Robbie Williams entertains us at World Cup opening ceremony.

Robbie Williams entertains us at World Cup ceremony.

It had been a mild and moderately warm Moscow afternoon. Then, suddenly from the corner of our eyes a young gentleman from Stoke on Trent danced across the vast acres of grass of the Luzhniki Stadium and a nation that could barely believe what they were seeing, burst into wild cheering and applause. This was the moment they'd all been waiting for and they weren't about to miss the opportunity to make full capital out of what could only be regarded as the finest their sporting public had ever seen.

In 1980 this same stadium had been the host to one of the most controversial Olympic Games when, after politics and sport met in a head on collision nobody seemed to achieve anything of note. There were boycotts, petty behind the scenes arguments and tit for tat reprisals. The USA, for reasons best known to themselves, decided not to turn up for the Olympic party and then four years later Russia somewhat spitefully reciprocated the gesture.

But now FIFA, in their infinite wisdom - or maybe that should be utter ignorance if you were to believe some seasoned football commentators- handed the World Cup to Russia because perhaps they felt that bygones should be bygones and football is essentially the global game without the complicated baggage that comes with it. Those in the higher echelons had chosen Russia rather than political mind games and nonsensical back biting.

 This was a time for a World Cup football festival rather than some Communist uprising led by military activists and Vladimir Putin's alleged anarchists. But this is surely not the time for any hard feelings or bitter resentment in the Kremlin. This was the time to bury the historical hatchet, forgetting swiftly about the evil dictatorships of Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin. It was that moment in time when the whole of Russia made up its mind to concentrate on the present day rather than the grisly and gruesome past.

Yesterday Russia welcomed the world footballing community with a typical bear hug of affection. There was a sense indeed that old scores had to be settled and a feeling of warm reconciliation could only be of wholesome long term benefit to global footballing harmony. We know all about those vindictive squabbles that had so often irreparably scarred the Olympic Games both in Moscow and the USA. Now was the time to stop those nasty and heated exchanges in back rooms and just get on with the business of the World Cup.

And so we return to our contemporary rock star of the World Cup opening ceremony. He supports Port Vale and he is the unmistakable, incomparable Robbie Williams. Yes folks Robbie Williams. Here was Williams at his most flamboyant, cocksure and confident, a modern pop icon whose cheeky schoolboy charisma and jokey relationship with the equally as famous boy band Take That captured the collective female hearts of the world. Williams then pursued a  solo career that soared phenomenally to the highest of heights.

Ladies and Gentleman! Will you put hands together for Robbie Williams, your master of ceremonies for quite possibly the shortest World Cup opening ceremony in recent times. The mind went back to Euro 96 in England when, with some of the most original production values in the history of opening ceremonies we were given medieval jousts, men on horses galloping across the old Wembley and a whole panoply of English traditions which made yesterday's damp squib look much like a tea party from an Alice in Wonderland classical tale.

Still, this was Robbie Williams and once again this strutting showman with the twinkly red jacket and trousers, reminded us once again that football and music can still strike the happiest of mediums. Another unfortunate memory from World Cups from yesterday takes the mind back to USA 1994 when the legendary soul diva Diana Ross burst out of a football in 90 degrees of heat and then farcically flapped at a pretend penalty kick which still remarkably found the net.

The fact remains that Williams had been entrusted with the daunting task of kicking off the World Cup in 2018 and had achieved a lifelong ambition that perhaps he felt would never come to fruition. The 20 minute set of course was the ultimate in cheesiness and corny light entertainment. But then  we somehow suspected that something bizarre and unusual would come to life as the most pleasant of surprises.

Williams surrounded himself with a showbizzy cast of men and women in football related costumes, jumping up and down, giggling helplessly, prancing around gleefully, enjoying their moment in the limelight. There were circus acts, shooting flames lighting up the stadium in the manner of a wondrous light show and then the court jester who was the World Cup mascot. There were high jinks, frivolous party pieces and an opera singer who sounded as if she couldn't quite believe where she was and what was happening around her.

Then Robbie gave us his extensive back catalogue, a fusion of classic standards and great rock tunes. His opening number immediately ignited the crowd with a joyous Williams masterpiece. 'Let Me Entertain You' was Williams at his best, a song that almost sounded like a Williams autobiography that may be about to be written.

Now the man from Stoke on Trent was firing on all cylinders, larking around uninhibitedly with all the restless enthusiasm of a teenager about to make his debut at Glastonbury. 'I Just Want to Feel' was and remains feelgood, full of passion and vibrancy and the kind of song that sounds as though it belongs at a lively wedding disco. This was Williams in his pop concert pomp, a man who'd suddenly been given the keys to the toy cupboard and allowed the full range of expression.

And finally Robbie gave us 'Loving Angels', a slower and more thoughtful ballad number that came directly from the passionate Williams heart. What we had here was a genuine football supporter clearly articulating his love for the Beautiful Game. He remains steadfastly loyal to his Port Vale team and for this he must be commended. But Robbie Williams and World Cup football opening ceremonies will probably occupy a very unique place in the folklore of Wold Cup history. It may never happen again but then whoever thought Russia would ever be the hosts for this blue riband of football tournaments. Robbie, you were superb.