullah Friendship Cup in Abha in the 5–1 demolition of his side.

Nashat has since seen three of his coaches at Al-Nassr replaced, Ljubiša Tumbaković, the Romanian Mircea Rednic, and the Egyptian Mohsen Saleh after less than a year at the club.

He left the Saudi club due to wranglings over unpaid wages owed to him.

Though still a teenager, he was instrumental in Iraq's qualification for both the Asian Cup 2004 and the Olympic Football Tournament Athens 2004.

His excellent vision and defence-piercing passes – skills rarely seen in players his age – captivated national coach Adnan Hamad, who appointed Akram captain, despite being one of the youngest players on the senior team.

Akram did not let his coach down and impressed throughout Iraq's campaign in the AFC Asian Cup 2004.

He also revealed his goalscoring ability when he was on target in the 2–1 win over Saudi Arabia in the final group match, a result which sent them through to the last eight at the Saudis' expense.

It was not the first goal that he scored for the national team, nor has it been the last.

In 2004, Nashat signed with the giant club Al-Shabab; in his first season, the team won the Saudi Premier League, and won the title again in 2006, where Akram also won the league's Player of the Year and Foreign Player of the Year awards.

Iraq failed to progress to Asia's final round of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany and they suffered a similar fate four years later when they failed to book their passage to South Africa.

After steering Iraq to their maiden success at the AFC Asian Cup 2007 with his intelligent midfield prompting, the cool-headed playmaker instantly became a popular figure across the continent.

He hit the mark again in Iraq's memorable 3–1 win over Australia in a group match in the AFC Asian Cup 2007, before slamming home to seal a 2–1 victory over hosts China in a qualifier for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

On 1 August 2007, Nashat Akram signed a 1-year contract with the club Al-Ain from UAE for 1 million dollars, he was also linked to England with Sunderland.

Akram almost signed for Premier League club Manchester City in 2008, but work permit issues meant that he was not allowed to join, while he was also linked with clubs such as Sunderland and Málaga in his career.

Nashat Akram made his name as the star player in Iraq's U-17s managed by Ammo Baba, who finished second in their Asian Cup qualifying group.

He was later called into the Iraq U-19s by Adnan Hamad.

Against Pakistan, he was instrumental in the 6–0 demolition setting 2 goals in 6 minutes, the 2nd Nashat was involved in the beginning of a move on the Iraqi left, then he reappeared on the right-hand edge of the penalty area to put Emad Mohammed through with an exquisite back heel that took three defenders out of the play, leaving Emad free to score.

He was a regular until he was replaced at half time against Korea Republic due to a tactical change, he later made appearances late on in games and created openings with his inspirational play.

In the final Nashat's long ball forward caused confusion between Shohei Ikeda and his goalkeeper, which resulted in a weak clearing header by Fujigaya.

The ball fell to Emad who hooked the ball over both players to score the winner.

While many footballers are admired for their footwork or dominance in the air, Nashat Akram impresses with his cunning.

Despite winning the continental title, Iraq's disappointing qualifying campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup has left Akram and his teammates with the feeling that they still have something to prove.

Al Nassr finished 7th (out of 12) in his only season with the club.