Paradoxically, the performance of the Russian team in the humid climate of Hanoi, like Marx’s ideas about the inexorable laws of history, proved that resisting natural conditions is almost as futile as trying to change the course of the world revolutionary movement. And although Russia beat Vietnam 3-0, the team was faced with terrible conditions: stifling heat, stuffiness and high humidity.
“What does Marx have to do with it?” you ask. Vietnam, where the Russian team flew for a friendly tournament, is one of those countries in the world where the one-party communist regime still exists. On every boulevard in Hanoi there is a red Vietnamese flag with a yellow star, and next to it is the symbol of communism – a red flag with a hammer and sickle. The city has Lenin Square, in the centre of which there is an impressive statue of Vladimir Ilyich. And busts of Lenin are sold as souvenirs in the museum in the Ho Chi Minh complex.
Lenin Monument in Hanoi
Photo: “Championship”
I was really looking forward to walking around Hanoi, because it is a beautiful city with a great history. But spending more than an hour outdoors is simply unbearable. The hot, humid air makes it very difficult to breathe. I still don’t understand how the national team played football in such weather.
By the way, even before the kick-off, through a brief survey, I realized that local residents do not care about football. Taxi drivers, hotel workers, waiters and even teenagers kicking a ball in the central square had no idea that their team was facing the Russian national team today. The only poster talking about the match was found at the main entrance of the stadium, which was not even half full in the end. I was pleasantly surprised by the small but rather cheerful section of Vietnamese fans who still knew about this match.
Fans of the Russian and Vietnamese national teams.
Photo: “Championship”
What’s up with football?
The Vietnamese team is far from the best. You can easily judge the level from the TV broadcast. Valery Karpin, answering questions from local journalists, was nevertheless full of praise for his opponent: “Comparing Vietnam’s level with what? With Europe? Well, yes, you don’t have to kid yourself. They are not the strongest team at European level. We don’t know much about their football. But from what I saw, the team is not bad, the players are technically prepared, but perhaps there is a lack of equipment somewhere.” However, the 115th place in the FIFA rankings and seven lost matches out of the last eight speak for themselves.
The Russians started off fairly confidently, scoring a goal in the 24th minute of the match, but it soon became clear that the team was finding it difficult to maintain a high tempo. For example, Krugovoi complained after the match that after each pull it became harder for him to run and his legs cramped.
Ruslan Litvinov and Danil Krugovoy
Photo: rfs.ru
At the same time, Karpin says that he is satisfied with the quality of the game, but immediately makes reservations about the humidity and unusual weather conditions. “If the national team had played at home and on another field, I would have said no, there was no rhythm and intensity.” But wait. With all due respect to the Vietnamese national team, what was the point of this match then? How to progress in such conditions? It is time to understand that Asia is a completely different reality, to which Russian footballers are not adapted at all. And the RFU does not need to go there.
The more Russia plays in Asia, the more convinced we are that all this is an inevitable reality and the norm. Well, we just have to humiliate and deceive ourselves by talking about the good quality of the game in difficult and unusual conditions. And believe that all this is temporary.
Not only Krugovoi spoke
“Nobody died, thank God.” Karpin, RFU and players do not want to go to Asia after Vietnam
