In Local Courtyards, a Glimpse of Russian Football Jul 04, 2018 - 01:28 pm In a courtyard in Balashikha, a town near Moscow, the rules are strict: Show up late to the game, and you’ll have to watch from the sidelines. Pavel Zelenkov / MT The leader of the game can ask his friends to do almost everything he wants and it will be done – even if he asks them to tie his shoelaces. Pavel Zelenkov / MT In the winter, many courtyard football pitches are turned into ice rinks. But now, with temperatures nearing 30 degrees Celsius, players are looking to stay cool. Pavel Zelenkov / MT Despite the summer heat, these players in the neighborhood between the Aeroport and Dynamo metro stations prefer to play the game in their blue jeans. Pavel Zelenkov / MT Even the goalkeeper doesn’t wear special gear in this courtyard near the Aeroport Metro. Pavel Zelenkov / MT A group of boys abandon a football that’s been kicked around a few too many times. Pavel Zelenkov / MT Young students scrimmage in the schoolyard while taking in the midsummer sun on a football pitch between the Tyoply Stan and Konkovo metros. Pavel Zelenkov / MT Some younger boys want to be professional football players when they grow up. Let’s see where they land in twenty years. Pavel Zelenkov / MT An apartment block looms between the Tyoply Stan and Konkovo metros at the edges of the city, a vivid remnant of Soviet construction. Pavel Zelenkov / MT Some people play football even in the city center, near Metro Novokuznetskaya. Sometimes, adults need to rest after a long game. Pavel Zelenkov / MT A boy walks away from his friends in a courtyard near Metro Dynamo after a squabble over who can take the football home after the game. Pavel Zelenkov / MT Far from the World Cup stadiums, young footballers are battling it out in the courtyards right outside their homes. Read more about: World Cup More image galleries The Photos That Defined Russia in 2024 From the war in Ukraine, the death of Alexei Navalny and the Russia-West prisoner swap to oil spills, historic flooding and terrorist attacks, it was yet... 1 Min read In Photos: Oil Spilled from Wrecked Tankers Washes Up on Russia's Black Sea Shore The oil muck now covers up to 50 kilometers of shoreline. 1 Min read In Photos: Artist Pavel Krisevich's Prison Drawings Go On Display in Amsterdam The performance artist and activist, who is recognized as a political prisoner by Memorial, continues to create art from prison that reflects his bleak... 1 Min read Portraits of New Emigrants Fleeing War and Repression An art show in Riga presents portraits of Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians and Uzbeks who fled their homelands. 1 Min read
In Local Courtyards, a Glimpse of Russian Football Jul 04, 2018 - 01:28 pm In a courtyard in Balashikha, a town near Moscow, the rules are strict: Show up late to the game, and you’ll have to watch from the sidelines. Pavel Zelenkov / MT The leader of the game can ask his friends to do almost everything he wants and it will be done – even if he asks them to tie his shoelaces. Pavel Zelenkov / MT In the winter, many courtyard football pitches are turned into ice rinks. But now, with temperatures nearing 30 degrees Celsius, players are looking to stay cool. Pavel Zelenkov / MT Despite the summer heat, these players in the neighborhood between the Aeroport and Dynamo metro stations prefer to play the game in their blue jeans. Pavel Zelenkov / MT Even the goalkeeper doesn’t wear special gear in this courtyard near the Aeroport Metro. Pavel Zelenkov / MT A group of boys abandon a football that’s been kicked around a few too many times. Pavel Zelenkov / MT Young students scrimmage in the schoolyard while taking in the midsummer sun on a football pitch between the Tyoply Stan and Konkovo metros. Pavel Zelenkov / MT Some younger boys want to be professional football players when they grow up. Let’s see where they land in twenty years. Pavel Zelenkov / MT An apartment block looms between the Tyoply Stan and Konkovo metros at the edges of the city, a vivid remnant of Soviet construction. Pavel Zelenkov / MT Some people play football even in the city center, near Metro Novokuznetskaya. Sometimes, adults need to rest after a long game. Pavel Zelenkov / MT A boy walks away from his friends in a courtyard near Metro Dynamo after a squabble over who can take the football home after the game. Pavel Zelenkov / MT Far from the World Cup stadiums, young footballers are battling it out in the courtyards right outside their homes. Read more about: World Cup
