CSKA Sofia raises up to the occasion for one special fan

It’s not always that you come across a story as what is to follow from the land of tenacious fans, brawls, and stubborn managers. Talking about Bulgaria here.

The most famed club in Bulgaria – CSKA Sofia had consistently managed to occupy the front news of the sports section for the past few years, in the capital city of Sofia. From fans digging a grave on the pitch to protest against mismanagement and going on hunger strikes, to owners being punched by their employees, from a disappointing one-month long reign of the country’s most illustrious players – Hristo Stoichkov, as manager to the club introducing salary caps of paying a max of $7,500 a month to players. It’s all happened here.

But as legends used to claim back in it’s golden days, CSKA does have a heart of gold. A few weeks ago, a blind and a deep-rooted fan of the club, Dobri had the most important part of his bucket list fulfilled; the opportunity to be in the very center of that he so dearly loved.

And Dobri had his friend to thank, who decided to surprise him. She contacted Natalia Simeonova – host of a popular local TV show ‘Pay It Forward’ on bTV, hoping to arrange a meeting for Dobri with the members of the CSKA team.

Touched by the idea, Natalia with the help of the media relations at CSKA, planned a special visit for Dobri. He was able to visit the stadium and meet a few players along with the head coach Mladenov.

The story gripped the city to the point that CSKA days later to decided to invite Dobri to the derby game against Levski Sofia.

The emotion displayed in the picture above says the rest.

Hours after the game, one of the main fan groups of CSKA – initiated a campaign to raise funds to restore sight to Dobri.

If that’s not inspiring, what is?