Russian ambassador hopeful for World Cup
Russian ambassador proud of team's performance & warmth of his countrymen
Even an ardent football fan such as Russian Ambassador to Singapore Andrey Tatarinov did not expect his country to make it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
With nine days to go before the World Cup final, Mr Tatarinov, 67, is proud of the tournament that his country has hosted so far - one that has drawn more travelling supporters than expected.
Some three million international fans have been in Russia to soak up the festivities, including more than 3,000 Singapore fans.
This is more than the one to two million international fans, including more than 1,000 from Singapore, initially expected.
Russia, the worst ranked team among the 32 countries, beat Spain 4-3 on penalties in their last match and will face Croatia in the quarter-finals on Sunday morning (Singapore time).
Mr Tatarinov believes it is not just the dedication and resolve of the team, but the order and discipline they showed under team manager Stanislav Cherchesov that have got them this far.
Speaking with The New Paper at the Russian Embassy on Wednesday, he said: "Of course, there might be the temptation to run forward to try to score, but the manager and the players understood that Spain was stronger in many respects."
Russian goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev, became a national hero in five minutes, he added, highlighting how he used his leg to make the decisive save in the penalty shoot-out against Spain.
"There are many jokes about his leg, you may have seen in some cartoons. It was the Hand of God of (Diego) Maradona some years ago, now it is the Leg of God of Akinfeev."
As for how the World Cup has benefited Russia, Mr Tatarinov said it was a showcase of the real Russia as a warm and welcoming country, instead of one with a tarnished image as often portrayed by the foreign media.
NOT PROPAGANDA
He said: "It is not propaganda. You understand it is impossible to prepare millions of Russians to be kind, gracious and welcoming. It is the spirit (and) the real soul of the Russian people.
"And we do it with good faith. It is not like a Potemkin village... All these millions invested in sports infrastructure will serve the people afterwards, (like) the sportsmen and youth football players."
On Russia's chances, Mr Tatarinov said everything is possible in the knockout stages but did not want to predict how far the team would go.
He hopes the current team can repeat the heroics of the Soviet Union team in the 1966 tournament, where they finished fourth.
He added: "Why not repeat now, 52 years (later)? I think it is possible but it is dangerous to make forecasts in sports, like in weather.
"But the fans believe it is possible that we can do it. And Croatia is not an insurmountable obstacle."
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