Tehran football fans rise to greet Reds

Fcbayern - Bayern's 12-hour excursion to Tehran for a friendly against local giants Persepolis indicated the club enjoys a reservoir of support among the Iranian population. "Thank you for coming, and I hope you have a wonderful stay," Persepolis President Mohammad-Hassan Ansarifard declared shortly after the German visitors touched down.

The Bavarians will certainly reflect on a remarkable few hours in the Iranian capital. Following the official reception, the team bus received a Police escort to the Asadi stadium, pursued by hordes of local fans waving flags from their cars, and pulling off hair-raising driving stunts in an effort to come closer to the Bayern vehicle. As the bus entered the stadium, fans threw flowers at the stars and accompanying reporters.

Ecstatic fans at stadium

The passion was almost tangible at the stadium itself. "The noise from the terraces was unbelievable, even when we just ran out onto the field," commented Michael Ballack. In fact, the ground was only half-full with a crowd numbering around 50,000, including some 50 Bayern fans who have been following the team during the Dubai training camp.

"I was a little stunned at the apparent lack of organisation here, but it's all gone extremely well," remarked coach Felix Magath, describing the outing to Iran as well worth the effort. General manager Uli Hoeneß was equally pleased: "I'd make the trip again tomorrow."

Another man who would be delighted to return as soon as possible is Ali Karimi, a former Persepolis mainstay and an iconic figure for the youth of the nation. "Ali Karimi, Asia's star footballer - welcome home," declared a huge hoarding near the airport. "Playing my former club in my home country with Bayern has been a very special experience," he later reflected.

No goal for Karimi against keeper brother

Magath sent out completely different line-ups for each half of the 2-1 victory over Persepolis, so Karimi had only 45 minutes to try and score against his brother Farshid, who took over in the home goal after a few minutes. "I'd been hoping to do better, but my legs were heavy and I was tired. But we still won. It was a successful friendly," the midfielder reasoned.

"We've done nothing but train recently, so it was good to have a match again, even in these surroundings," Magath commented as the team boarded the plane for the return flight to Dubai with fond memories of an adventure in Iran.