Syria's Football Team: Why You Don't Buy the Fairy Tale

Description

With Australia playing Syria in a qualifying match for a World Cup place, this article looks at the relationship of the Syrian team to the Assad regime. With the media suggesting Syria's perfomance in the qualifying rounds was a  miracle, the article dispels this myth, arguing that many of the Syrians are well performed players in European leagues. The article also examines how the team's perfomance strengthened Assad's political power.