The World Cup that changed the image of Russia

During the 31 days of football, the Eurasian country was able to sell itself in a new way to the world. The quality of its inhabitants and the cultural wealth. His engravings

This is not a children's game. They are not only eleven against eleven ball kicks. Football goes a lot further. The World Cup of this sport is the sporting event that mobilizes the most mbades and the one who is able to clean the image of a country, just to be the place of it. It is no coincidence that the World Cup has reached Russia, a nation that so many collective fantasies awake and who need an opportunity to show the world its reality, its inhabitants and what a tourist can find when know this culture After 31 days of being the center of attention, Russia has filled the world and left its doors open. (See our special 2018 Russian World Cup)

Vladimir Putin, the president of the largest country in the world, does not like football. In the entire era of his tenure at the helm of this Eurasian nation, he had not been seen many times in the stadiums, however, Vitali Mutko, Minister of Sports, l & # 39; convinced that by organizing an event of such magnitude and This sport, which interests the largest population on the planet, put Russia back on the map. I to return to his country the position in the world that he lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, is one of the priorities of Putin and that would be a good thing to do.

"No matter where we live and what traditions we follow, the love of football unites us all in one team and all its members understand and feel good about it. is not dominated by linguistic, ideological or religious differences, lies the great strength of football and sports in general, "said the Russian president in his speech at Luzhniki stadium on the day of the opening of the World Cup . when Russia beat Saudi Arabia 5-0. The message was clear, the goal set was about to begin. (Read: The day when the glory returned to France, champion of Russia in 2018)

The language barrier was not a major obstacle to captivate the fans came to this vast country. Automatic translators of audio and text, such as Google translate and Say Hi have become the communication bridge between locals and foreigners. Although the universal language is English, it was not easy to find Russians who knew how to speak it. Technology, in addition, was also a tool to help mobilize, because in mobile applications you could find the map of all subway lines of Russian cities, in addition to being able to request services taxi. 19659007] As far as taxi drivers are concerned, in most cases the drivers were concerned about the way the world saw the Russians. "What do you think of us in Colombia?", Questioned in Moscow, with an intricate Spanish. "We are nice people, kind and because of Hollywood they made us hate in a lot of places," concluded the same character of about 32 years old, who learned about it. Spanish at the university. And this is only one example of a people's desire to clean up their image, which has made them fear in many places. (You can read: The selection, symbol of a multicultural France)

In Russia, people are not like they're painting it at the movies. No matter where they came from, there was always a willingness to help. A journalist El Espectador took his mobile phone, a Samsung Galaxy S9 +, in a train. He realized after an hour to have arrived at the place where he was staying. He returned to the station and someone who found him took him to a nearby police station. The cell phone was in perfect condition. He just had to put the key to unlock it, to show that it was his and the problem solved. That says a lot about the quality of its inhabitants.

Its culture is one of the richest in the world. Many of the best painters, musicians and writers were born in this country which, because of wars and international conflicts, could not sell as he wished. But now, after this World Cup, things can start to change. This is not just the desire of President Putin to solve problems with his historical rivals (this Monday the President of the United States, Donald Trump, meets Putin in Helsinki) but to start seeing his country with different eyes. (See: Samuel Umtiti, the hero of Lyon)

"Perhaps, we can unite those who have difficulty communicating with each other, in order to begin a dialogue," said Infantino. "Maybe football can open a door to communication between neighbors here", referring to the conflict with Ukraine. Football has done it again, but now the challenge will be in Qatar in 2022, with a country still boycotted by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.