Football World Cup – "They are heroes" – Sports

• Russia are only penalized by Croatia in the quarterfinals of the World Cup on penalties.
• For hosts of the World Cup, it's the dream of the final – but the pride of the team wins

It does not take much imagination to imagine how good these places would be for a big party. Directly on the Black Sea, the Sochi football stadium, which leaves it, stands on the promenade, which stretches along the pebble beach a few kilometers away. Encouraging the draw of the semifinals of Russia in this particular atmosphere was the plan of so many Russian fans. Now, it became nothing this Saturday night with the hoped triumph, instead there was a bitter end after a penalty shot against Croatia. But a great mood of mourning did not want to come – and this was not just due to the fact that this walk with its many restaurants for the funeral atmosphere did not really fit.

The loud music sounded from various corners, the fans moved with their jerseys and the scarves and flags are now tidy. And a few hundred meters from the stadium, in the light of a lantern – the same model as the one in front of which Joachim Loew posed – a crowd of spectators gathered to offer the Russian national anthem not so loud only in the stadium, but only accompanied by a guitar. It sounded very good, and maybe it would have seemed a little nicer, otherwise the initiator of this vocal group had been a state television lord, who wanted to take a few more shots.

Russia is gone, but Russia still wants to celebrate its players and itself. It is the state of mind that reigns in the country. "Our team lost in an honest and beautiful game," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said shortly after the Interfax agency. We could be proud of footballers, they were great. "They are heroes, they died on the ground." And with coach Stanislaw Chertschessow, the sorrow of the moment mingled some pride in recent weeks: "Now the whole country knows what is the national football team."

When Rakitic strikes, the stadium is completely silent

From the Russian point of view, the tournament was much more successful than many, especially by the Russian public. And it was a great drama that the Russians had delivered in Croatia to their farewells. They had run unbelievably well, this time ten kilometers more than their opponents, and they also had a lot of fouling and sometimes luck, as referee Ricci (Brazil) judged the duels. 1: 0 ahead thanks to a goal from Dmitry Cheryschew after half an hour, 1: 1 by striker Hoffenheim Andrej Kramaric only eight minutes later. 1: 2 back in overtime after a header from Domagoj Vida, 2: 2 just before the extra time ends with a header from Mario Fernandes.

So penalties, against Spain in the second round, but this time with the worst end for the Sbornaja. Because the attackers shoot Fyodor Smolov and right-back Mario Fernandes. And because Ivan Rakitic keeps his nerves and turns the decisive attempt for Croatia into a 4-3 win on penalties.

When Rakitic hits, it's pretty quiet in the stadium, as if the spectators could not believe that the moment of departure really happened before warm applause began. Some players disappear quickly in the cabin, the central defender Kutepow still applauds the fans for a long time and because of his attempt of penalty too casual, the sharply criticized shooter Smolow is the last one who still cries in the central circle. Mario Fernandes, the other shooter, apologizes to his teammates, then reports visitors to the cabin. Greatness is discouragement. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stops in the cabin for a moment before leaving the stadium with a column of twelve cars. And Vladimir Putin calls the support staff over the phone to thank them for the good play.

But when the players leave the stadium an hour and a half later, they seem much more orderly. He did not miss much, you could follow the best of the world, it is the content of their contributions. And even Tschertschessow is again able to incorporate some of his words into the press conference. When, for example, a Chinese journalist asks if Russia will be able to play so well in four years, he says, "Oh, in China there are still five-year plans", that is, the concepts medium-term economic issues which were the standard repertoire of the Politburo in the Soviet Union included. But he can not even look forward for four days.

And he could at least partially in this case: Even in four days, Russia will celebrate its national team still surprisingly successful.