Football, cinema, politics, and a poor child's imaginarium
Football Is Culture
Throughout history, countless cultural figures have stood under the shadow of the great Russian bear. I pay tribute to just one of the greatest: Andrei Tarkovsky. This article is both homage and metaphor to his creation Solaris, hence the name: Mondialis.
Some critics view Solaris as the Soviet counterpart to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey in the never-ending competition of the Cold War. Perhaps so, but what I find fascinating is that while Kubrick took humanity to meet the Universe, Tarkovsky reversed the experience, revealing the ever-changing Universe inside us.
In Solaris, the ocean becomes psychologically powerful, questioning knowledge and personal identity. After this interaction, a person is forever changed. Similarly, Mondialis (my imaginary planet hosting the World Cup) transforms those who visit. After soaring over Russian plains to The Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics, after navigating the World Cup's ocean of humanity to its very end, I returned not just with new memories, but with new questions.
Can Anyone Remain Unchanged After Witnessing a World Cup?
From vibrant fan zones, bustling streets, lively bars, and magnificent metro stations to the electric atmosphere of stadium bleachers.
There is no way to predict how it will affect you before your first visit to Mondialis, but transformation is, in my opinion, almost inevitable.
A World Cup represents globalism at its finest. Or at its worst, some might argue.
The most globalized team claimed victory while statues of Lenin stood beside Coca-Cola stands outside Luzhniki Stadium, an unusual juxtaposition of communist history and capitalist present.
The tournament brings together humanity's colorful tapestry: Africans dancing in Red Square, Asians exploring the architectural splendors of St. Petersburg, Europeans marveling at Russia's distinct opulence, and South Americans (despite enduring long flights and sleepless nights at airports) bringing their vibrant colors, passionate rivalries, and mesmerizing songs.
Any World Cup emotion will touch you deeply, its sounds and sighs echoing long after they've faded. The Brazilian chants of "Mil gols! Mil gols! Mil gols! Só Pelé, Só Pelé! Maradona cheirador!" meet the immediate Argentine response: "Brasil, decime qué se siente tener en casa a tu papá. (…) Maradona es más grande que Pelé!"
Pelé and Diego Still Reign Supreme
While Neymar and Messi must win it all (perhaps next time) to be loved like these titans. Though Kylian Mbappé showed promise, Cristiano, Luka, Eden, Harry, and Antoine also failed to dominate the tournament as Garrincha did with his dribbling in '62 or as "El genio del fútbol mundial" claimed it with his hand in '86.
It would be unfair not to mention the English hope that "It's coming home / Football's coming home" will someday become reality, or the Mexican "Cielito lindo" echoing through stadiums: "Ay, ay, ay, ay / Canta y no llores / Porque cantando se alegran / Cielito lindo, los corazones!"
Imagine the multitudes in their national colors: singing, dancing, and cautiously dreaming that their team might claim victory, desperately grasping each moment to make it eternal. They resist the inevitable: that the World Cup will end and they must leave Mondialis, returning to their everyday lives emerging from oblivion.
Football Is Celebration, and The World Cup Is Humanity's Greatest Feast!
From another perspective, football is politics. From the first World Cup in Uruguay to the most recent finale in Moscow (where three presidents congratulated players amid raindrops) the tournament has been intertwined with political narratives, whether in Italy 1934, Argentina 1978, or France 1998.
Today's politics remain for us to decipher. France claimed the World Cup with a young, skilled team. Mirroring how France seems poised to lead Europe after taking the mantle from Germany, both in football and politics.
But beyond politics, the greatest football stories often begin with a child's dream.
In this story, the dream was simply to be present.
To Witness, Feel, Breathe, and Taste the World Cup
The child is a ‘90s kid, born in Oravița, a town as poor as he was. But love was free in those days.
On July 3rd, 1994, at noon, a father put his son down for a nap so they could stay awake in the heat of the night for what would become the greatest match ever played [1]. The father taught his child that he is a Romanian, the words of the national anthem, and that those players on the field sang with the tricolor on their chests for everyone back home. But above all, they played for the child himself. He would never forget that day.
In 2017, he and his friend Johnny shared a vision: if they played their cards right, they could find themselves in Russia, living the dream they both cherished. For the first time, a World Cup was within reach. Just being there would be the pinnacle of experience. The story continued into spring 2018, when they purchased tickets for a World Cup match in Nizhny Novgorod. Neither knew where this city was, but it didn't matter. A new peak of experience appeared on the horizon.
18 June 2018, 15:00 MSK (UTC+3)
Sweden 1 - 0 South Korea
Granqvist 65' (pen.)
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod, Attendance: 42,300
Through a friend's generosity, on June 22nd, 2018, they…
Traveled to St. Petersburg to See Brazil in a World Cup Match
Combining their lifetime dream with the fantasy of joga bonito.
Worth noting: he met Ronaldo!
In '98 he had a poster; now he has a photograph.
22 June 2018, 15:00 MSK (UTC+3)
Brazil 2 - 0 Costa Rica
Coutinho 90+1', Neymar 90+7'
Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Attendance: 64,468
Later came the revelation: "La Mano de Dios" Granted Them Tickets
to the Third Place Play-Off
14 July 2018, 17:00 MSK (UTC+3)
Belgium 2 - 0 England
(Meunier 4', E. Hazard 82')
Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Attendance: 64,406
and to the World Cup Final
15 July 2018, 18:00 MSK (UTC+3)
France 4 - 2 Croatia
Mandžukić 18' (o.g.), Griezmann 38' (pen.), Pogba 59', Mbappé 65' v. Perišić 28', Mandžukić 69'
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Attendance: 78,011
After the spectacle came the celebration, and for that they went to Red Square to enjoy Russia's offerings with two extraordinary companions: Marian Olaianos and Marius Mitran, surrounded by countless Croatian fans singing proudly despite their crushing defeat. What followed must remain beautifully preserved beneath the shadow of Saint Basil's Cathedral.
Nothing could surpass this experience, so it had to end.
We departed from Mondialis to return to Earth. As we left Luzhniki Stadium after that purple rain washed away everyone's World Cup emotions, a line from an American film came to life, pointing toward the tournament's next destination after a brief stop in Qatar:
"I learned the greatest gift of all. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices that you make will shape your life forever. But you can ask anybody who was in Russia those days, and they'll just tell you this is just another World Cup tale." [2]
This article is dedicated to my friend Johnny for his faith and his presence.
*The first version of this article appeared in 2018 in The Market for Ideas
Notes:
[1] Romania 3–2 Argentina: Dumitrescu 11', 18' Hagi 58' / Batistuta 16' (pen) Balbo 75'; Rose Bowl, Los Angeles (USA)
[2] A Bronx Tale. An intentional misquote
”Football is the most important of the least important things in life!”
Arrigo Sacchi