News

When I began this journey I could have never imagined how special this experience would be. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this World Cup would play out in the way it did, so many of the big teams getting knocked out  early on and teams like Belgium, England, Croatia and France flourishing in the later rounds of the competition. I has been such a honour to cover this World Cup for Perform and   I will always be so grateful for the opportunity to be here. So here I am four days before the final and what a build up to the last match to was going to be. 

Day 35

By luck the teams who were now left in the competition were based in Moscow, we really couldn't have planned that better if we tried. Croatia had been originaly based in St Petersburg but they moved their base camp about a week and a half before the final, maybe they had a premonition they would make it to the final. Belgium also were still in Moscow and they were getting ready for their repeat clash with England this time to see who would win the third and fourth play off match. Pride was still very much at stake for both teams, and although both had sufffered defeats to not reach the final both teams needed to find a way of picking themselves up again. The Press conference was not very busy but this allowed the media who were in attendance to really did deep about the next game and about how the "Golden Generation" as they are referred to felt about their run in the tournament. Thomas Meunier was honest about his countryman and how he believed this team could still achieve big things in the next few years, this was just the beginning for them. I was refreshing to see his raw honesty on a few subjects including his PSG teammate Kylian Mbappé, who he was a little annoyed at for his conduct in the Semi Final  "I am sure he was instructed to do that. Kylian is super talented and a future superstar. I hope that he is not being badly influenced." This World Cup has been filled with honesty from players not scared to say what they really think and this has added another layer to why the World Cup has been so good.

Day 36

Three back to back press conferences in one day is always a bit of a killer especially when you know the first on e is going to last well over an hour. Who is speaking for that long I hear you ask? The FIFA President! Gianni Infantino has only spoken a couple of times at this World Cup to the media on mass and this is normal for the FIFA President in this situation. Now I would be lying if I said I enjoyed the football politics because honestly it's not really my cup of tea, I love the game and everything else but this is just not my favourite part about covering football.

As Infantino entered the room he greeted us by smiling and waving, but as we looked closer we could see he was not dressed in normal suit but in the uniform of the volunteers. This immediately made the room hum with why he had chosen to leave his suit in the closet. The president declared this World Cup the best of all times and he praised the Russian government and Putin for the magnificent show they had given to the World, hoping it had changed people's opinions about how Russia is. The press conference last one hour and twenty minutes and there were still disappointed journalists at the end who were not able to ask their questions to the President . 

This was going to be a day of real diversity as the next news conference was about the closing ceremony where they would have special guest Nicky Jam, Era Istrefi and Will Smith to talk about their performance of the Song Live it up. The press conference started with Will Smith shouting out the countries journalists were from; he was a ball of excitement and did not disappoint an expectant media. It was was a quirky way to start and I wish I could articulate it better but to give you a flavour check out the video here 

I'm not sure what I expected, but Will Smith had watched far more of the World Cup than I thought he might, he also gave us great lines on how he loves Neymar, that he has a soft spot for Brazil because of Pelé and also his choice for the coolest player of the tournament would be Cristiano Ronaldo, who has briefly met previously. Will was insightful, funny and I can honestly say I have not enjoyed a press conference that much in a longtime. 

The final press conference of the day was to be with Barcelona superstar Ivan Rakiti? - we were now back to the serious business of football after the madness of Will. The enormity of the next few days for both France and CroatiaIt really hit me as Rakiti? started to speak, with both wanting desperately to win for their respective nations.

As the questions continued you could see the unwavering belief he had that he could become a World Champion. Training was quiet, composed and not a lot of laughter, each player knowing  how important this match was going to be for them, game faces were on.

Day 37

I had organised with our friends at Adidas another interview, this time we were going to speak to former World Cup and Ballon d'Or winner Kaka. We arrived at the hotel in plenty of time to set up the shoot on the roof terrace restaurant. The hotel has incredible panoramic views of the city and it was a perfect location for such a big star. As we were waiting for Kaka to finish his first interview slot, it became clear that many footballing icons were in town for the big event the following day, none other than Ronaldo (the Brazilian one).

As Kaka wondered over to our interview he spotted his old teammate and friend and greeted him warmly with a hug. I put a lapel mic on Kaka and we got underway with the interview. As we were doing it there was a hub bub of noise behind us and it was because Mick Jagger had joined Ronaldo and they were chatting all things football. It was a real surreal experience to be surrounded by such an A list of stars. Check out our behind the scences video to see yourselves here. 

If that all wasn't a little surreal we went to an Italian restaurant down the street and as we walked towards the restaurant we bumped into World Cup Winner for Germany Lukas Podolski. We were seated at a table and as I got my bearings I turned my head and there was Colombian legend Carlos Valderrama and his wife eating lunch. If you were not sure what was going on, everywhere you looked there was football royalty.

Adidas were hosting an event in Gorky Park, one of the most beautiful places in Moscow. There were a bunch of free stylers, onstage interviews with Kaka and Podolski, and lots of cool stuff for fans to get involved with.

The free event was a huge success with many fans enjoying the beautiful weather and the party atmosphere. The footballing elite even took each other on in a freestyle match with the help of some of the world's best freestyle footballers, it was an exhibition of trickery. Cafu's team came out on top over Kaka and the former Brazilian even managed to score the winning goal against his countryman's team. Check out my video here to see the epic skills from Cafu.

From Russia with Love

Louise

* Louise Bawden, Duty Editor Omnisport (senior video journalist), is one of an exclusive band of women working for the media at the World Cup. We are delighted that Lou is sharing her experiences with Women in Football and providing a unique insight from behind-the-scenes in Russia.

Share this article