Rubin is on the right track, but it’s early to relax
About what goals the team has in the championship in winter break
The spring part of the football championship of Russia will start in a month. On 5 March, Kazan will host Kuban from Krasnodar. The Kazan club's training camp is at its height. Realnoe Vremya sports staff estimates Rubin's first steps in the transfer market and training fields of Portugal.
Chaly's next debut
It should be reminded that on 3 February, Valeriy Chaly's players started have their second training camp in Spain. In Malaga, Kazan planned to have three test matches with Litex (Bulgaria) and Amkar (Perm, Russia). Marbella or Linense, the second-division local teams, will be its third rival. The training camp will be over on 15 February. Meanwhile, this winter pre-season will be an important stage in Chaly's career. We had said that the head coach of Rubin does not have a wide experience as head coach in big football. The current training camps, in fact, are the first attempts of the mentor of Stones and the first serious work on preparation of the team for the championship from scratch.
What about fitness?
In Russian football, there are de facto two pre-season trainings in one calendar season due to the efforts made by Giner and Fursenko. The gigantic pause makes the clubs prepare for the second part of the championship as a fully-fledged start in the new season. In this stage, the most important task is to lay the foundation of the physical and functional state of the team. Before the first training camp in Portugal, there was an anxiety concerning this aspect of the matter. May we remind you that Yevgeniy Bondarenko, the previous fitness coach of Rubin, had to leave the club together with Bilyaletdinov, Sorokin and Gromov.
We have no idea what conflict Bondarenko had with Chaly and Kuznetsov; Bondarenko actively worked when Bilyaletdinov was the head coach. In the first part of the season, Rubin probably was the most 'running' team of the championship. We remember its victories over CSKA at home and over Dinamo in an away match, when Kazan had an advantage over strong rivals thanks to its physical state.
Undoubtedly, it was Bondarenko's merit, too. He is a representative of the classic Soviet system of preparation of athletes. Nevertheless, he was asked to leave the club, so the team had no fitness coach till the winter break. It is clear that it was nonsense not to have a coach. Consequently, the new administration of Rubin found a substitution. Did it find the coach in the right place?
Will Spanish PE teacher fill the bill in Russia?
Miquel Gomila, a Spanish specialist, occupied the niche. He started to work with the team in Portugal. Miquel graduated from the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia in Lleida, has two master's degree and UEFA PRO category. He taught at universities in Lleida and Barcelona. And, finally, Miquel worked as fitness coach in Lleida and Espanyol.
So, the qualification of the new member of the coaching staff of Rubin is not debatable. And it is not doubtful. However, Gomila has worked only in Spain where they focus on coordination, flexibility, pass and possession, while Soviet and Russian football has its own historical gimmicks – classic physical preparation: strength, endurance, speed and acceleration. It is unnecessary to give examples of it. The freshest success of the Russian national football team (Euro 2008) is based on excellent classic physical preparation. The start of the spring part of the championship will demonstrate whether Gomila is able to change stresses in his work. In my opinion, even ten Spanish specialists cannot make Russian players play like Spaniards.
First training camp in Portugal and its estimation
I won't pose myself as a football coach, we will see the results of the training process on 5 March. I will say that Kazan had two test matches in Lagos and achieved a 50% result.
On 24 January, Rubin met with local Esperanza de Lagos. The fresh players of Kazan had the time of their lives with the representatives of the regional league of Portugal and scored 6 goals.
In 4 days, that freshness disappeared, as it is to be during training camps. And the next rival was stronger. On 28 January, Rubin closed the programme of the first winter camp in Lagos with a match against Górnik Łęczna (Poland). The Polish players needed 33 seconds to score the goal, so they won the match. The summary of the game is that theoretically, Rubin has a good physical preparation. Valeriy Chaly confirms it.
It is suspicious that football players are delighted with training camps
'The coaching staff liked the final test match with the Polish team because the players had planned amount of training load,' according to the official page of Rubin. 'It is important that the players made efforts and worked well during two halves. Concluding all training camp, I emphasize that we did what we planned. I would like to express my gratitude to the administration for all offered facilities and to the players for dedication and the amount of load they performed.'
The coach's position is logical and clear. However, the players' opinions cause alarm. Players usually work up a sweat during camps and are not delighted with them. Especially Maksim Kannunikov's words cause concern. He said that the training camp finished quickly.
'I think we had successful training camps. We performed all amount of work and training load that was offered. To tell the truth, the training camp finished quickly, physical loads augmented gradually. It was perceivable that the team was better day after day. I suppose it is a right approach,' the player stated.
We will hope that Maksim will also like the second training camp in Spain. Valeriy Lobanovsky said that, 'Player must suffer during the training'. This is right. Rubin goes to Portugal and Spain to work, not to rest.
Rumours are our everything
And the administration of Rubin is aware of it. In any case, transfer rumours about new players of Rubin always exist. There is no final decision concerning the transfers of Shirokov, Cristaldo and Ryazantsev. Recently Kirill Kombarov, a defender of Spartak who does not take part in the training camp with the Moscow club, joined the team. The agent of the player Pavel Andreyev commented transfer rumours about his client's future in Dinamo and Rubin in the newspaper Sovetskiy Sport. It it to be noted that Spartak decided not to extend the contract with the player whose current agreement with the club expires in June.
Is it true that Kombarov will go to Rubin?
At present, no.
Is Dinamo still considered?
No.
As we can see, the work in the offices of football functionaries is humming. Only matches of the championship will show the result of Rubin.