Not known to many, Russia has always loved football, and behind the grim structures of the Soviet style housing blocks, lies a culture of street soccer, or ‘Korobka’. Some of my earlier walks through Moscow have taken me to these courtyards, where encapsulated amongst colourful graffiti, on cracked concrete pitches, both young and old play football. As I land into Sheremetyevo and exit the terminal into the fresh familiar cold arctic air, Roberto Carlos’s famous curling free kick against France hits me on my face. I look up to observe a gargantuan Hyundai advertisement endorsing the World Cup in Russia. Telstra 18 (the official ball for the cup) screams out to me—the blood of the Korobka has been spilled generously onto the streets of my favourite city. My pulse races with excitement, the next few weeks are going to be a celebration of the world’s biggest game in the world’s largest country.
Portugal is my ‘doosra country’ and today we go to battle against the Atlas Lions of Africa, Morocco. The setting could not have been better, the Luznikhi arena in Moscow with a crowd capacity of 81,000. History hangs heavy for Portugal’s talisman: Christiano Ronaldo. We remember him a decade back in the same venue, playing for Manchester United and missing his spot kick in the Champions League final against Chelsea. Redemption has a chance, he is back to grace the same turf in a must win game. The atmosphere is just electric today as we walk to the stadium to find our pavilion. In the warm summer Moscow morning, it is an endless sea of red, with flashes of green streaking across the horizon, both Portugal and Morocco fans draped in their national colours, ironically, much the same for both countries. Moroccan fans are just everywhere, hugely outnumbering the Portugese. At this point you know for sure that African football has arrived. Strangely, Russia is also not left behind amidst this party, the Russian flags draped on the most beautiful of women, pass you by and the familiar chants of ‘Raassia-Raaasia’ catch your ear from time to time. Cheerful world cup volunteers are everywhere—students from Moscow helping fans with huge smiles and high fives, contrasting strangely with the more solemn faced Russian security forces.