On Wednesday night, the whole world watched the dramatic Euro 2020 semi-final match Italy - Spain. It was awesome. As we learned, members of the delegations who came to Ufa for the Folkloriada are very fond of football and asked to organize a broadcast in the hotel lobby.
The Italian delegation turned out to be the most friendly - both men and women came out, occupied most of the tables, someone even brought the flag of their native country. The Spaniards also came to the hall - they cheered for their own, standing slightly to the side.
“In our country, there are strictly COVID restrictions, so everyone is sitting in their rooms; besides, we have to get up early tomorrow,” they explained.
“Who are you rooting for?”, we asked the delegation from Austria, who did not find any reason not to watch football in good company either.
“I think the score will be 2:1!”
Spanish fans toasted a goal scored with juice – they had to get up early the next day.
“What did you say? Who will win? - one of the Italians heard our interview, took the interlocutor by the neck, and jokingly shook him. Both laughed, hugged, and sat down to watch further.
During the break, it became quiet for a couple of minutes, and then we heard the sound of an accordion. It was the Austrians who went downstairs with songs and dances to see someone out of those leaving, and at the same time to support both camps of fans.
“Can you play "Kalinka"? The Russian asked the Austrian musician near the bar. He listened carefully to the chant, nodded happily, and picked up the chords right away. The girls started dancing. Perhaps these were the world's first Austrian dances with a Russian accent.
So everyone ended up sitting out to the penalty kick. In the media, the game was called a "deathmatch"; however, in Ufa, it was a friendship match.
Recall that in the semifinals of Euro 2020, the Italians beat the Spanish national team in a penalty shootout and reached the final. The teams of England and Denmark will play for the second ticket on Thursday night.