The omens were promising: a 77-year-old German-Canadian in the hostel was attending his 12th consecutive World Cup.
He travelled to his second – Argentina in 1978 – by cargo boat. “I saw Scotland, they weren’t very good.”
Senegal v Colombia vid and accordion knees-up, Kazan
Some decent footage from the Senegal- Colombia game was ruined by the mic refusing to work, or just being rendered useless by the noise.
So, in effect, this is partly a silent movie – just tap your fingers along in what you think is the appropriate rhythm.
Continue reading Senegal v Colombia vid and accordion knees-up, Kazan
Ulyanovsk’s Lenin museums
Leningrad wasn’t the only place named after Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov.
His birthplace, formerly Simbirsk, took its current name after he died in 1924.
Space, the final frontier – Colombia 1 Senegal 0
Space city Samara served up a cosmic cracker – the best atmosphere I’ve experienced as a ‘neutral’.
This game almost veered into sci-fi – I was half expecting Chewbacca to come on as sub for Senegal.
It was part-gig, part-sport, part-fashion show, part-performance art, part-continental catastrophe, part-national holiday.
It was a screaming, shattering, hysterical assault on all senses from the get-go.
Continue reading Space, the final frontier – Colombia 1 Senegal 0
Russia World Cup picture gallery
Fan Fest, Volgograd
Guy in the middle was a bit of a header.
Volgograd’s fan fest is on the historic slopes of the River Volga.
Iceland run out of puffin: Nigeria 2 Iceland 0
Half-time in Volgograd, after possibly the dullest first 45 minutes of the tournament so far, was a low point.
“Forty-five minutes more of this and then the turkey ticket of Saudi v Arabia on Monday, no chance of selling that, and that could be my World Cup over,” I thought.
Continue reading Iceland run out of puffin: Nigeria 2 Iceland 0
A day out in Rostov: Brazil 1 Switzerland 1
The hostel boss thinks I look like Mickhail Gorbachev.
‘Nyet, nyet,’ I say. ‘Nepravilna (not true). ‘George Clooney!’
Continue reading A day out in Rostov: Brazil 1 Switzerland 1
Kybok ‘n’ roll – FC Poltava 2 Karpaty Lviv 1
Some of the best things in life are free and this was no exception.
Continue reading Kybok ‘n’ roll – FC Poltava 2 Karpaty Lviv 1
Gherkins and the Golden Boot – Ukraine 1 Wales 0
She nailed it. My pal Anya, 33, from Kyiv, first game ever, said after 85 minutes: “You guys need to practise scoring.”
Continue reading Gherkins and the Golden Boot – Ukraine 1 Wales 0
Wales u19s 1 Czech Republic u19s 0
Fascinating to think how far Wales’ junior sides have come as they scrapped and scrabbled and huffed and puffed to somehow hang on for this undeserved win.
It’s not like it used to be.
3G or not 3G – Cardiff Met 0 Gap Connah’s Quay 2
Cardiff Met met a whimpering Welsh Cup end as the gap between the students’ level and their Welsh Premier League visitors proved too great to straddle.
Continue reading 3G or not 3G – Cardiff Met 0 Gap Connah’s Quay 2
Miles from Nowhere 