Douglas Aziz

Who is Douglas Aziz?

Douglas Aziz Shamasha Eshaya is a former Iraq national football player and caretaker coach. He is from Iraq's Christian minority, and an ethnic Assyrian.

He was a pillar for club and country during the late 1960s and through the 1970s. He made his league debut in 1963 and spent 15 inspiring seasons with Aliyat Al-Shurta and with merger club Al-Shurta, where he was a key figure in the side along with Abid Kadhim, Majeed Ali, Latif Shandal and Riyadh Nouri. After making his international debut in 1967, Douglas quickly became an key influence as the midfield general in the heart of the Iraqi team.

With the national team, he played in the 1974 World Cup qualifiers in Australia, where Iraq finished second behind the hosts, the 1972 and 1976 Asian Cups in Thailand and Iran, and in the Olympic qualifiers in 1968 and 1972. Douglas was also an important part of the Iraqi army team that won the 1972 and 1977 CISM World Military Championship.

Douglas played for the Iraqi national team until 1978 and retired from playing a year later. He went onto coach at Al-Shurta and in his first season in charge, led the club to their first ever league title in 1979-1980.