Mehdi Taremi scored the opening goal against Juventus and received Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt at the end of the game.
Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi had a week to remember after scoring the first Champions League goal of his career. The 28-year-old player is Porto’s newest sensation, scoring 15 goals in 30 matches for the Portuguese champions.
After a somewhat modest career so far, Taremi arrived in Porto this season from Rio Ave on a €5 million deal. Before he started playing in Portugal, the striker had only played in Iran and Qatar. Therefore, Taremi only had his Champions League debut this season.
Nevertheless, the striker’s wonderful performance against Juventus helped the underdogs of the fixture secure a surprising win. After the match, most of Porto’s squad asked for Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt. As he couldn’t please everyone, Ronaldo decided to reward the Portuguese side with a kind gesture: the Juventus star delivered a bag full of his shirts to Porto’s lockerroom.
“Only one of them [the jerseys] came signed and Pepe said it was for me. But I refused it because I wanted to have the one from the Turin fixture,” Taremi told Football 120 as per A Bola.
Mehdi Taremi’s dream come through.
The Iranian striker was lost for words after the clash against Juventus. In fact, only in his wildest dreams did Taremi think he would ever score against the Bianconeri.
“I dreamt that someone told me I would score an early goal against Juventus. I laughed as I slept, but I felt very good when I woke up. When I scored the world spun around me so fast… People would talk to me and I didn’t know what to say.
“Some friends told me when would make it past the midfield against Juventus. But we proved that in football nothing is impossible.”
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