Post your Football Memories Here

[webmaster]

I think this forum deserves to have a thread about the memories each one of us has had in regards to football. So please share with us anything worthy of sharing with other football fans. So I start with one about meeting a legend below.

I was in Iran about 12 years ago and went to The Parsian Esteghlal Hotel, formerly known as the Royal Hilton Hotel in Parkway/Vali Asr with a few friends to celebrate a small birthday party in the cafeteria. I had to go to the parking lot to get something from my car and I passed a black BMW suv and suddenly saw Ali Karimi sitting in the car. I was so shocked and couldn't ignore it and went to him and said hello. This was the first time I met a legendary player like him close and in person so I was nervous. I asked him what he was doing there and he said he just bought the car an hour ago and was checking things to see if everything worked.

So I congratulated him and said that I was from LA and had a website about Iranian football called Persian Football. He was interested and kept asking questions about PFDC and I told him that we write in English and were mostly international and that I was doing a cultural thing and trying to bring young Iranians to our forum to help them stay Iranian and involved with Iranian football and he was very supportive and pleased about it. I asked him how he was doing with Persepolis as he was playing in my favorite team at that time during 2013 and he said everything was good and I told him about how I have always been a red fan since childhood and he was just listening and enjoying my love for his team. I saw that he was a little preoccupied with his car, I didn't want to bother him more so I said good bye.

I was really surprised how nice he was and let me talk to him even though he was doing something and was patiently listening to nervous me trying to just tell him how much I loved him and etc.

So after I go back to my friends after almost 20 minutes and everyone was worried I was apprehended by police or something I told them the story but nobody believed me as it seemed impossible that I would meet him because it would be a dream for any Iranians to meet Ali Karimi and their mocking went on for a while and they still could not believe it happened. Anyways this was my little story.

Ali jan if you are reading this, you are a class act and it was an honor meeting a legend like yourself.

Let me know if you have anything to share with our members and hope you liked the little story.

Here is a photo of the exact place where I met the legend.

[oracle]

Watching world cup final spain vs Holland at restaurant .restaurant was pack luckly "iron shikh" end up seating right next to me was one of best soccer/celebrity experience ever had.

[oracle]

I think this forum deserves to have a thread about the memories each one of us has had in regards to football. So please share with us anything worthy of sharing with other football fans. So I start with one about meeting a legend below.

I was in Iran about 12 years ago and went to The Parsian Esteghlal Hotel, formerly known as the Royal Hilton Hotel in Parkway/Vali Asr with a few friends to celebrate a small birthday party in the cafeteria. I had to go to the parking lot to get something from my car and I passed a black BMW suv and suddenly saw Ali Karimi sitting in the car. I was so shocked and couldn't ignore it and went to him and said hello. This was the first time I met a legendary player like him close and in person so I was nervous. I asked him what he was doing there and he said he just bought the car an hour ago and was checking things to see if everything worked.

So I congratulated him and said that I was from LA and had a website about Iranian football called Persian Football. He was interested and kept asking questions about PFDC and I told him that we write in English and were mostly international and that I was doing a cultural thing and trying to bring young Iranians to our forum to help them stay Iranian and involved with Iranian football and he was very supportive and pleased about it. I asked him how he was doing with Persepolis as he was playing in my favorite team at that time during 2013 and he said everything was good and I told him about how I have always been a red fan since childhood and he was just listening and enjoying my love for his team. I saw that he was a little preoccupied with his car, I didn't want to bother him more so I said good bye.

I was really surprised how nice he was and let me talk to him even though he was doing something and was patiently listening to nervous me trying to just tell him how much I loved him and etc.

So after I go back to my friends after almost 20 minutes and everyone was worried I was apprehended by police or something I told them the story but nobody believed me as it seemed impossible that I would meet him because it would be a dream for any Iranians to meet Ali Karimi and their mocking went on for a while and they still could not believe it happened. Anyways this was my little story.

Ali jan if you are reading this, you are a class act and it was an honor meeting a legend like yourself.

Let me know if you have anything to share with our members and hope you liked the little story.

Here is a photo of the exact place where I met the legend.

There is few old persian movies shot in that hotel...one I can recall is with zohori and fardin.

[arj42]

Taking photos with 10 TM players and GN in June was the greatest day of my life. Never in a million years did I think I would come face-to-face with the only thing that gives me any type of happiness outside of family. Literally nothing comes close to my love for team Melli. Nothing

[Nokhodi]

I'll start with one of my more continuous memories.
I grew up in a city in Canada with very few Iranians, and the few who we did know didn't care at all about football.

However, my dad (who is a big football fan despite minimizing it in front of me so I would focus on studies and work), knew an Iranian man who would order the tapes from a website, and also order Kayhan Varzesh (weeks old from Iran). This way we would watch TM games and know about the league, however with great delay. We could always look up results online, but it was more fun this way.
This started sometime in late 1996 after Asia Cup 1996.

Anyways my father and I were closely following the 1998 qualification campaign, but it was getting more and more depressing, especially after the loss to Qatar and then Japan. Iran tied Australia 1-1 in the home leg, and we were so discouraged that we didn't even bother trying to find a place to watch Iran-Australia away live.

Anyways, the morning after the game, that same guy who my dad would get the tapes from called us and told us TM had qualified by some miracle.

One of the first happy TM memories for me after Iran's 1996 Asia Cup run.

The whole run through into World Cup 1998 was also really fun and enjoyable (and stressful) for me as well.

Thanks for the thread Webbie jan.

[Kian H]

Watching both Iran vs Morocco and Iran vs Wales live in a stadium in Russia and Qatar.

Both games won by last minute goals. You Can imagine the joy and feeling of ecstasy going through your body, when Iran scored at the last minute. I am so lucky that I have experienced it twice. First in 2018 against Morocco and then 2022 against Wales. Those two days I experienced the greatest feelings I have ever had.

And then forget about how it all fell Down again After loosing to USA 4 days later 😂

[mani4000uk]

The most significant memory for me hands down is Iran vs Australia , I was 15 and I remember after the final whistle I ran down 4 flights of stairs while wearing my jacket and shoes to join the celebrations on the street, qualifying for the WC after 20 years in the manner we did with with a pretty tight budget it was quite special and it was early days of Khatami and people were foolishly still hopeful of change for the country and this really topped it up.

[perspolis#1]

I'll start with my first memory of Iranian football which was when I was a barely conscious of my self kid, being taken to my Mom's cousins house to watch Iran-USA 1998. My dad painted on green, white and red paint on our faces like football hooligans and the whole time they asked me who I was rooting for. I was so conflicted but during the game I realized I felt more invested in Iran winning than the US winning.

That was all but confirmed when Mahdavikia scored and I started running around their house like a madman. A Team Melli fan was born

[The]

Two days stand out:

98 win against USA - The match was great,but it was what happened after that will forever stick with me.

For a brief period of few hours, it didn't feel like we lived under IR. It was unbelievable. I can't really describe the feeling, but just remember as a 9 year old kid just standing there watching men and women (some of the without hejab) dancing in the meydoon. One basiji or police (I can't recall clearly) tried to pull down an elderly women dancing on top of her car while blasting music and the crowd just swallowed him. It was so surreal. It was the first and only time I saw collective joy like that in Iran. I think the fact that it was at night time made it a bit more boundary pushing than the Australia win celebrations.


2022 win against Wales -
Like some of you I was a complete emotional wreck because of the WLF protests.
The match was like 10 AM London time and I didn't have a good night sleep because my new born wasn't sleeping properly.

I met with a PFDC member (one of my best friends) at the The Faltering Fullback.
The pub was empty. Only us two, two English gentlemen and the pub staff.

I remember them chatting a bit of shit because England had just spanked us... But as the match went on you can hear them realize Iran is actually good.
Then the dramatic ending happened. Nothing else mattered for that two hours. We lost our shit. The bar staff, the English guys were cheering for us. Ended up being absolutely hammered by 1PM but in such a good mood. I wish I could capture and jar that energy.

[Hosseini]

The Wales game was truly the best TM match I have watched in my life. Like you guys mentioned I wish I could feel it again. Incredible sensation seeing Cheshmi's shot hit the net.

My whole family was with me and we screamed so loudly, probably woke up the neighborhood. It was a really difficult time due to the protests, the previous loss to England, but almost as great as the win, was how we dominated the game. A European team was on the backfoot the entire time - we were in full control and that brought a lot of pride.

[Ghermez Agha]

I’ve had the privilege of sharing the field with 3 of our legendary players….Karim Bagheri, Vahid Taleblou and Hadi Aghily (who over the years has become a good friend of mine). All classy gents and playing with them was all surreal as I watched them on TV so much and have memories yelling at the TV rooting for them or against them (in the case of Taleblou and Aghily ).

the first one of the three I took the field with was Bagheri. He is as fierce and competitive as they come and he truly plays to win…..we were playing an 11v11 game and I was playing CM right next to him. when I got to the field and put my boots on I was pissing myself but as soon as the game started I somehow was able to kill my feeling of nervousness with the motivation of not wanting to let one of my legends down and we played a great game together. Even in his mid to late 40s at the time he was obviously on his own level and was running so well up and down the pitch and finding ppl/creating chances left and right and hit lots of his classic long range shots. We won that game 4-1

taleblou was the next one I played with later that same summer…..just like me and every other goalie, when he plays pick up he never wants to play in goal and was playing as a midfielder….we had extremely good chemistry and he assisted me on 2 goals I scored that game. I told him I would have passed more to him if he wasn’t an esteghlali and we would have won by a lot more

Aghily was the one I was most impressed with simply bc the first summer I played with him was when he was still in playing shape as he had just played his last game for sepahan at the time. He was and still is SO freaking strong and precise and has an amazing touch…..literally nobody could get by him (except for my cousin who was an elite TM level player in his prime who made it to a U23 camp but never made it beyond that due to stupid decisions sadly)…..he is such a good passer I would say after montazeri and Majid Hosseini the next best passing CB we ever had. But man was I nervous playing with him the first time…..he calls me google bc of my knowledge for Iranian and Asian footy truly a great guy and great friend, can’t say it enough.

[oracle]

Ali daie and mamad khakpour rolling to canary in Westwood after gogosh concert.owner rip told
Their friend ali daie ,hazrat ali ham biyad have to wait like others.
Then every time went there to eat told amir Agha rip tell us the story , and with his laati tehrooni accent it be funny as hell.

[Hosseini]

I’ve had the privilege of sharing the field with 3 of our legendary players….Karim Bagheri, Vahid Taleblou and Hadi Aghily (who over the years has become a good friend of mine). All classy gents and playing with them was all surreal as I watched them on TV so much and have memories yelling at the TV rooting for them or against them (in the case of Taleblou and Aghily ).

the first one of the three I took the field with was Bagheri. He is as fierce and competitive as they come and he truly plays to win…..we were playing an 11v11 game and I was playing CM right next to him. when I got to the field and put my boots on I was pissing myself but as soon as the game started I somehow was able to kill my feeling of nervousness with the motivation of not wanting to let one of my legends down and we played a great game together. Even in his mid to late 40s at the time he was obviously on his own level and was running so well up and down the pitch and finding ppl/creating chances left and right and hit lots of his classic long range shots. We won that game 4-1

taleblou was the next one I played with later that same summer…..just like me and every other goalie, when he plays pick up he never wants to play in goal and was playing as a midfielder….we had extremely good chemistry and he assisted me on 2 goals I scored that game. I told him I would have passed more to him if he wasn’t an esteghlali and we would have won by a lot more

Aghily was the one I was most impressed with simply bc the first summer I played with him was when he was still in playing shape as he had just played his last game for sepahan at the time. He was and still is SO freaking strong and precise and has an amazing touch…..literally nobody could get by him (except for my cousin who was an elite TM level player in his prime who made it to a U23 camp but never made it beyond that due to stupid decisions sadly)…..he is such a good passer I would say after montazeri and Majid Hosseini the next best passing CB we ever had. But man was I nervous playing with him the first time…..he calls me google bc of my knowledge for Iranian and Asian footy truly a great guy and great friend, can’t say it enough.

Thanks for this. What exactly went down with him, Rahmati and CQ? If you can explain from his side

[perspolis#1]

One of our friends associates was the only guy who knew how to install Satellite Irani in NY and set that up for us in 1999. I woke up early with my father a few times to watch Persepolis games as he was a fan.

Next Iranian football memory I wanted to share was my Dads cousin from Iran coming over to the US finally on his greencard. A rampant Esteghlali, slightly mahsabi but liberal like so many preteens/teens in early 2000s were.

He was going to stay with us for a bit including the game.



My parents overheard him late at night praying for an Esteghlal win. That morning during breakfast my Mother said as he is our guest she will root for Esteghlal(to the chagrin of my dad an ardent Persepolisi)

Well the game unfolded and it was a nasty one I remember clearly, real mans game, bad Azadi pitch, Payan Rafat being violent in tackles, Hasheminasab switching teams and getting booed.

Persepolis took the lead, Esteghlal scored two to get ahead.

My Dad and I were nervous and moping. My cousin was gleeful and my Mom worried about the state of the house. My cousin was praying again thanking God for allowing Esteghlal to 'win'.

Then just as his prayer ended Karimi scored an 89th minute equalizer and my Mom first and foremost screamed GOALLLLL happy that things might end in a tie. My cousin in shambles and us celebrating the escape.

Things cooled down and we spent the rest of the day doing penalty shootouts in the backyard

[oracle]

One of our friends associates was the only guy who knew how to install Satellite Irani in NY and set that up for us in 1999. I woke up early with my father a few times to watch Persepolis games as he was a fan.

Next Iranian football memory I wanted to share was my Dads cousin from Iran coming over to the US finally on his greencard. A rampant Esteghlali, slightly mahsabi but liberal like so many preteens/teens in early 2000s were.

He was going to stay with us for a bit including the game.



My parents overheard him late at night praying for an Esteghlal win. That morning during breakfast my Mother said as he is our guest she will root for Esteghlal(to the chagrin of my dad an ardent Persepolisi)

Well the game unfolded and it was a nasty one I remember clearly, real mans game, bad Azadi pitch, Payan Rafat being violent in tackles, Hasheminasab switching teams and getting booed.

Persepolis took the lead, Esteghlal scored two to get ahead.

My Dad and I were nervous and moping. My cousin was gleeful and my Mom worried about the state of the house. My cousin was praying again thanking God for allowing Esteghlal to 'win'.

Then just as his prayer ended Karimi scored an 89th minute equalizer and my Mom first and foremost screamed GOALLLLL happy that things might end in a tie. My cousin in shambles and us celebrating the escape.

Things cooled down and we spent the rest of the day doing penalty shootouts in the backyard

😅😅😅😅
That same match u talking about I was in Vegas no place to watch it. I had my girlfriend put her phone next to the t.v and heard the match the whole time.
And
Over same match me and my cousin have not talked since, over nasab going to ss.