Quotes of the Day

In their drive to restore Russia's Soviet-era muscle, Vladimir Putin and his allies have plenty to build on: fabulous petroleum wealth, ironclad political stability and an increasingly confident foreign policy. Will national pride get an extra boost from the country's footballers? Can they join the phalanx of Russian hockey and tennis stars who are earning the nation some international respect?

It didn't look like it after Russia's first game at Euro 2008, when they were thrashed 4-1 by Spain, who immediately joined Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands — all impressive winners in the first round of games — as early favorites. The Russians can argue, with some justice, that the scoreline against Spain didn't reflect the skill they showed. But whatever happens at the tournament, Russian football has already strung together a run of small successes, rekindling memories of some terrific teams — at both club and national level — from the 20 years after World War II. On May 14, Zenit St. Petersburg won Europe's UEFA Cup tournament — only the second time a Russian side had won a top prize. The next week, Moscow hosted the Champions' League final between Chelsea and Manchester United. The sparkling event came off with no hitches, defying predictions that Russia's capital wouldn't be up to staging the sport's marquee match, or, for that matter, controlling the barbarian hordes who flew in from the U.K.

It was fitting that the Champions' League final was held in Moscow, because Chelsea is owned by a Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich, who made his money investing in denationalized Russian industries. Since he bought the team in 2003, Abramovich has sunk over $1.1 billion into it, and bagged five trophies. That makes each bit of silver pretty expensive, but for a man whose personal fortune is estimated to be as high as $23 billion, the glory appears to be worth the price.

Big money is changing football at home in Russia, too. The seamless combination of government and business has made a priority of returning the motherland to world football's highest ranks. Zenit boasts a side of national stars, including Andrei Arshavin and Pavel Pogrebnyak, whose dizzying salaries are financed by energy giant Gazprom, the team's owner. Moscow clubs Spartak and Dynamo are sponsored by their corporate patrons — also from the oil and gas sector — Yukos and Lukoil, respectively. The war chests that such firms bring to the game have led to galloping salary inflation, says midfielder Alexei Smertin — who is leaving London's Fulham for a fatter contract with Lokomotiv in Moscow. Enormous sums are also being spent to build or renovate stadiums and training centers — cheered on by Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who heads the country's top football league and its football federation. And the largesse isn't flowing exclusively to the pro game: Abramovich contributes $55 million each year to Russia's fledgling youth development system. The London exile also paid the $2.65 million two-year contract to lure Dutch coach Guus Hiddink to Russia, hoping that he would work the same miracle with the national squad that he did during stints with South Korea and Australia.

It takes more than bulging pockets to create national footballing brilliance and depth, as the defeat by Spain proved. But cash always helps. "Money alone is no guarantee, but without a lot of money you don't stand even a chance," says French coach Rolland Courbis, who once directed clubs including Bordeaux, Marseilles and Alania Vladikavkaz in the Russian republic of North Ossetia. "Russia has the major resources: money, a huge population and people who know football. Now it's a question of competence in how well the system can be organized, and the focus kept on long-term development."

That last insight is the key. Victor Gusev, Russia's leading football commentator, warns it will take years for the system to produce enough young players to reverse what he calls the "horrendous football losses of the perestroika period and of the early 1990s," when the old Soviet sports structures collapsed and young people abandoned the game in droves. But with Russia's corporations and businessmen flush with cash, there's a chance to build something again. And even if the Russians don't make much of a splash at Euro 2008, there is another prize in their sights: officials are already talking about a bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

• BRUCE CRUMLEY
• Serious money is being spent on football, with the aim of finding more national glory on the pitch