“YOU COULDN’T BE more wrong,” came the response.
The question was whether the Estonian language is any way related to Russian. And the answer was laced with disdain.
Mikhal, the Estonian national team’s PR officer, then explained exactly why.
“It’s very close to Finnish. That would be like me asking you whether the Irish language is related to English.”
And Mikhal would know. He speaks six languages. And, like many people from recently independent nations, he’s fiercely patriotic. Indeed, when Estonia first re-established their national side in the early ’90s, there was a big enough debate about whether the 30% of the population who were ethnically Russian should even be considered.
Certainly, such revelations were in-keeping with a day in which we came to know Tallinn quite well. The question itself came to while away an idle moment before their manager Tarmo Ruutli got his press conference under way. And from there, in the north-west of the city, it was down to the south-east to take in Trapattoni’s. Take in a jaunt through the Old Town and we’ve seen quite a lot of a relatively small city in just 24 hours.
The Estonians, however, are arguably even prouder of their capital city than they are nationalistic. Indeed, their press conference was bookmarked by two local ladies plugging the ‘keep it clean’ campaign. It’s a national initiative which they’re hoping to spread internationally and, without doubt, Tallinn is one of the most spotless cities you’re ever likely to set foot in.
It remains to be seen whether that will be the same on Friday night, however. Because, in a country where football was initially viewed with some suspicion due to its supposedly Soviet connections, the Estonians are absolutely captivated by this play-off.
There’s wall-to-wall coverage in the media, every taxi driver talking about it… and that’s despite many admitting they don’t usually care about the game. There’s even talk of setting up a fanzone in the Old Town square in order to celebrate the occasion.
Indeed, it’s for that reason that a lot of Irish fans coming over ticketless might find themselves out of luck. Entry to this game is just as prized by the locals… well, almost.
The local rumour mill – and a fair degree of anecdotal evidence – has claimed that tickets are being offered to Estonian fans for €50 but Irish fans for €100.
That would itself reflect a general rise in prices across the city.
Other than alcohol (it admirably remains about €2 a pint) and taxis, Tallinn has become much more expensive over the last few years. Indeed, many locals are complaining that they fear it’s driving tourists away… while not exactly keeping the same pace as their rise in wages.
Against Ireland, however, the hope is that it doesn’t correspond with a rise in their national team’s fortunes as well.
