The most exciting sporting events in the past year were three outstanding performances, all equal in stature. Firstly, there was the victory of FC Zenit St Petersburg as the UEFA champions, winning the Super Cup. Then, there was the stupendous accomplishment of our hockey players in winning the world championships held in Canada, the birthplace of the game. Finally, there was the sterling performance of our tennis players at the Beijing Olympiad.
It seems like yesterday that the Russian fans were in the streets rowdily rejoicing at the Russian victory. Even those who were not familiar with the football world understood that something improbable had occurred. For the first time in the 35-year history of the Super Cup of the UEFA, a Russian side had grabbed the gold. Moreover, this was a triumph not over some ordinary common-garden club; it was a trouncing of the legendary FC Manchester United from England. In St Petersburg, the fans spontaneously celebrated throughout the city for several days. FC Zenit was the toast of the northern capital. All over the city, in the squares, at non-stop concerts, and in packed taverns and restaurants, the party went on 24/7.
From all sides, one heard the praises of the beloved home-team sung everywhere. “We waited so long for this victory, and, then, this miracle came. In my opinion, I never saw the Zenit side play better. Good God Almighty, we gave our best and went on to win”, one of the fans said. Even well-known fans did not conceal their emotion. Aleksei Miller, the head of Gazprom, who was in Monaco on the day of the Zenit-Man United match, shouted out, in unison with all the other fans gathered there, “Zenit, we are the champs!” He went on to say, “I am certain that this was a red-letter day for all Russian football. Until now, we Russians haven’t won such trophies. Undoubtedly, this is a step forward. I think that we shall be able to hold on to our position [in world football]. I mean Russian football in general when I say this.”
Just as a Russian club won a significant football trophy for the first time, then, our hockey players won back the title of the best team in the world. Both fans and athletes had waited for this day for 15 years. Not only did the Russian side rout the usual competition, but, they whipped the originators of the game, the Canadians, who were playing with the home ice advantage in Québec, during the 100th anniversary of pro hockey in their country.
Vyacheslav Fetisov, one of the players on the Russian squad, said that it was a hard-fought victory. They came back from behind by scoring two goals in the second-half of the third period to tie the score. He said, “The guys knew how to appear natural in this sticky situation. They broke the other side’s momentum, so, we went on to win in overtime play. It’s hard to pull this kind of thing off. Yes, indeed, some new Russian heroes appeared. They have a bright future ahead of them, for they showed everybody that they had the grit to believe in victory, even when everybody else had written them off. In the present situation, when we faced a strong side with great advantages, we broke the momentum of their game, and we showed that we had faith in ourselves and in our team. This is a great bunch of guys and we should be proud of them”.
People all around the world are accustomed to see Russian tennis players win prestigious tournaments. However, no one expected them to sweep one of the events at the Beijing Olympiad, with no one but Russians on the winners’ podium. The gold-medallist, Yelena Dementieva was an original member of the Olympic team, but, the winners of the silver and the bronze, Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva, only became members of the squad mere days the beginning of the Games, as the players named to the team where unable to compete for various reasons. It is no over-exaggeration to say that the quality of the play they showed on the court was phenomenal. Although the pace of the competition was exhausting, it did not seem to affect them. They all made it through to the finale.
After the match was over, Yelena Dementieva said of her team-mate Dinara Safina, “My only desire was to win, and I did everything possible to see that I did. I can’t believe that all of this is happening. All my life, I have dreamed of being an Olympic champion, and, now, that I have done it, I can’t believe it. I feel so very happy that I reached my life goal. It was a very good match. Dinara is a very good girl, it seemed that she got tired out, indeed, she had a crazy set of matches at the Olympics, and I wish her every success in the world”.
The year in sport is now over. Now, the fans await ever-new victories from their idols. The competition for next year’s UEFA Cup has already begun, the next world hockey championship will be held in April 2009, and the tennis players face a new challenge, the fight for the title of the best player in the world.
24 December 2008
Svetlana Andreyeva
Voice of Russia World Service
http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=95116&cid=25&p=24.12.2008 (in Russian)
