Essam Hamad Salem (; born 22 October 1973) is an Iraqi football coach and former player.
He played as a midfielder for Iraq in the 2000 Asian Cup. Essam also played for Al-Karkh, Al-Taawun, and Al-Zawraa at club level.
Hamad won the double (league and cup) twice, with Al-Zawraa in the 1994âÂÂ95 and 1995âÂÂ96 seasons.
Having already played for the Iraq Olympic team at the qualifiers for the 1996 Summer Olympics, Hamad began playing for the senior team in 1995. He was a regular at the 1996 AFC Asian Cup and 2000 AFC Asian Cup.
Hamad was selected to play for an Asian all-star team in 2000 by the AFC in Tehran, Iran, to commemorate the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He captained the side in the second half. The all-star team was beaten 5âÂÂ0 by Iran.
Al-Zawraa