Before football comes home, it had to stop by the beach. Russia fans had one last chance on Sunday night to savour a squad that had already shattered all their expectations for this tournament. And they did it again in a bittersweet valedictory in Vladimir Putin’s dream city by the sea.
All the best stories are comings-of-age, and Russia seemed to grow with each match, teaching a sceptical public that it was OK to believe again, that they wouldn’t suddenly embarrass them, that this time things would be different.
It left pretty much everyone here asking the same question: where on earth did this side come from? Pressing a more gifted Croatia squad, belting in sublime curlers from 25 yards, nodding in equalisers in the 115th minute?
“Guys! I am proud of you! I love you! Savour this moment!” yelled striker Artem Dzyuba in a fiery speech that mirrored a nation’s emotions just before Russia went out on penalty kicks.
Long before that moment, high up in the stands, fans were starting to believe too.
“Cheryshev hit that one like Ronaldo!” said Semyon, 23, who was still marvelling over the left winger’s wonder-strike as he grabbed snacks at half-time. “Oh my God, could you imagine he could do that?”
“I think England must be worried about facing us,” said Anton Sashnikov, planning for the semi-final clash that ultimately wasn’t to be. “Our guys are playing with intensity, they really want to win. I don’t think that England will be able to keep up.”
There is more in common between the England and Russia fan than either would like to admit, a complex that comes down to the simple belief that someone at some moment is going to lose his man or shank a penalty. Both have found redemption in this year’s World Cup.
“And from there it’s just one more match and we are the champions,” Sashnikov said and he smiled, as though daring a reporter to tell him that wasn’t likely.
Saturday’s match was the reason many people bother going to see football. If you looked up the Fifa rankings, there was no question who should have won. But ultimately it came down to a question of slight angles and dashes of momentum, and the tears that came after Russia’s heartbreaking loss were more about frustration than condemnation.