Yuri Illichev

Dr. Yuri Illichev was the former coach of the national football teams of Iraq and Iceland.

The trainer from Moscow held a doctorate in Sports Science and was appointed as head coach of Spartak Kostroma in November 1959, and spent six years at the club, before moving onto SKA Odessa.

In 1969, the Iraq Football Association appointed the Soviet trainer as head coach of the Iraq national football team, military team and the youth team, and managed some impressive results including the 3-0 thrashing of East Germany's national side by the Iraqi youth team (playing under the name of Baghdad Youth XI) on December 12, 1969 with a hat-trick from young outside right Falih Abid Hajim.

The coach continued to build the national side around his youth team players such as Jalal Abdul Rahman, Rahim Karim, Falah Hassan, and Ali Kadhim, with his influental captain and midfield general Douglas Aziz however after a surprising 1-0 defeat to Lebanon in a 1972 Olympic qualifier in Beirut, the coach was sacked.

He went onto coach both Iceland and the Icelandic youth team from 1978-1980 and Icelandic clubs Valur Reykjavík (1977-1978) and Víkingur Reykjavík (1978-1979)