For almost two years of full-fledged sanctions, Russian football has experienced all stages of accepting the inevitable. If at first we believed that this would not last long, were angry at the injustice, looked for options on how to reach an agreement, and then fell into depression due to hopelessness, now the time has come to simply work in the situation as it is. And the Russian Football Union (RFU) is coping with this: in March our national team will play with the very strong teams of Serbia and Paraguay.
Without exaggeration, this can be called a breakthrough. Yes, one cannot say that the sparring matches with the teams of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iraq, Cuba and the Egyptian youth team were passable and lacking in content, but let’s be honest: the Paraguayans and Serbs represent a higher level of resistance, competition and, most importantly, in our situation , image. These are the matches that will tell the global football community that we are alive, that we are afloat, that they can and should play with us. And there is no need to be afraid of sanctions from the International Football Federation (FIFA) and continental confederations, because, as practice shows, they are generally not against contacts with Russia at any level. The problem is simply not in football, but in politics.
It is worth recalling that last year the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) took a significant step towards lifting sanctions on the Russian side by allowing Russian youth teams to participate in tournaments. However, this decision was later canceled due to the “technical impossibility” of implementing the plan. It is easy to guess that the organization faced political pressure. But will it be endless? Will officials continue to stick to their line when they see that more and more countries, including European ones, are not shying away from ties with the RFU?
Probably, Russia was expecting more concrete and fundamental steps from UEFA and other bodies on the issue of returning to the international arena. But look what is happening with the international Olympic movement. Against this background, it seems that laconicism, accuracy and patience on the part of football bosses are real gold. «Why is this even such a problem? Why is it a problem that young people go to play football?» — UEFA head Aleksandr Ceferin said in an interview with The Guardian, answering a question about the legality of holding a game between the teams of Russia and Serbia. And his quote echoes the voices of many athletes who just want to compete and do what they love, and not bear imaginary responsibility for the actions of politicians.
Negotiations now are a very delicate matter, the integrity of which can be easily violated. Last year, for various reasons, Valery Karpin’s team had several options for friendly matches fall through. Therefore, the current success can be considered doubly important, because since the beginning of the sanctions we have not played either with South American or, most interestingly, with European teams. The arrival of the Serbs will tear the “iron football curtain” between Russia and Europe, and an agreement with the Paraguayans will make it possible to invite, for example, Chile, Uruguay and Colombia. Or maybe Argentina and Brazil, why not?
Someone chuckled when the Russians destroyed Cuba, someone didn’t understand why we should play with Iraq and Egyptian teenagers, someone asked why we need the institution of a national team in a situation where we have neither the World Championship nor the European Championship. Now these questions have suddenly become irrelevant. The RFU and the Russian national team have actually returned to the big game. They count us again, they want to talk and play with us again, they want to see us on the football fields again. Water wears away stones, and, as practice has shown, painstaking and methodical work bears fruit. Even in such a crazy time.
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