From the Frontline: War-weary Iraqis find solace in football

by Xinhua writer Duan Minfu

BAGHDAD, April 2 (Xinhua) -- At 6 a.m., the first light of dawn crept over Baghdad. The city was not yet fully awake, but along the Tigris River, teahouses were already packed with football fans, their eyes fixed on television screens, anticipation hanging thick in the air.

A whistle pierced the morning calm, and with it, the hopes of tens of millions of Iraqis held their breat