IRAQI VICTORY SEND EMOTIONS, SPIRITS HIGH.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

PATRAS, Greece - They stood and cheered and chanted, almost danced as they waved. All the turmoil, all the dark torture from the past, not just across the Mediterranean but momentarily a world away.

As war continued to break out back in their shattered homeland, the Iraqi Olympic men's soccer team pulled off something remarkable on a muggy Thursday night, something unimaginable just two years ago.

It had competed in the Olympics. That it had qualified at all caused celebration and gunfire in the streets of Baghdad. When Iraq became the final team to qualify for the Olympic soccer tournament, Ahmed Al-Samarrai, president of their National Olympic Committee, called it the ``biggest moment in Iraq's Olympic history.''

Not any longer.

Not after Iraq stunned Portugal - whose national team had just played in the European Cup final - with a 4-2 victory.

``The people in Iraq now are very happy,'' said Iraq coach Adnan Hamad Majeed.

During the U.S. occupation, with the team again given the go-ahead, it struggled to put a full squad together for practice.

``So many roads would be closed,'' Majeed said.

Yet the team was here and supported from the moment it took the Pampeloponnisiako Stadium floor by a couple of thousand cheering Iraqis, most all of whom apparently now live in Greece.

The Iraqi crowd had the best seats in the house, right at midfield. Many wore T-shirts that read ``Iraq'' in English across their backs.

They clapped hands over their heads, raised the red, white and black Iraq flag, chanted ``Eee-rack'' - all before the game even began.

They stood almost the entire game. They finally had reason to celebrate and were going to make the best of it.

Then the scoring opened with an own-goal by Iraq's Haidar Jabbar in the 13th minute.

During the reign of Saddam Hussein, that might have left Jabbar the most frightened man in Greece, if not the world.

Hussein had his oldest son, Uday, in charge of Iraq's Olympic team and soccer federation. Uday was dubbed the ``Butcher's Boy'' for the terror he held over the sports teams.

Failure meant cruel punishment, and reportedly even death. Uday carried an electric prod and wasn't shy about using it. Athletes who failed in his eyes were reportedly tortured in the 30-cell basement of the Olympic building.

Canings, lashings, lost limbs, bodies dragged over concrete and then forced to jump into raw sewage - all reported by Iraqi athletes who later managed to flee the country. One former volleyball player said he had a list of 52 athletes killed by Uday.

Uday's athletic program was driven by fear, and wholly unsuccessful. The soccer team had not qualified for the Olympics since 1988. It sent only four athletes to Sydney.

In its history Iraq has won only a single Olympic medal, and that by a weightlifter back in the 1960 Games in Rome.

But Thursday became a party, and falling behind to Portugal offered only a momentary pause. Soon Emad Mohammed tied the score and then a header by Hawar Mulla Mohammed gave Iraq the lead.

Portugal tied it just before half, but Iraq and its fans were undeterred.

``We will win today, and then play the Americans,'' yelled one Iraqi fan. ``No problem.''

Iraq caught a break when Portugal's Boa Morte drew a questionable red card and played with a man advantage the rest of the night.

Soon Younis Mahmoud scored to give Iraq back the lead. Its jubilant crowd, almost exclusively men, could sense something magical, something missing so long from Iraqi lives, was about to happen.

Iraq's team seemed to grow stronger as the humid night wore on. In a battle of under 23-year-olds, Portugal wilted as Iraq grew more confident.

There was a final goal in the last minute, and then a genuine celebration. The Iraq team walked off holding hands. Its fans could not have appeared happier if they had just won the gold medal.

Something besides war and torture and uncertainty was finally at hand, and completely embraced.

``You all know what is going on in our country,'' Majeed said. ``We are very worried right now. Today there is more bad news in Iraq. It is a very difficult situation for our players.

``But I think that we wanted to try and make our people happy. It was very important to them.''

There were no illusions that a fractured world had been made right. But in a country desperately in need of hope, sports had given a reprieve from death and terror and offered a glimpse of better days.

``I think we represent all the people in Iraq,'' said team leader Hussain Mohammed. ``I think we have a good future.''

Uday is dead now. Hussein's reign over. An ancient country struggles to begin again.

On a muggy night in Greece, it finally had reason to celebrate.

``Football (soccer) is very important in our country,'' Majeed said. ``This might help the people forget. I think this will help us.''

Back in the stadium, the Iraqi crowd was still cheering.