Rubin's first match against Artiga: Rahimov's scheme, Vasiliev's goal, the opponent's «escape»

Rahimov's trio of central defenders remains

The day before the first match, the Rubin press service published an interview with the new head coach of the Kazan team, Frank Artiga. In it, the Spaniard answered pressing questions about the style of play and the scheme the team would use. Regarding the style, the coach will focus on attacking football with ball control. As for the scheme, it doesn't matter much to Artiga.

Be that as it may, Rubin entered the first match with the Spaniard with a trio of central defenders: Nizhegorodov, Vuyachich, Teslenko — as in the days of Rashid Rahimov. Anderson Arroyo and Daniil Kuznetsov acted on the flanks. The latter had a conflict with the former coach of the Kazan team and hadn't played for almost a year. But with Artiga, the Russian player might become a favourite. They have already crossed paths when the Spaniard worked at Rodina.

In the centre of the field were Daler Kuzyaev, Bogdan Jocić and Marat Apshatsev, while Daniil Motorin and Dardan Shabankhadzhay were up front. Several players didn't make the squad at all. Mirlind Daku, Ugochukwu Iwu, Jacques Sive and several other players who missed the end of last year due to injuries are currently working outside the main group at the training camp.

As a result, the starting scheme resembled a variation of 3-4-3 or 5-3-2, with Arroyo and Kuznetsov acting along the flank.

The Serbs almost boycotted the match

The first ten minutes of the match were dominated by IMT. The Serbs had good ball control and organised two dangerous approaches to the Kazan team's goal. In one of them, Evgeniy Staver didn't «play» the ball after coming out of the goal, and in the second, an opponent's player headed the ball wide from the centre of the penalty area.

Then Rubin got a bit used to the Serbs. Artiga's подопечные attacked more often through the flanks, where Kuznetsov and Arroyo were active. One of the flank moves resulted in a corner, after which the referees awarded a penalty. The Serbs did not agree with this controversial decision of the referee.

Initially, it seemed that the players of both teams had agreed to shoot wide. Konstantin Nizhegorodov approached the ball, and from the Kazan coaching bench, a call was heard: «Don't be stupid». As a result, the Rubin player scored, and the opponent's goalkeeper demonstratively «switched off» from the episode — 1:0. In protest, the Serbs left the field, but they were persuaded to return after lengthy negotiations.

And in the time added by the referee, Daler Kuzyaev doubled the Kazan team's lead. The Rubin midfielder shot in one touch after the Serbian defender cleared the ball and sent it into the net from the penalty area line — 2:0.

Vasiliev scored

At half-time, Rubin changed the lineup and brought on fresh players. Evgeniy Staver was replaced in goal by Artur Nigmatullin, and Enri Mukba and Nikita Vasiliev came on up front. The most interesting thing was in the defence line, where instead of three central defenders, two came on: Nikita Lobov and Aleksey Gritsaenko, as well as the full-backs Ilya Rozhkov and Dmitry Kabutov. In the centre of the field were Alexander Lomovitsky, Alexander Zotov and Oleg Ivanov. The role of Nikola Chumich had to be determined later.

As a result, the Serbian winger was positioned on the left flank and acted closer to the attack. On the other side of the field was Vasiliev, who eventually scored the Kazan team's third goal. A product of the Kazan club, he received a pass from Lomovitsky and took a cross, but accidentally sent the ball into the net — 3:0.

Almost immediately, the IMT players scored a goal. The Serbs beautifully played the ball right in the centre of the Kazan defence, and Keita scored — with no chance for Nigmatullin, 3:1.

Artiga reacted to this mistake by his defenders by transforming the scheme, returning to a variation with a trio of central defenders. As a result, the Spaniard's plan worked. However, the attack also faltered. So the match ended without any serious moments, with a score of 3:1.

It's too early to draw conclusions

The Spaniard Frank Artiga started at Rubin with a victory. But one shouldn't get carried away with the result. The first winter training camp for teams is often held under heavy loads. It is still impossible to clearly determine the real strength of the players and the playing schemes. In addition, at the moment, the Kazan team's roster is far from optimal due to injuries.

But some things are already becoming apparent. From the first days, Artiga is trying to trust young players. Motorin, Mukba, Vasiliev — they will definitely get more playing time. At least at the training camp in Turkey. All three should be ready for the fact that in the spring they will become an important part of the starting lineup.

Another obvious «discovery» is that the club needs to part with some players. More than 30 players went to the first training camp. Usually 23–25 players are enough for normal work. It remains only to understand who they will part with and on what terms.

For now, the first names of possible new players are cautiously emerging. Among them are central defender Alexander Martynov from the Turkish Serikspor and midfielder Fawaz Abdullahi from Minsk Dynamo.

Rubin — IMT — 3:1 (2:0, 1:1)
Goals:
1:0 — 35, Nizhegorodov (penalty);
2:0 — 45, Kuzyaev;
3:0 — 50, Vasiliev (Lomovitsky);
3:1 — 53, Keita.

Rubin will play its next match on January 26 at 11:30 Moscow time against the Macedonian Struga. After this game, the team will go on a short break before the second Turkish training camp.