Vahid Čehaja and his heavily abused feet
In 2010, a die-hard Bayern Munich fan named Vahid Čehaja came up with a crazy idea as he sat down to watch his side take on Inter Milan in the Champions League Final:
Most supporters would have chosen to celebrate with a stein or two, but as Čehaja was a devout Muslim, his thinking went more along the lines of a 600-mile stroll from his hometown of Bugojno in Bosnia and Herzegovina to Munich."If Bayern wins the Champions League for the fifth time, I will walk to Munich. Through five countries, one for each title. Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany."
Alas, Jose Mourinho's Internazionale scuppered the pan-European plan and he was forced to put it on the back-burner. And in 2012, Didier Drogba helped Die Roten snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and his plan was put aside once again.
In 2013, however, Bayern finally
lifted the European Cup for the fifth time, and the 45-year-old started
plotting his sojourn. On June 10th, he started his excellent adventure
in Bugojno with just a Bayern Munich
shirt and pants, a baseball cap, two pairs of shoes and a toiletry bag.
The bogus journey concluded at the Allianz Arena on July 22nd, in time
to see Bayern's pre-season victory over Barcelona .
After walking for 42 days, Čehaja's feet were in a pretty bad state — as you can see in the headline picture taken in a Munich hospital admissions ward — and he lost 28 pounds covering an average of just over 14 miles each day.
Understandably, he elected to take a bus back to Bosnia.
A great fan indeed. I salute you man.
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