Putin basks in limelight of Russian victory

By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich

December 2 – Cometh the hour, cometh Vladimir Putin. Well a few hours late, to be precise.

The Russian Prime Minister may have controversially decided not to take part in his country’s 2018 World Cup presentation to FIFA but you kind of knew that he was not going to miss out if his country was awarded the tournament for the first time in Eastern Europe.

Five hours after Russia’s landslide victory, when all the other bidding candidates had long departed the cavernous Messe Zurich with their heads bowed in disappointment, the charismatic Putin finally appeared before the world’s media and worked the room as only he can.

Putin had stunned observers on the eve of the vote by refusing to attend the ballot and address FIFA in order not to put undue pressure on their executive committee to support his country.

It was a calculated move designed to give FIFA Executive Committe members the chance to make up their minds without being lobbied and cajoled by arguably the world’s second most powerful head of state following the spate of recent corruption allegations reported by the British media.

It was, Putin said, a “complicated” decision and one which could have backfired badly.

“I did it out of respect to the executive committee,” said Putin who got on a plane to Zurich as soon as the vote was announced.

“The [media] campaign over the World Cup in 2018 was unacceptable.

“I had planned to come here to present our bid and it was a difficult decision not to.

“My colleagues were a bit upset and tried to persuade me but I explained my reasons to them -and I did the right thing.”

Insisting that Russia had won the bid fair and square, Putin, who directed questions from the floor without any assistance from a single aide, admitted it had been a risk remaining back home until victory had been assured but one worth taking.

He dismissed the suggestion that England had been “cheated” out of hosting the tournament and re-iterated Russia’s strengths and attributes.

“You know, Great Britain is a great football country and in Russia we have a lot of fans of your football in general and your football players in particular,” he said.

“But Great Britain lost. We based our bid on the fact that it corresponded to the FIFA philosophy to engage new territories and new countries.”

He admitted, however, that he was surprised Russia had won so comfortably.

“I always thought we could win but we never never expected we could win in the second round,” he said.

“You can take my word for it that the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be up to the highest standards. New modern stadiums and facilities will be built in time and to perfection.”

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