“Barcelona-style” isn't there yet, but “Rubin” under Artiga hasn't lost

Rubin hasn't lost under Artiga yet

The match against “Navbahor” was the closing one for Rubin's second winter training camp in Turkey. So far, the team under new coach Franck Artiga hasn't lost. The Kazan side previously beat Serbian IMT (3:1), Macedonian “Struga” (2:0), and Kazakh “Zhenis” (2:0). The game against the Kazakhs wasn't shown anywhere; by decision of the Kazan team's staff, the match was held behind closed doors. Therefore, the meeting with “Navbahor” was awaited with special trepidation — would they show it?

In the end, the match was shown on the Kazan club's social networks, and Rubin's lineup looked intriguing. Primarily because the attack was to feature a trio of young academy graduates: Daniil Motorin, Nikita Vasiliev, and Enri Mukba. According to a source of “Realnoe Vremya," two of them will definitely get their chance during the season, while one will have to go on loan. So the competition between the players is serious.

Otherwise, the starting lineup looked quite experimental. In central defense played Igor Vujačić, Konstantin Nizhegorodov, and Nikita Lobov; on the flanks operated nominal midfielders Aleksandr Lomovitsky and Daniil Kuznetsov. In midfield, Artiga again trusted veteran Oleg Ivanov and Marat Apshatsev, and in goal, the game started with Yevgeny Staver.

Still not ready to take the field are Mirlind Daku and Ugochukwu Iwu. Not included in the squad for the match against “Navbahor” were Daler Kuzyaev and Dmitry Kabutov. So the Kazan coach was in an unenviable position, having lost several team leaders at once.

Siwe scored again

The first half was not rich in dangerous moments. The teams had good approaches to each other's goals, but there was little real work for the goalkeepers. In attack, Rubin's young Mukba, Motorin, and Vasiliev tried to create. It was their actions that led to the goal. In the 37th minute, Motorin battled for the ball at the corner of the penalty area, Vasiliev broke through on the flank and crossed into the box, from where Mukba finished into the net — 1:0. The scorer had another chance to score but shot over the bar.

Although the opponent looked more interesting than the Kazan side. Periodically, they caught Rubin players on mistakes and broke away in quick counterattacks, but “Navbahor” lacked skill in the final stage of attacks. As a result, it's almost impossible to recall any significant moments at Staver's goal in the first 60 minutes. Rubin's goalkeeper easily dealt with crosses, cutbacks, and deflections.

For the second half, nine changes were made in Rubin's lineup. Only two from the starting lineup remained on the field — Nizhegorodov and Vasiliev. The scheme remained the same — three central defenders with two wing-backs, roles now played by Ilya Rozhkov and Anderson Arroyo. In the center were Adel Teshkin from the reserve team and Veljdin Hodža. The attack featured a trio of Dardan Shabanhaxhaj, Zhak Siwe, and the remaining Vasiliev.

It was the latter who missed a golden chance at the start of the second half. His teammates set up a one-on-one for Vasiliev, but the Kazan midfielder failed to beat the goalkeeper. Then the game turned into a sluggish struggle without chances. So the match dragged on to the 90th minute, and the teams went for a short water break, with three more substitutions made for the Kazan side. Nizhegorodov, Vasiliev, and Nigmatullin were replaced by Nikita Lobov, Daniil Motorin, and Aleksey Kenyaykin, for whom this was his debut for the Kazan team.

After a short pause, Rubin suddenly started moving much better than before. Dardan switched to the left flank, and Rozhkov next to him began acting more boldly. As a result, in the 101st minute, Shabanhaxhaj outran everyone and passed to Siwe, who was accurate — 2:0. For the Frenchman, this goal was already his third in two games at the training camp in Turkey. In the remaining time, Rubin could have scored several more times, but each time something was missing. The score remained 2:0.

And where is the “Barcelona style”?

Overall, the lineup for the second half looked as close to ideal as possible under current conditions: Nigmatullin — Teslenko, Gritsayenko, Nizhegorodov, Rozhkov, Arroyo — Hodža, Teshkin, Vasiliev — Shabanhaxhaj, Siwe. From this list, only the positions of Adel Teshkin and Nizhegorodov raise questions.

And if it's clear with the latter — Igor Vujačić will play there, then there's no one to play as the defensive midfielder. The main player there is Ugochukwu Iwu, who is injured, and Daler Kuzyaev broke a rib and is also out for a long time. As a result, a newcomer will be taken for this position, as Artiga revealed after the game.

Meanwhile, the match against “Navbahor” left a dual impression. On one hand, the Kazan side won and didn't allow the opponent to create a single significant chance. But on the other — Rubin's play under Artiga was no different from what it was earlier under Rashid Rakhimov at the Turkish training camps. And as they say, if there's no difference, why pay more? The declared “Barcelona style” isn't observed yet. However, here it's necessary to make allowances for the fact that Artiga has only just taken charge of the team. And training camp matches often don't correlate at all with performance in official games.

The coach himself has only one more training camp in Turkey to prepare the team for the season's resumption. Already on February 28, Rubin will play its first official match under the Spanish specialist — away against Makhachkala's “Dinamo.” So far, the Kazan side's opponents have been not very strong clubs, but even so, questions remain about the quality of “Rubin's” play. We can only hope that in this couple of weeks, Artiga manages to solve all the problems and set up the team for the spring part of the championship.

Rubin — Navbahor — 2:0 (1:0, 1:0)
Goals:
1:0 — 37, Mukba (Vasiliev);
2:0 — 101, Siwe (Shabanhaxhaj).

Rubin's next match will be on February 15 against Uzbekistan's “Pakhtakor” at 17:00 Moscow time.