"Welcome Ronaldo!" The Iranians on Monday fervently welcomed the Portuguese star of Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr team that is scheduled to face local side Persepolis FC in Tehran in the Asian Champions League, a match made possible by the diplomatic rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The frenzy around Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Saudi Arabia in January, was such that dozens of fans briefly flooded his team's hotel lobby in an attempt to approach him and take pictures of him. Al Nassr then cancelled their trip to the stadium for a final training session before Tuesday night's game.
In the early afternoon, it was all smiles that Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates had been greeted by the shouts of joy of dozens of fans as they left Imam Khomeini airport by bus. Previously, "CR7" had been offered a sumptuous Persian carpet by the president of the Persepolis club.
Large "Welcome" banners in English, Arabic and Persian with portraits of Al Nassr stars were hung on the bridges of major roads crossing the huge Iranian capital, unaccustomed to hosting international icons due to the country's diplomatic isolation. "It was a great moment, we all appreciated the welcome of the Iranian fans," Al Nassr coach Luis Castro told a news conference. Persepolis coach Yahya Golmohammadi welcomed the welcome of hosting a "great team".
Empty stadium
Unfortunately, no fans will be able to attend Tuesday's match at Azadi Stadium, the country's largest stadium with 90,000 seats. The fault is a sanction imposed by the Asian Confederation (AFC) after the publication in 2021 of a controversial post on the Instagram page of Persepolis. The match played behind closed doors will however be broadcast on television (21:30 local). "Playing in an empty stadium doesn't give you a taste for real football," Castro said.
Until kick-off, Al Nassr players are under the safety of an "elite unit" of law enforcement, specializing in presidential trips, according to sports site Varzesh 3.
The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, whose Instagram account has 605 million followers, has also revived the debate on internet access restrictions in the Islamic Republic. Iran has severely restricted access to social media since protests began in 2022 after the death in custody of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for violating the country's strict dress code. A senior Persepolis official, Reza Darvish, proposed that the Saudi team obtain Iranian SIM cards with unlimited internet access.
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On the sporting front, the challenge is to start the Asian Champions League well, of which Saudi clubs are now favorites after having strengthened strongly during the summer. Al-Nassr welcomed Sadio Mané, Aymeric Laporte, Seko Fofana, Marcelo Brozovic and Otavio during the summer transfer window.
Al-Nassr will try to avenge their defeat to the Reds in the semi-finals of the competition in 2020. The most successful and popular club in Iran, Persepolis was a finalist in 2018 and 2020 in the event, won in 1995 by Al Nassr.
This match also has a diplomatic dimension since it is the first to oppose Saudi and Iranian clubs on opposing ground, and not on neutral ground as was the case for seven years. The AFC gave the green light in August, five months after the agreement to resume ties between the two Middle East heavyweights reached in March under the auspices of China. Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran severed relations in 2016 after Saudi diplomatic missions were attacked by Islamic Republic protesters protesting Riyadh's execution of a Shiite cleric. The AFC then found an arrangement, described at the time as "very unfortunate", allowing teams from both countries to compete on neutral ground.
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