Bassim Abbas

After completing his junior career and winning the 2000 Asian Youth Tournament as a member of the Iraqi team, Bassim Abbas was picked up by Al-Talaba of the Iraqi Premier League in 2000 and remained there until 2006, aside from a one-season stint (2004-2005) with Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C. in Iran. Over the next two seasons he played with three different teams, Al-Nejmeh SC of Lebanon (2006-2007) and Alarabi (2007-2008) and Umm-Salal Sports Clubs of Qatar, prior to returning to Al-Talaba for 2008-2009. He then travelled to Turkey and was affiliated with Diyarbakırspor for 2009-2010 before joining Konyaspor the following year. He won the Iraqi Premier League Championship in 2002 with Al-Talaba.

During this time, Abbas also found success as a member of the Iraqi national football team. He was with the squad when they captured the 2002 West Asian Football Federation Championship and, two years later, when they reached the semi-finals of the 2004 AFC Asian Cup. Later that year he played in five matches at the 2004 Summer Olympics, where Iraq finished fourth after losing the bronze medal match against Italy. In 2007 he helped his country win its first AFC Asian Cup and continued making international appearances by participating in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.