SAMARA: As Ivan Rakitic walked up to take the final penalty of Croatia’s shootout on Sunday, a group of Russian fans gathered near a giant screen at a pub in Samara subconsciously broke into a song. “Eeee-gor Akinfeee- yev”, they sang, to the tune of Seven Nation Army by White Stripes, a song whose remixed version FIFA plays before every World Cup game.
Then, Rakitic sent Akinfeev the wrong way and ran towards his teammates. Just like that, the Russian dream was over.
A defeat it was, but it did not feel like one. After the match, Russian fans stayed in the stadium and applauded as their players took a walk of honour. Fans outside thronged pubs, supermarkets and train stations — or whichever place was open at midnight, when the match finished — with the Russian flag draped around them, the nation’s colours painted on their face, wearing the red Adidas jersey of their team.
The now-familiar chant of “Ra-Si-Ya” broke out here and there. It was a sharp contrast to the buildup to the tournament, when the team had captured no one’s imagination and found a place in the organisers’ worst nightmares. Any fears that the worstranked team of the World Cup would end up at the bottom of the pile were erased when they beat Saudi Arabia 5-0 in their opener. Then, they proved that it was no fluke, downing Egypt in the next game.
A dampener — a resounding loss to Uruguay in their final group game — was followed by a match that will live long in the memory of the average Russian. Over 120 minutes, Russia held Spain to a 1-1 draw, before trumping them in penalties.
The celebrations that followed that night in Moscow were wild; fans sang and danced in the city’s centre till 3am. Even in their quarterfinal against Croatia, Russians had their share of highs. Denis Cheryshev’s strike was as good as any that had been scored in this World Cup. Fans in the stands were torn between laughter and tears when Mario Fernandes — born in Brazil but naturalised by a presidential decree from Vladimir Putin — nodded in a 115th-minute equaliser to take the game to penalties. Ironically, it was Fernandes himself who missed the kick that broke Russia’s heart. Along this wonderfully-unexpected journey, there were stories of numerous kinds.
There was Akinfeev’s tale of redemption; his transformation from the pantomime villain of 2014 to the valourous hero of 2018. There was Aleksander Golovin’s coming-of-age narrative; the youngster showing the world a good glimpse of what he can do. There was Denis Cheryshev’s homecoming; the culmination of a painful journey that saw him emigrate to Spain, rise through the ranks of Real Madrid, spend years in injury hell, and finally score two of this World Cup’s best goals. And then there was coach Stanislav Chercheshov’s ascension; ridiculed before the tournament across his country for failing to win a single one of their pre-tournament games this year, before turning into a national hero. What this will do for Russian football, only time will tell.
Of course, a good run in a World Cup will do nothing to solve the inherent problems that plague their game: the instability of their league, or a massive pay disparity between the cream and the rest, which makes Russia’s best talents turn down chances abroad and stay at home for more money. But the one thing this will do is remove the preconceived notion in the minds of the fans that their football team can only do so well. “We are going to thrash England in the semifinals,” a fan was heard shouting out loud as soon as Cheryshev’s first goal went in on Sunday. The World Cup has taught them to dream. Now comes the hard part: realising them.