The best player of Honduras instead of ‘Uzbek Beckenbauer': how Rubin updates its defence

The Kazan team parted ways with Rustam Ashurmatov and signed Denil Maldonado

Over the past 24 hours on 10 July, Rubin announced two deals. On Wednesday, Rustam Ashurmatov officially left the team, moving to the Iranian Esteghlal, and on Thursday, Kazan signed Denil Maldonado. The transfers were completed within 24 hours and affected the defence line — both players play in the position of central defender. Read about how the changes will affect Rubin in the report of Realnoe Vremya.

A million for a player from Honduras

Rubin accompanied the transfer of Denil Maldonado with an original video against the backdrop of construction at the club's base in Kazan. In the frame, the footballer appeared as a driver of a construction crane and lifted his personalized Rubin T-shirt with the number £ on the hook of the car. It turned out to be symbolic — the newcomer should become the first element of the future restructuring of the team.

The Kazan club signed a four-year contract with Maldonado — until the end of the 2028/2029 season. The authoritative transfer portal Transfermarkt estimates the deal at €1 million. At the same time, some other sources claim that the footballer cost more — up to €1.5 million. In any case, his former club — Romanian Universitatea — will receive a little less, since Maldonado's first team, Honduran “Motagua,” retained a percentage of the resale.

взято с сайта rubin-kazan.ru

Rubin became only the second European team for the footballer. Before Kazan, the player played in Romania, where he was first loaned and then bought by the Universitatea club for €500,000. At the same time, before the Romanian part of his career, the defender managed to play on loan for the Mexican Pachuca and Los Angeles from the American MLS.

The best Honduras footballer playing abroad

Despite frequent moves, Maldonado's career is on the rise. His market value increased from 2020 to 2025 from €500,000 to €1.8 million. The last price update occurred in June, jumping up by €600,000 at once.

The increase is well-deserved, if you look at the player's achievements over the past year. Last season, Maldonado became a solid player in the main team of Universitatea. For the Romanian team, the defender played 38 matches in all tournaments, including the Conference League, scored four goals, gave one assist with seven yellow and one red cards.

взято с сайта rubin-kazan.ru

Such a performance did not go unnoticed in the player's homeland. Since November last year, Maldonado has been the captain of the Honduras national team. At the last CONCACAF Cup, under his management, the team reached the semi-finals of the tournament, becoming the main sensation of the competition. The strong Mexicans did not allow the Hondurans to reach the final, with whom the Hondurans had little chance.

In his home country, Maldonado is in special favour. Based on the results of 2024, the Rubin newcomer was awarded the Best Honduras Footballer Playing Abroad award at the DIEZ gala evening, organized by the most prestigious daily newspaper in Honduras.

Instead of the “Uzbek Beckenbauer”

The costs of acquiring Maldonado should be partially covered by the proceeds from the sale of Rustam Ashurmatov. The defender of the Uzbekistan national team has officially transferred to the Iranian Esteghlal. According to some reports, the Iranian club will pay the Kazan team €500,000 for the player's transfer. The Uzbek footballer explained his departure from the Kazan club by his desire to get more playing time.

In the game model with three central defenders, Ashurmatov really did not have many opportunities to prove himself in the main team. The footballer lost the competition for a place in the starting lineup to Yegor Teslenko and Alexey Gritsenko, often replacing them in the national Cup or during injuries and disqualifications.

Динар Фатыхов / realnoevremya.ru

Now, instead of the “Uzbek Beckenbauer,” as fans have nicknamed Ashurmatov, the captain of the Honduras national team will try to strengthen the defence of Rubin. Maldonado, by the way, will become the first footballer from this country to take to the field in the matches of the Russian championship.

As for the game in the centre of defence, there are options. The Kazan newcomer should get a place in the starting line, where he will also have to compete with Teslenko and Gritsenko. At the same time, Maldonado practically did not play in the central trio. In “Universitati” and the national team, he was the leading one in a pair of defenders.

Динар Фатыхов / realnoevremya.ru

There is a possibility that after signing Maldonado, Rubin will try to change the game scheme, switching from five to four in defence. In this case, the team will have an additional option in attack. True, the Honduran's height is a bit disconcerting, although at 183 cm he won 73% of aerial duels (48% of low ones) in the last Romanian championship, and also had 85% pass accuracy.

Be that as it may, Maldonado's transfer should be one of the first steps towards the further transformation of Rubin. The club's management has set Rakhimov the task of raising the team's level, moving away from the role of a mid-table RPL team. After the initial work to retain leaders such as Mirlind Daku, Ilya Rozhkov and others, the Kazan team is on the path of transfer strengthening the roster.

Zulfat Shafigullin

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