Poems for football players, a gift to Karpin and a blue wig: how the Russians from Rostov became the brightest fans in Qatar

“And we all believe in him, we only believe in him”

Not so many people came to support Rostov at the Parimatch Premier Cup. In the stands during the matches of the team it was possible to meet no more than a dozen yellow-blue fans.

But the family that fully supported the team attracted attention: Lyudmila Stetsenko with her husband Alexei Chekomasov and their 12-year-old daughter Alexander. Even in the first meeting of Valery Karpin’s wards with Partizan, the camera more than once snatched up an emotional woman in a blue wig and full ammunition for the team, which chanted chants about almost all Rostov players without ceasing.

“Norman is our best reference. He’s in the symbolic team, ”the Aspir-Center was spreading over the lawn.

The guests of the tournament composed a separate verse about the newcomer Pavel Mamaev: “Ours is now Mamaev Pasha, our main hope”.

But, of course, they paid the most attention to Karpin: “He nervously walks along the edge, makes the judge sad, does not sit on the bench, he directs everyone. And we all value it, we only believe him. ”

Not only that, some quatrains were dedicated to rivals, for example: “The engine is flying forward, Semin is leading it. "Shpalych" wipes sweat, the engine leads forward. "

She gave the players such a boost of energy that they simply did not have the right to play badly. It is not surprising that the woman earned the title of the most active and prominent fan of the tournament. The family attended and the meeting between Lokomotiv and Spartak. But during the derby, the Rostovites were much quieter, getting ready for the last Rostov game in the tournament.

“The Parimatch Premier Cup has been held for the second year in a row. The first time we just watched it on TV, and now we decided to come by ourselves. This idea arose last year. I wanted to not only see football, but also get to know Qatar, visit local attractions, ”said Lyudmila.

Then her husband added that the trip was not cheap, and the woman revealed the exact numbers.

“We got seven days, eight nights - 138 thousand rubles. We live in a fairly good hotel with breakfast. Additionally, food and travel are obtained. But to be honest, we have not yet considered all the costs, ”added Lyudmila.

Despite the high prices, the family was pleasantly surprised by the country itself.

“Qatar really likes: quietly, calmly. Here, for example, nature is more beautiful than in neighboring UAE. Quite an interesting approach to architecture, one skyscraper is not like the other. Although there are no special historical sights, there is a place to take a walk. Will we go to the world championship? It’s hard to say, yet such a trip will cost a lot, and age takes its toll, ”said Alexey.

“They handed over a soft toy to Karpin’s newborn daughter”

When asked about their popularity in Doha, football fans from Rostov-on-Don only laughed. They clearly did not expect that almost everyone would recognize them at the tournament. Indeed, the family is regularly greeted by fans of other teams passing by.

“We got ready, drew banners, came up with gifts for the football guys and Valery Karpin. Just on the second of February, he had a birthday, and after the game with Partizan, they handed the coach a small present. Unfortunately, I couldn’t congratulate directly the second day; we decided not to bother him. The gift is purely symbolic. It consisted of two parts, moral and material. Moral - an appeal to him from all Rostov fans, plus a poem. They also handed over a soft toy to his newborn daughter. Karpin himself was presented with a keychain and special coins for well-being, as well as a silver jug. He is considered a symbol of the full bowl in Qatar, ”said Lyudmila.

She also noted that her favorite soccer player in Rostov was Alexey Ionov, with whom the family also managed to cross in Doha. Of the legionnaires, a football lover singled out Ivelina Popova.

“Bulgarian is very good. He has an amazing sense of humor. He once came to a meeting with fans and talked very warmly with us, joked a lot. There was still Eldor Shomurodov. I had to learn a couple of phrases in Uzbek and Bulgarian to please the guys. Popov appreciated this, and then the smile never left his face. My daughter also wore dreadlocks, which he also liked. In general, Yvelin is a very positive person, ”the woman recalled.

Alexandra herself added that she regularly attends football matches with her parents not only in her native Rostov-on-Don, but also in neighboring Krasnodar. Her favorite player is Khoren Bayramyan. However, this could be understood by a T-shirt with a photo of the midfielder with an autograph.

“Khoren is an outstanding athlete, a good husband and father. He, for example, never refuses to interview your fellow journalists. A very open person. I like Bayramyan. Here on a scarf I have autographs of Shomurodov, Popov, Eremenko. Now, Kozlov and Chernov have just left their signatures. Friends of my passion for football is either neutral or positive. But no one from classmates goes to Rostov, ”the girl said.

“In St. Petersburg, SKA was so actively supported that they hit me on the head with a bag”

Initially, it might seem that the daughter of the family infected the daughter and wife with love for football, but he said that he was never interested in number one game, and his wife brought him to the stadium. She turned out to be a Rostov fan with a rich track record.

“My grandmother loved football, my mother loved, and all my childhood was spent at the stadium. It all started with Belaya Kalitva, at that time we had a team there. We traveled to other cities, supported by the Rostov SKA, which then played in the Premier League. The first time I got to the stadium in the mid-80s, when I studied in St. Petersburg. In 1984, we were even at an away game with Zenit, who then became the champion. SKA was so actively supported at the Kirov stadium that they hit me on the head with a bag, ”Ludmila laughed.

According to the fan, the new peak of her hobby for the team fell on the period of work in “Rostov” Kurban Berdyev, when the yellow-blue ones played in the Champions League and playoffs of the Europa League, and also took silver in the Russian championship.

“When Rostov was headed by Berdyev, they began to regularly go to the stadium. We were at all matches of the team in the Champions League and the Europa League. We managed to talk a bit with Berdyev. Even at the Olympus-2 stadium, after the match, it made its way through a hole in the fence. They shouted to him: “Bekievich, good luck!” But the most sociable was, of course, Leonid Kuchuk. Berdyev - closed, but never refused an autograph or photo. But Karpin is definitely the favorite coach of Rostov fans for a long time, although he and Berdyev wrote two different fairy tales, and Valery Georgievich hasn’t finished his work yet, ”the woman said.

According to her, everyone in the city was happy when they learned that the coach had extended the contract with the club for five years. But the rumors about financial problems in “Rostov” and the possible departure of the coach and a number of leading football players were seriously alarmed by the fans.

“It was scary, but did not have time to get scared. It is good that the club solved these problems. But I had no doubt that everything would end well. The connection between the leadership, the coaching staff, the players and us is now very strong. In any case, the resources so that the team did not fall apart would be found. Still, it was very painful when Berdyev left, and Rostov rained down. It was a lot of stress for all of us fans. The second such blow was not supposed to happen, ”the woman emphasized.