Three former FIFA world players of the year arrived in the Chechen capital of Grozny on Tuesday afternoon ahead of an exhibition match also set to feature the republic's authoritarian leader, Ramzan Kadyrov.
Brazilian star Romario, former German international Lothar Matthaus and Dutch legend - and new Terek Grozny manager - Ruud Gullit were among the stars who flew into this small Russian North Caucasus republic for the game - an unlikely encounter between the Brazilian World Cup winning side of 2002 and an improvised line-up dubbed "Team Grozny".
Dunga, Cafu and Bebeto were also part of the Brazilian delegation, which was greeted by dancing Chechen children and women bearing plates of a national dish, chepalgash.
The stars were flanked by flag-waving members of the Vladimir Putin Patriotic Club and the Kadyrov Patriotic Club youth organizations as they made their way to the coach that would whisk them to their hotel in downtown Grozny.
"The game will provide a boost to the development of Chechnya," the republic's sports minister, Khaidar Alkhanov, said ahead of the arrival of the teams as cries of "Ramzan" and "Russia" rang out in the airport's arrivals hall.
Grozny has been completely rebuilt in the past three years after two brutal wars between federal forces and separatists and a new stadium is due to open in the city in May. Tuesday's game will take place at the Sultan Bilimkhanov stadium, where Kadyrov's father, Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov, was killed by a bomb on May 9, 2004.
Although the situation has stabilized in the republic since what Kadyrov refers to as "the dark days", Islamist militants were able to carry out an attack on the Chechen republic last October, killing three people. Security has been extremely tight ahead of the match, with Kalashnikov-wielding police, as well as members of Kadyrov's personal guard, visible on every corner.
Equally as visible throughout Grozny are the ubiquitous portraits of the Kadyrovs, Prime Minister Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev.
Despite allegations that the players are being manipulated by former militant Kadyrov, who has been accused of human rights abuses and fostering a cult of personality, the game is set to prove a public relations success for Chechnya and boost the Kremlin's attempts to present the image of a revitalized Chechnya.
Speaking at a news conference that stretched into the early hours of Tuesday, Kadyrov told journalists that he would captain Team Grozny against the Brazilians. He also said the players were not being paid for their participation in the match.
"They are coming out of respect for the Chechen people," he said.
GROZNY, March 8 (RIA Novosti)
