Kuban Prepares for the World Cup: Russian Region Too Beautiful, Possibly Distracting to Athletes
Having barely finished celebrating their Champions League victory, Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos will appear on the Sochi's Fisht Stadium in two weeks. However, they won't be regular players like they were for Madrid's Real, but as the captains of Europe's two strongest teams. On June 15th, the current champions from Portugal will battle Spain's Red Fury. And, the neighboring Gelendzhik and Anapa are warmly welcoming the cold Scandinavian trio. The training grounds are already taken over by Sweden's, Iceland's, and Denmark's teams. We continue our series of special reports on the hosting cities of the upcoming World Cup.
Aleksandr Rudenko presents Kuban's soccer map.
Hosting cities of FIFA World Cup 2018-Russia
Kuban, Russia's hottest region, was oddly chosen by the 'coldest' world's teams from Sweden, Iceland, and Denmark. Gelendzhik is putting a lot of effort into preparing for guests from Reykjavik. They're struggling to pronounce phrases in Icelandic.
— What does that mean?
— Welcome, our dear guests.
The humblest team in this year's World Cup only has a few requests: all they asked to be changed in the hotel are the mattresses, from soft to firm. They also considered bringing their own produce but changed their minds eventually.
Svetlana Samoylenko, the resort's GM: "They were surprised we had marbled beef and cheeses despite the sanctions, but we said they didn't bother us".
The food for the Scandinavians will be prepared by an Italian Chef, who promises to do a great job. The Swedish team had beat the Italians for the first time in 60 years in the playoffs, even though the latter were World Cup champions, but it won't get in the way, it's nothing personal.
Maximiliano Sperli, an Italian Chef: "Sweden has a great team. I wish them luck, even though we lost. If they don't do well in the World Cup, I can add extra salt or pepper just to mess with them".
For the duration of the World Cup, Kuban will become a home for 6 teams. The Danes will have to travel from Anapa to Saransk, Samara, and Moscow. The Spanish will go from Krasnodar to Sochi, Kazan, and Kaliningrad. The Swedes and Icelanders will go from Gelendzhik to Moscow, Volgograd, Rostov, Nizhni Novgorod, Sochi, and Ekaterinburg. The Brazilians and the Poles will have to visit Rostov, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, and Volgograd.
After the games, each team will keep returning to Kuban's resorts for almost two months. The upcoming World Cup's symbols, soccer-themed flower beds, and the mascot, Zabivaka (the goal kicker) are all over the streets and shore drives. In Gelendzhik, he's not made of plastic or cardboard, he's a real-life mascot. Serega the wolf, we can say he's is a fellow creature of Zabivaka the mascot'. He'll be predicting the matches' outcomes during the World Cup. Today, he has to choose between Sweden and South Korea. The Koreans are represented with meat and the Swedes — with an apple. Now, this one is for the bookmakers, Serega votes for the Scandinavians.
The resort's main stadium's snow-white roof is seen from afar. Fisht awaits the beginning of the soccer celebration. It became bigger and more convenient for the teams and the audience after the Olympics. Sochi has changed, too. It has perfect roads, a new airport, and modern railroad stations. Tens of thousands of fans from all over the world will see Russia's summer capital like this. Sochi will host 6 World Cup matches. The first one, Portugal-Spain, is scheduled for June 15th. Both teams are the championship's favorites, just like the team from Brazil.
The South Americans chose the resort as their training grounds. As it turned out, the Brazilians aren't just good at soccer, but also at relaxing between the games. They are the only team who will have a relaxation zone right next to the field. 22 lounge chairs, 2 massage chairs, and a bar with drinks and snacks. The Brazilians' training grounds is 5 minutes away from their hotel. This is where Seleção will have their open training on June 12th. Young Sochi soccer players will watch the world stars prepare for the World Cup from the bleachers.
The sea, the mountains, still covered with snow, flowery meadows, and scenic waterfalls. Kuban is all ready to impress anyone with their hospitality and beauty.
Aleksandr Rudenko, Anna Sorokina, Anton Fedotov, and Valery Pyatov. Vesti.