A young Russian football fan with cerebral palsy has been made an honorary reporter for the Russian Football Union (RFU)’s official website for Russia’s friendly match against Iran on Tuesday.
Mad-keen football supporter Dmitry Korchagin received the offer to produce material for the RFU’s official website during the game at Kazan Arena, the home of his heroes Rubin Kazan, during an open training session on Monday.
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Korchagin, who uses a wheelchair due to his condition, which affects a sufferer’s movement and develops in childhood, said he was “thrilled” at the news.
“Of course, I am thrilled! This is great news. I will write about the game, about football. Tomorrow, I’m going to work at the Russia v Iran game,” Korchagin told journalists, R-Sport reported.
“From the Russian national team, I really like the Miranchuk brothers (Anton and Aleksey). They are very creative players, the game is built through them, they are great playmakers. We don’t have enough of those types of players,” he added.
During the session, Korchagin, who donned a Russia cap for the event, met with Russia national team manager Stanislav Cherchesov, and also shook hands with the Russia squad as they took to the pitch for training. The players included Igor Akinfeev and Korchagin’s heroes, the Miranchuk brothers.
Ahead of Russia’s Confed Cup tie with Mexico at Kazan Arena, Korchagin wrote a letter to the Russian players, telling of his dream to one day become a football manager.
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In response, the players invited Korchagin to attend their open training session before the game, where they presented him with a signed football.
