Al-Talaba
Name: Al-Talaba (meaning Students in English)
Nickname: Al-Aneeq (meaning The Elegants in English)
City: Baghdad
Year of foundation: 1969
Manager: Yahya Alwan (Iraq)
Number of Iraqi Premier League titles: 5
1980/81, 1981/82, 1985/86, 1992/93, 2001/02
Number of Iraqi FA Cup titles: 2
2001/02, 2002/03
Number of Iraqi Elite Cup titles: 3
1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96
Number of Iraqi Super Cup titles: 1
2002/03
Number of major continental titles: 0
Al-Talaba were founded in 1969 under the name of Al-Jamea and are one of the big four clubs in Iraq alongside Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Al-Shorta and Al-Zawraa. They came close to winning the league in their first five seasons in the Iraqi Premier League but finally managed to do so in the 1980/81 season and they retained their title the following year. They continued their successful 1980s period by winning their third league title in 1985/86, before further wins in 1992/93 and 2001/02. They also won their first ever Iraqi FA Cup in 2001/02 to complete the double, and they won the cup again in 2002/03. They have the joint-record highest number of Iraqi Elite Cups (a tournament they created themselves) with three, and also have one Iraqi Super Cup to their name. Since the start of the Iraq War in 2003, Al-Talaba have had massive ups and downs. They almost won the league a few times, coming closest in the 2009/10 season, but also came dangerously close to relegation in both the 2010/11 and 2012/13 campaigns.
Season-by-season record in the Iraqi Premier League:
1975/76: 8th
1976/77: 2nd
1977/78: 8th
1978/79: 3rd
1979/80: 3rd
1980/81: 1st
1981/82: 1st
1982/83: 2nd
1983/84: 2nd
1984/85: Season abandoned
1985/86: 1st
1986/87: 6th
1987/88: 8th
1988/89: 2nd
1989/90: 6th
1990/91: 2nd
1991/92: 4th
1992/93: 1st
1993/94: 3rd
1994/95: 4th
1995/96: 6th
1996/97: 3rd
1997/98: 5th
1998/99: 2nd
1999/2000: 4th
2000/01: 4th
2001/02: 1st
2002/03: Season abandoned
2003/04: Season abandoned
2004/05: 3rd
2005/06: 5th
2006/07: 4th
2007/08: 8th
2008/09: 5th
2009/10: 2nd
2010/11: 15th
2011/12: 4th
2012/13: 14th
2013/14: 8th
2014/15: 10th
2015/16: 3rd
2016/17: 7th
2017/18: 14th
2018/19: 13th
2019/20: Season abandoned
