Three fans from Russia's capital share
their football stories and sightseeing tips.
by Aleks V | @aleksvee
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Fast facts about Moscow
Founded: 1147
Population: 12.3 million
Football clubs
Premier League: Lokomotiv, CSKA, Spartak, Dynamo
Football National
League (tier two): Ararat Moscow, Spartak-2, FC Khimki (Moscow
oblast)
PFL (tier three):
Torpedo Moscow, Strogino, Veles, Lokomotiv Kazanka, Chertanovo Moscow
World Cup
stadiums: Luzhniki Stadium, Spartak Stadium (Otkritie Arena)
The road to fandom
Aleksandr Labutov, Dynamo Moscow fan
I became a Dynamo Moscow fan at 15, in 1983. At the time, there was a football craze in Moscow. Many houses were covered with club décor, and in schools, almost everyone was a fan of a particular team.
I became a Dynamo Moscow fan at 15, in 1983. At the time, there was a football craze in Moscow. Many houses were covered with club décor, and in schools, almost everyone was a fan of a particular team.
People mainly supported Spartak, CSKA, and Dynamo Moscow. Near the Avtozavodskaya metro, many supported Torpedo, but the club had a much smaller following in Moscow, while meeting a Lokomotiv fan was as rare as meeting aliens on the way to the store.
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| Photo: twitter.com/art_russia |
Dynamo drew me in mainly with its grand history. I had an interest in football since childhood – I read a lot and knew about the first USSR champion, the tour of Britain, and Lev Yashin's Ballon d'Or.
I had become good friends with an
active Dynamo supporter, with whom I attended a game for the first
time.
Having visited our old stadium and soaked up its unique atmosphere, I finally felt like a Dynamo fan, and since then began to regularly attend games, both home and away.
Angelina Aleksandrov, Spartak Moscow fan
I was born in the Moscow region, so
I often visited the center. My first recollections were of how big
[the city of] Moscow and the oblast were – you can't see it all in
a day. My father was a lifelong Spartak fan – he brought me to the
stadium. When I saw how many people in Russia support Spartak, I
realized it's a real people's team. I've
been a supporter since 2002.
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| Spartak Stadium. Photo: twitter.com/matt_the_jack |
Ilya Mamontov, Lokomotiv Moscow fan
I first became interested in
football when I was 10. In 1998, Lokomotiv Moscow made the UEFA Cup
Winners' Cup semi-finals, where it met Stuttgart. The Russian club
gave a bright and memorable performance. Next spring, Loko also
reached the Cup Winners' Cup semis, where it met the future winners
of the tournament, Lazio. Both games ended in a draw and only because
of the goal in Moscow did the Romans make the final.
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| Photo: twitter.com/mai_ilya |
First game
Aleksandr Labutov
[My first Dynamo game] was against Ararat, a team I had a soft spot for. However, it wasn't the football, but rather the harsh actions of the police of those years I remembered most. They prohibited any [fan gear], chanting, rising from seats ... escorting out entire rows from the fan sector for chants.
[My first Dynamo game] was against Ararat, a team I had a soft spot for. However, it wasn't the football, but rather the harsh actions of the police of those years I remembered most. They prohibited any [fan gear], chanting, rising from seats ... escorting out entire rows from the fan sector for chants.
But after the game
I was impressed by the fan rally with flags and loud chants along
Leningrad Avenue, which the police also tried to counter.
Ilya Mamontov
In spring 1999, I attended a
football game for the first time in my life. Back then, we lived in
Nizhny Novgorod, and the local club – also called Lokomotiv – won
promotion to the top tier of the Russian championship. My dad took my
brother and I to a derby between two Lokomotivs, Moscow and Nizhny
Novgorod. I'll never forget the stunning emotions of that game! The
whole stadium was rooting for the hosts. They scored twice, but both
goals in Ruslan Nigmatulin's net were disallowed for offside. The
game ended 0:0.
Those two springs
of 1998 and 1999 and Loko's bright game became the turning point when
I began to support the Railwaymen.
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| Nikita Bazhenov playing for Spartak Moscow. Photo: twitter.com/fratria |
Angelina Aleksandrov
My
first game at the stadium [Spartak's] was in 2008 against CSKA. We
won 1:0 thanks to a goal by [Nikita] Bazhenov. I was very happy
because we couldn't beat the Army Men for awhile. I was glad my first
visit to the stadium ended in a victory.
Off the pitch
Aleksandr Labutov
Most fans meet and chat on match days, so many try to get together in advance and discuss the current state of affairs in their circle. As a rule, this is accompanied by the consumption of a certain amount of alcohol.
Most fans meet and chat on match days, so many try to get together in advance and discuss the current state of affairs in their circle. As a rule, this is accompanied by the consumption of a certain amount of alcohol.
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| Cafe Loko is a popular spot for Lokomotiv Moscow fans. Photo: Cafe Loko Facebook |
Ilya Mamontov
Next
to MIIT (Moscow State University of Railway Engineering) there's a
cafe called Loko. It is adjacent to a dormitory for foreign students
on Obraztsova Street. The Railway University assumes many students
or faculty will support the Railroaders. And so it is. Often, groups
of youth gather in this cafe and support their team. I went there in
2015 to watch the Russian Cup final in which Lokomotiv beat Kuban
Krasnodar in Astrakhan. When Loko equalized in regulation time, then
scored two goals in extra time, there was no limit to the fans' joy!
Aleksandr Labutov
Some time
ago, [fans met at] a bar called “Goal” in Petrovsky Park, which
was demolished during [the stadium's] reconstruction. Later, there
was the “Western Stand”, opened by Dynamo fans near the
Belorusskaya station and later near the Mendeleyevskaya, but the bar
was not profitable and closed.
Right now, there isn't any specific meeting place for Dynamo fans.
It's usually different venues, where screenings are sometimes held
with famous football hosts, or fans simply gather in sports bars that
air the Russian Premier League and Europe's top leagues. In general,
there is interest in games featuring England's top clubs and El
Clásico. Other games are of relatively little interest.
“The
student derby”
Ilya Mamontov
All the most interesting things on match days happen in the stands, especially the south stand, where, historically, Lokomotiv fans gather. I often went there in my student years. We sung songs, clapped, drove the players forward in every possible way. Some of the lines of these songs are forever in my memory: “You are our native club, Lokomotiv, we all want you to win today” or “The Lokomotiv goes ahead, give way to it quickly...”
All the most interesting things on match days happen in the stands, especially the south stand, where, historically, Lokomotiv fans gather. I often went there in my student years. We sung songs, clapped, drove the players forward in every possible way. Some of the lines of these songs are forever in my memory: “You are our native club, Lokomotiv, we all want you to win today” or “The Lokomotiv goes ahead, give way to it quickly...”
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| Lokomotiv Moscow fan banner depicting former manager Slavoljub Muslin as a Roman general |
Since I support Loko, and my brother – Spartak, as students of the
MIIT, we tried to attend the derby as often as possible. Some
memorable games at our stadium in Cherkizovo were 0:0 in 2006 and 2:2
in 2008. In 2007, the Railroaders won 2:1 away at Luzhniki in a
beautiful, intense match, with legendary Loko striker Dmitri Sychev
scoring the winning goal. I remember how wonderful that day in May
was, drowning in the scent of lilacs blooming in Moscow, after our
victory ... We called the match between our teams the “student
derby.”
Over time, fans began to gather at the locomotive, a gift to the team from the leadership of the Russian Railways that was installed in the area in front of the stadium. It is our stadium in Cherkizovo that is the main gathering place and the heart of the fans on match days.
Memorable
moments
Aleksandr Labutov
The most memorable events usually occur during derbies against Spartak, whose fans, who are used to their strength in numbers in Moscow, without thinking, end up in a stand with mostly Dynamo fans.
As a rule, in the end everything turns into skirmishes in the fan sectors – with particpants of all ages – in which the “out-of-town” guests are often subject to physical pressure.
From the most recent, I remember a few “flights” of Spartak fans from central stand C in the first game of the season.
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| Spartak Moscow fan banner during a derby against CSKA. Photo: fratria.ru |
Angelina Aleksandrov
Going to an away game in another city is always out of the ordinary.
The atmosphere at the stadium is different. But no matter where you
go, there are Spartak fans everywhere.
Ilya Mamontov
I recall legenary Lokomotiv captain Dmitri Loskov's farewell match in
May 2017. Dima hadn't played for a long time and is part of
[Lokomotiv manager] Yuri Semin's coaching staff, but it so happened
that the club hadn't been able to host a farewell game for the man
who scored the golden goal that made Loko champions of Russia for the
first time in 2002. Especially for these purposes, the 43-year-old
was named to the club's roster in the winter, and came on the pitch
during a game against Orenburg. Dima played only 10 minutes and was
subbed off for the Railroaders' new leader, Aleksei Miranchuk, but
what an ovation he got from the stands, which chanted his name the
whole 10 minutes! It was an extraordinary moment in the history of
the club, and I'm very glad my wife and I were at the stadium that
day.
Travel tips
Aleksandr Labutov
Aside from the famous Red Square and Kremlin, I would suggest
visiting the park and church in Kolomenskoye, Tsaritsyno Palace, and
the Central Armed Forces Museum, where you can see a lot of military
equipment, which would be of interest to any man.
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Ilya Mamontov
Firstly, I'd
like to talk about my Moscow. There's no point in once again
repeating the places familiar to all since childhood: the Kremlin,
the Red Square, GUM (Russia's largest department store).
The
Novoslobodskaya district, next to MIIT, is especially dear. The cozy
and small Catherine Park, whose pond reflects the building of the
Olympic Sports Complex across the road, soothes with its silence and
beauty of nature. Walking along Sushchevskiy Street from the
institute and then looping around Sadovo-Triumphalnaya and Malaya
Dmitrovka, you can walk to the Hermitage Garden,
then wind up on Tverskoy Boulevard and Pushkin Square, having seen
the famous monument to A. S. Pushkin. In my student years, my brother
and I often walked from MIIT to the Kremlin this way.
Our path continued in the Alexander Garden with an obligatory hot dog, sitting on the bench and watching the tourists coming from both directions. The garden is especially beautiful in the spring when the tulips bloom, as well as in summer, decorated with rose bushes. It is definitely worth visiting Saint Basil's Cathedral, going inside and making your way through its narrow aisles. The cathedral is and will always be a symbol of Moscow, fascinating all with its beauty, on the steps of which my brother and I often rested, tired of walking on a hot summer day.
After finishing school, my next six years were also spent not far from Novoslobodskaya region near Mayakovsky Square. The neighborhoods of Mayakovsky and Tverskaya Street with their many cafes and cozy, hidden courtyards became so familiar to me during this time. Of course, it is worth taking a stroll along the Bolshaya Sadovaya Street and walking to the Patriarch Ponds. On a quiet sunny day, it's nice to sit near the water and admire the swans.
Finally, a word on the stadiums. I really love the Luzhniki region and recommend everyone to take the metro to the Universitet station on an early summer morning, go out and walk around the looming high-rise MSU (Moscow State University), and sit on the warm steps of the numerous ladders. You should then go admire the panorama of the country's main stadium, which will soon host the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. After, ride to the Sparrow Hills and take a walk along the Moskva River embankment to Gorky Park, go to the side of the Frunzenskaya embankment, and continue your journey to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Then enter the Pushkin Museum and return to Alexandrov Garden.
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| Alexander Rodchenko's Football (1937) is part of a football exhibit at the Pushkin Museum |
Dynamo Moscow will soon have a great new stadium. I've walked the length and
breadth of the district near the eponymous metro station in my
student years. It was here on November 21, 2002, that Lokomotiv beat
CSKA to win its first Russian championship. I watched that game on TV
in Nizhny Novgorod. That Dynamo Stadium was an old, completely open
arena from the Soviet era. From the stadium along Nizhnyaya Maslovka
Street you can walk to the atmospheric Praga movie theater,
which we often went to when we were students.
Of course, every World Cup visitor should definitely come to our stadium in Cherkizovo. Recently, it was officially renamed RZD Arena, but in the soul of every fan, it will always be the Lokomotiv Stadium. Referees will train in Cherkizovo during the World Cup. Lokomotiv's new stadium, which opened after reconstruction on July 5, 2002, was for many years the most modern and football-specific stadium in Russia. Many famous teams and players played in Cherkizovo. The arena absorbed their emotions and mastery. Cherkizovo breathes football.
Near the
stadium, there is the old and remarkably beautiful Church of Elijah the Prophet. I learned of it thanks to Loko's first foreign coach in
the Russian era, the Serbian Slavoljub Muslin, who said in an
interview he periodically visits the church.
I'd like to once more invite all football fans to come to Russia and enjoy football in our country during World Cup 2018. My Lokomotiv, coached by our most legendary and successful manager Yuri Pavlovich Syomin, is the champion of Russia. My daughter was born last November, and when she grows up, we will definitely go to our stadium to see Lokomotiv.
See you in Cherkizovo, and see you in Russia!
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1 comments
Very insightful football fan guide for Moscow. I will watch Switzerland vs Costa Rica online today.
ReplyDeleteLet me hear - er, see - your thoughts!