National Post (National Edition)
A World Cup unlike any other
RUSSIA’S SOFTER SIDE HAS MADE IT A GRACIOUS HOST
There’s five-a-side football being played steps away from where Vladimir Lenin’s embalmed body has been displayed for nearly a century here in Red Square.
Lenin’s pristine red granite and marble mausoleum is so well manicured, so well maintained it looks like the stone structure was freshly built as part of this $12-billion World Cup.
The Kremlin Church bells ring every half-hour and preside over World Cup fans proudly displaying flags from all ends of the globe while a group of excitable Danish supporters buck the trend and pose for a photo in front of Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin while holding up a Russian flag.
They’re scenes that were unimaginable a few decades ago, before the disintegration of the Soviet Union ultimately paved the way for today’s Russian Federation.
But they’re also scenes Putin imagined when he opened this World Cup by vowing football supporters would find an “open, hospitable and warm” Russia that once was isolated from much of the world.
As half of the teams departed Russia by Friday, their fans descended on Moscow’s main attraction to stand atop the cobblestone inside Red Square, where Soviet troops once paraded in front of Joseph Stalin.
On this day, though, those scenes have been replaced by joyous supporters crowding around blonde Russian models wearing traditional dress who were present for the expressed purpose of posing for photos with excited, mostly drunk men.
Everyone else was taking in the grandeur and allure of Saint Basil’s Cathedral, the colourful structure that stands majestically facing Red Square’s State Historical Museum.
The confluence of Europe’s “Final Countdown” blaring near fans juggling soccer balls is a constant reminder Moscow’s city centre sits between the capital’s two world class soccer venues.
The Luzhniki Stadium, the site of Sunday’s Russia-spain tie, is among the top venues in the world, a refurbished stadium that has managed to maintain the mystique from when it was referred to as Central Lenin Stadium.
A short Moscow Metro ride and you arrive at the gates of Spartak, a venue half the size of Luzhniki but still impressive and befitting of hosting Brazil, Argentina and Belgium so far at this tournament.
Saint Petersburg’s Kreskovsky Stadium convinces visitors that this World Cup is unlike anything in recent memory.
Whereas matches in Brazil and South Africa were played in “white elephant” venues in bizarre locations well outside city limits, the Kreskovsky sits next to a newly-constructed Metro line on the Bay of Finland.
Visitors to this venue are blasted with an ocean breeze, the smell of salt water and are taken aback by the vastness of the bay as they make their way to a billion-dollar venue that was completed just in time for this tournament.
While the venues here undoubtedly are world class, it’s what has happened inside the lines that ranks this World Cup as being among the best international football tournaments — maybe ever.
The host nation has performed well enough to capture the imagination of its people amid the drama that played out in Group B with Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo scoring goals and being at the centre of controversy.
Germany’s early exit and Argentina’s in-fighting have provided enough drama to satisfy the football media’s insatiable hunger for storylines. Late goals have only added to the excitement at this tournament.
One look at the Round of 16 bracket shows the next two weeks will be even more breathtaking than what we’ve already witnessed.
Away from the games there have been few reports of unsavoury behaviour or violence. Aside from a few minor scuffles between Serbian and Brazilian supporters at Spartak Stadium on Wednesday night, fans have kept the peace.
Fears of Russian hooligans wreaking havoc were greatly exaggerated by British tabloids who didn’t trust this country’s ability to control its people.
Two weeks into Russia 2018, the perceptions surrounding this country are changing as liquored-up football fans take to the streets to celebrate every victory.
They’ve taken to Red Square to do what FIFA president Gianni Infantino said they do: Conquer Russia with football.
A security guard approached me this week at Red Square as I was leaning on a railing near Lenin’s mausoleum, fixated on two men cleaning the cement grandstand overlooking the square.
They were on their hands and knees and using tools to clean between cracks in the stone. The attention to detail captivated me.
The guard told me to step away. then he stuck around and seemed to enjoy attempting to converse in English.
The softer side of this country is showing.