Michael Church

Opinion | Fifa World Cup: unrecognisable Russia at odds with its history as the well-heeled pay almost US$20,000 for lavish finale

A gleaming, resplendent and modern Luzhniki Stadium is a reflection of Vladimir Putin’s new Russia

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Fireworks are set off after the medals ceremony following the 2018 World Cup final. Photo: AFP

Michael Church

Published: 3:00pm, 17 Jul 2018Updated: 8:04pm, 20 Jul 2018

At the end of the main approach to the Luzhniki Stadium, Vladimir Lenin’s stony presence served as a focal point for many at the 2018 World Cup finals, the towering granite likeness of the communist leader a reminder of the journey Russia has taken during the last century.

Surrounded by the promotional booths of Fifa’s partners – from the Soviet Union’s ideological enemy, the United States, as well as from one-time partners China and elsewhere – the juxtaposition of the left-wing icon amidst the trappings of rampant capitalism was incongruous.

Quite what Lenin would have made, then, of Fifa’s lavish hospitality programme and the bling associated with the World Cup final, is anyone’s guess.

A cushion in the hospitality area at the 2018 World Cup final. Photo: Michael Church

Ennio Morricone’s ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’ thundered around the cavernous venue as former Germany captain Philipp Lahm hauled the World Cup trophy onto the pitch in its custom-made Louis Vuitton carry case. Understated is not the name of the game.

Above the halfway line, opposite the broad expanse of the blue-desked media tribune that is positioned high on the stadium’s upper deck, sit the glass-fronted corporate boxes that are now a dominant feature of any modern sporting facility.