MOSCOW (AFP) - Legends of world football issued effusive praise on Thursday for the strongman chief of war-torn Chechnya, a hate figure for rights activists, after playing a bizarre friendly in the region's capital.
Retired stars including Diego Maradona and Luis Figo walked on to the pitch of Grozny's gleaming new stadium on Wednesday to gasps of delight from 30,000 fans who are still rebuilding lives from the legacy of nearly two decades of war.
Their 5-2 defeat to a team spearheaded by Chechnya's controversial leader Ramzan Kadyrov—who scored three goals to the Argentinian superstar's one—seemed only to reaffirm the diplomatic significance of the match.
"Grozny is developing. Its infrastructure is getting better all the time," Figo told the Sport Express newspaper after the match ended in the early hours Thursday.
"The atmosphere was just wonderful," Baresi told state-run RIA Novosti.
Costacurta told the same Russian news agency that he enjoyed the concert put on by Kadyrov's government and "was happy to come here".
The team of internationals slipped into Chechnya under tight security only hours before the match for a late night kick-off to play the second such exhibition in the North Caucasus in two months.
Kadyrov had already led a local squad against a group of retired Brazilian World Cup champions on March 8.
That event was also billed as an effort to revive Chechens' spirit through sport and prove to the sceptical world media that the region was not such a dangerous place.
But at least one member of the Brazilian squad later admitted he deeply regretted giving his stamp of approval to the rule of a man who is accused by right groups of overseeing government-sanctioned abductions and torture.
"I took part in something that I strongly condemn, I participated in a manifestly political event in a context that was unknown to me, without understanding the consequences or the intentions," Rai wrote in his blog after returning to Brazil.
It was not clear what the terms of the players' contracts were.
Rights activists said Kadyrov has skilfully struck a cord with the locals by using football to revive Chechens' self-belief and invigorate support for his rule.
He has used the financial backing of the Chechen diaspora across Russia to hire former Dutch great Ruud Gullit to coach the local squad and has even suggested using his new stadium to host formal international events.
"I know the significance football has in Chechnya," said Memorial rights group Caucasus expert Alexander Cherkasov.
"When they held their first match (after the wars) three years ago, it was celebrated across the entire republic," Cherkasov said.
But activists also questioned why few in Russia wonder where Kadyrov gets the resources to build stadiums and finance trips by global stars while the region struggles through post-war reconstruction.
"The Chechens love their football. But the kind of resources being poured into a show like this—that is just a populist move," said Human Rights Watch researcher Tatyana Lokshina.
The match was broadcast in full on late-night state television and featured a special segment listing Kadyrov's accomplishments in Chechnya.
The bearded former field commander later told the network that this was only the start.
"I hope that our next event is even more spectacular," Kadyrov said after walking off the pitch.
Retired stars including Diego Maradona and Luis Figo walked on to the pitch of Grozny's gleaming new stadium on Wednesday to gasps of delight from 30,000 fans who are still rebuilding lives from the legacy of nearly two decades of war.
Their 5-2 defeat to a team spearheaded by Chechnya's controversial leader Ramzan Kadyrov—who scored three goals to the Argentinian superstar's one—seemed only to reaffirm the diplomatic significance of the match.
"Grozny is developing. Its infrastructure is getting better all the time," Figo told the Sport Express newspaper after the match ended in the early hours Thursday.
"Things are only going to improve in Grozny. People are living well," Figo said.
The comments carried by Russian news agencies from the likes of Italy's Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta echoed that praise."The atmosphere was just wonderful," Baresi told state-run RIA Novosti.
Costacurta told the same Russian news agency that he enjoyed the concert put on by Kadyrov's government and "was happy to come here".
The team of internationals slipped into Chechnya under tight security only hours before the match for a late night kick-off to play the second such exhibition in the North Caucasus in two months.
Kadyrov had already led a local squad against a group of retired Brazilian World Cup champions on March 8.
That event was also billed as an effort to revive Chechens' spirit through sport and prove to the sceptical world media that the region was not such a dangerous place.
But at least one member of the Brazilian squad later admitted he deeply regretted giving his stamp of approval to the rule of a man who is accused by right groups of overseeing government-sanctioned abductions and torture.
"I took part in something that I strongly condemn, I participated in a manifestly political event in a context that was unknown to me, without understanding the consequences or the intentions," Rai wrote in his blog after returning to Brazil.
It was not clear what the terms of the players' contracts were.
Rights activists said Kadyrov has skilfully struck a cord with the locals by using football to revive Chechens' self-belief and invigorate support for his rule.
He has used the financial backing of the Chechen diaspora across Russia to hire former Dutch great Ruud Gullit to coach the local squad and has even suggested using his new stadium to host formal international events.
"I know the significance football has in Chechnya," said Memorial rights group Caucasus expert Alexander Cherkasov.
"When they held their first match (after the wars) three years ago, it was celebrated across the entire republic," Cherkasov said.
But activists also questioned why few in Russia wonder where Kadyrov gets the resources to build stadiums and finance trips by global stars while the region struggles through post-war reconstruction.
"The Chechens love their football. But the kind of resources being poured into a show like this—that is just a populist move," said Human Rights Watch researcher Tatyana Lokshina.
The match was broadcast in full on late-night state television and featured a special segment listing Kadyrov's accomplishments in Chechnya.
The bearded former field commander later told the network that this was only the start.
"I hope that our next event is even more spectacular," Kadyrov said after walking off the pitch.
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