Football Season Guide

After four very difficult years Rubin Kazan returned to a trusted source and legendary coach Kurban Berdyev returned to the club this summer, replacing the major disappointment Javi Garcia. Not so long ago, Berdyev was the one that led Rubin to back-to-back titles and the Tatars are expected to be amongst the contenders again. The returning manager brought with him several players from Rostov and he is obviously trying to improve their defensive stability. Apart from these new signings, the only other players back in the fold are those that returned from loan spells but Rubin have a really big squad and it seems that Berdyev is happy to work with those available. Dzhanaev arrives with the promise to replace veteran Ryzhikov between the posts while both Granat and Kudryashov are expected to be regulars in the new backline. Rubin are yet to settle on a preferred formation and, so far, the pre-season has been for experimenting but knowing Berdyev and his ability to see things nobody else can see, the Tatars guarantee to be a very tough nut to crack. With at least two players fiercely competing for every position on the pitch it is almost certain that a lot of rotation will be taking place as the weeks roll by, but one thing certain about Rubin is that this year they are expecting to be extremely solid defensively and also to improve in attack. Berdyev is also famous for improving young players and both Catkas and Akhmetov are likely to be involved in many games this season. Jonathas and Kanunnikov will lead the attack but new boy Azmoun will be used a lot too. The popularity of Berdyev is such that nobody wants to leave Rubin these days, the players prefer to sit on the bench than to go out on loan, and everyone's mindset seems to be on winning matches and working hard for the team.