Germany's footballers were greeted by thousands of cheering locals on Thursday when they arrived in Tehran for Saturday's friendly against Iran -- the first time a major soccer power has visited the country in decades.[See Photos]

Crowds of Iranians at Mehrabad airport greeted the visitors with chants of "Germany, Germany" and "Welcome to Iran" but the numbers were so great that security officials led the German players out through a side entrance.

"That was wonderful -- it's fantastic to get a welcome like that when you're the visiting side," said Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff.

"I've never seen anything like this," added defender Christian Woerns. "This is just overwhelming."

In Iran, officials said about 1,500 people were on hand at the airport to welcome the Germans.