A Memorable, Unbelievable Day in Tehran

I don't know where to start. I'm still in a state of oblivion, I'm still stunned.

They were real, they were kicking balls in front of me and who were they anyway? They were my heroes, my childhood heroes.

Captain Maldini, Captain Baresi, Rino Gattuso, that man Boban, Massaro, Rossi...

I simply had to share this with you. I don't know if this short video could project my true feelings, but hell, it must.
Everybody around was staring at me in awe of how I was practically, gradually destroying my precious vocal chords by screaming and chanting so much. I looked like a total lunatic. Must've been a sight to see.

My brother was there and he shot the video. I hope you like it.
I'll post some photos in the coming hours, too.

WoW. Just WoW.


P.S. I swear my English accent is almost immaculate under normal circumstances, it's just that there was so much noise and I couldn't even hear myself.
(Feeling insecure!)

Haha thats amazing bud. Very happy for you that you got to experience and to see the legends before your eyes. I think all of us here know how much it must have meant to you.

Forza milan!  

My brother...so good to see and hear from you. I'm ecstatic for you and happy that someone who is so passionate about their team was able to live out a dream.

P.S. I was actually thinking about you the other day when discussing with a friend why I felt movies were better than television series.

Iras

I was going to ask if you went to see them , of course you would , you even made a video you GOAT

Hope you enjoyed it and you finally got to see Paolo as well. I saw only Massaro's goal so far , will try to watch any highlight i could find later. And your accent is very good man , wtf

i'd swear you're living in America or something if i didn't know better. Hope the Milanese grandpas can come here in Greece too , would like to watch the Milan glorie play . As for the real deal , too much poverty around to make plans on travels atm , sadly

Really happy for you Iras brother.

First of all, let me say that the quality is admittedly crap. Why? Because we were more than 100 meters away and all we could do was zoom in (36x) and hold the camera on our shaky hands. Other than that, these are good ones. I don't wanna hear any complaints!

Second, we were excited, come on. Can you take fantastic photos with a simple camera when your heart is pounding like a David Guetta crazy track? I thought so.

Now, enjoy these straight from Iran exclusively by IrasMaldinista News Network:




The guys have just entered the pitch and are warming up. The two eternal captains with two capital C's.



This time Paolo Maldini, my favorite pass-master Boban, and Massaro (more to come on the latter!)



Massaro was just about to sneeze, and my bro caught the moment! WooHoo!



Some more warm-up this time with Pancaro and Eranio




Where is BigBoban to see the real deal?
Boban's haircut was as distinctive as Ba's, and he was milan's brain and creator-in-chief.
Easily the most technical player on the pitch, he assisted Massaro at 47th second of first half!
Simply a joy to watch despite being visibly cumbersome after 9 years of retirement.




No comment.




Your name will forever be carved out in memories. Rest assured Grande Franco.



Some expertly-taken photo, isn't it? Sebastiano Rossi's face is omitted, but his HUGE belly is all there.
Seriously though, they were 100 meters away, this was the best our 36x bridge Nikon could do.



Never quite groundbreaking, but for some unknown reason, forever in our minds!



Alberigo Evani... or Machete Cortez?




Persepolis legend starters. (They were around 30 people, Milan were only 17!)
The short guy on the left is Panjali, he was the best Iranian center-back ever, and among Asia's top 3.
Also, the second leaning guy from right, is Mahdavikia, an HSV Hamburg legend and 2003 Asian player of the year.




And now, all together for one nice photo of the heroes of yesteryear.




Captains shook hands and went for the kick-off




One minute silence for the death of Iran's first Int'l referee. Respect.



Zvonimir, come on man... Can you not be playful? FYI you're paying tribute FGS.
Like I said, he was a joy to watch in more ways than one.




Somehow, and I honestly don't know how, but somehow he always stands out. Always.




And... that's it for today folks. Everybody go on home now. Chop chop.




Here we are, Abbas and AmirAli. He's 18 and trying to become a movie director (like me, sort of)
He shot most of the pictures, plus the headlining video, while I was screaming my skinny ass off!

---

The End.

thanks for the photos Iras , appreciate it

Iras

It really must've been a sight to see the legends in action, i kinda feel envious. Very nice pics too, high quality camera it seems

P.S. Your English sounds fine, even exhilarated you sound fine, really.

@Dom;
You've always been a friend, and such a good one too. Thank you.
Some of my best moments ever behind my PC (which is 6 hours a day) have come as a result of [almost] meeting you, and the way you mentioned me as an eye-opener. Little as I am, I admit it felt great to be of help to a great soul like you. And don't let me start about the people who've helped me in my life. I'm sure that at my darkest periods, my melancholy and low-confidence syndrome have been unmatched!

As for our common love, I think Milan will travel to the Big Apple in August 2014 again, and while Montolivo and Mexes are no Maldini and Baresi, you could catch a glimpse of Kaka, which is pretty close to what I experienced today.

On another note, yes, all the series in the world, good and exciting as they might be, wouldn't match the magic of the big screen, the magic of Buster Keaton, Woody Allen, Billy Wilder and the rest of the greats.


@Dante;
I don't remember ever telling you this, but your posts exude class. I'm not kissing butt or anything, it's just that some of the people here, obviously including you, project a sort of thoroughness within their words which is, quite simply, pleasant.
And thank you. You have no idea how much your words mean to me.

As for Greece, what happened there (which is apparently still happening) is unbelievable, just like my poor effed up land. Countries as storied as ours, I don't know. Iran and Greece are two of the oldest civilizations in human history, our current state could only be our own fault bro. As long as people fail to be proactive and take matters in own hands, politicians keep reveling in their fun ride.
Our economic growth last year recorded -5.8%, which is catastrophic. To be honest, things are looking extremely up here after the election, but there are still light years to go to become anything remotely close to what is generally considered "good".
I'm sure you'll rise again too.


@ArabPrince, @M99 and @El Shaarawy;
You were all missed. Sure as hell I was alone in that 100,000 seat beast of a stadium, could've used some help. That's right, guys, it meant the world to me. I couldn't capture Paolo Maldini's autograph on my no.3 shirt, but what happened is already dream-like, I guess my family had to send me to a looney bin in case that had come to reality.

Thank you, and be sure to upload your photos in case of a probable similar event. Promise?

So envious of you right now Iras. Cheers for putting all these photos up

I am so jelly  so happy for you Iras! Awesome pics and vid!

Thanks for your kindness Iras. When i go to San Siro , could even be this May actually , i promise i will post some photos.

And i've also set myself a personal target , to go to the 2016 Champions League final in San Siro , even though it's safe to say i won't be watching Milan that night

Iras   So glad to see you posting after a very long time.

Lucky Man! Glad you got to experience your dream, none deserved it more than you.

Good stuff Iras - I know this must mean a lot to you. Hopefully for all of us who haven't been there so far, we will get the opportunity to watch a game in San Siro one day