Artiga's days at “Rubin” are numbered: will Akhmetzyanov head the Kazan team in the near future?
Did the crushing defeat to “Spartak” with a score of 0:4 predetermine the Spaniard's resignation?
“Rubin” suffered a crushing defeat to “Spartak” in the match of the 11th round of the RPL. The meeting in Moscow ended with the victory of the “red-whites” with a score of 4:0. Has Frank Artiga come close to resigning from “Rubin” in connection with the latest results and is it worth seriously considering “Spartak” as a contender for the title — in the material of “Real Time.”
The countdown of Frank Artiga at “Rubin”
In the last 13 matches “Rubin” has won under Frank Artiga only once. It was on August 30, and the Makhachkala “Dynamo” suffered then (3:1). In the summer it was hard to imagine that by the middle of autumn serious talk would begin about the probable resignation of the head coach of the Kazan team, Frank Artiga. But after today's crushing defeat to “Spartak” (0:4) this is not perceived as something surprising.
In fact, the Spanish coach's countdown at “Rubin” has begun. And if the Kazan team fails in the upcoming RPL meetings with “Krylia Sovetov” and “Fakel," the club from the capital of Tatarstan will be brought to the winter break by a different specialist.
— I am convinced that we will be able to turn the situation around. Two matches await us: “Fakel” and “Krylia Sovetov.” Home matches. They will be like a final. We need to show our reaction, Frank Artiga commented on his difficult position in the team.
“Spartak” was magnificent and gave the spectators a celebration on the day of memory of Nikita Simonyan
Today's defeat of “Rubin” to “Spartak” is hard not to call absolutely logical. From the first half an impression formed that teams from two dimensions were playing. As if on one side came out boys from the yards, and on the other — guys who have been studying at a youth sports school for more than a year.
The “red-whites” surpassed “Rubin” in everything: in movement, ball control, positional play. The outcome of the match could have been decided already in the starting 45 minutes. However, thanks to the goalkeeper Evgeny Staver, “Rubin” still relatively stayed afloat.
The hosts dominated on the field; it would be more correct to say they shone and enjoyed the moment. The goals of Pablo Solari, Manfred Ugarte and the double of Mirlind Daku only confirmed the thought of what power in attack this “Spartak” possesses. And if the team plays with the proper attitude and desire, it is practically impossible to stop it. Such a “Spartak” can bite out the RPL gold from anyone at all — “Krasnodar," “Zenit," “Dynamo," CSKA.
The meeting at the “Lukoil Arena” was timed to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nikita Simonyan, the legendary footballer and the best scorer in the history of “Spartak.” Nikita Pavlovich passed away last autumn. Simonyan worked at the club almost until the last years of his life, leaving an enormous trace in the history of “Spartak.” Paying tribute to the memory of the great footballer, “Spartak” arranged a colorful show in the past evening, and the active fans hung a monumental banner with Simonyan's famous quote: “I am always, from now on and forever and ever, red-white.”
The pathos and pathétique accompanying the match clearly inspired the “Spartak” footballers. Everyone played with inspiration; even the legionnaires rushed into tackles without sparing themselves.
Ildar Akhmetzyanov — the new head coach of “Rubin”?
The crushing score on the scoreboard (4:0) equates the championship ambitions of the “red-whites” and the clearly expressed playing crisis of “Rubin.” Unfortunately, it must be stated that Frank Artiga did not manage to bring to life a single one of the ideas with which he entered the post of head coach of the Kazan club.
“Rubin” does not play attacking football with large ball possession; new original young names have not appeared in the Kazan club with the arrival of the Spaniard.
The Kazan team is at a dead end together with Artiga. If under Rashid Rakhimov there was at least some understanding of at the expense of what “Rubin” can take points from opponents of a higher class (a low defensive block, a sticky straightforward football), then now the team seems to have found itself in a hopeless, stalemate situation. Proceeding from the performances of “Fakel” and “Krylia Sovetov” in the latest meetings, the Kazan team does not look like an obvious favorite in the head-to-head clash with either of these teams.
After 11 rounds “Rubin” has 12 points. Only one point separates the club from the relegation playoff zone. Against the background of the discouraging results, news about a change of head coach at “Rubin” is already appearing in the information field.
The authoritative insider Ivan Karpov reports that upon the completion of the match with “Spartak” the leadership of the Kazan team took a radical decision. “Rubin” activated the option to buy out Ildar Akhmetzyanov from “Orenburg” for 100 million rubles. For now this is, of course, unofficial information, however rumors about the appointment of Akhmetzyanov to “Rubin” have been circulating almost since the beginning of September. The 42-year-old coach did an impressive job with “KAMAZ” in the First League. And the period at “Orenburg” clearly showed that the specialist has matured for a big challenge in his career.
Russian championship. 11th round
Spartak (Moscow) — Rubin (Kazan) — 4:0 (2:0)
October 18. “Lukoil Arena”
1:0 — Solari, 18
2:0 — Ugarte, 43
3:0 — Daku, 65
4:0 — Daku, 90
Spartak: Pomazun, Parada (Denisov, 63), Babic, Litvinov, Zobnin, Prutsev, Umyarov, Barco, Marquinhos (Dmitriev, 63), Solari (Massalyga, 74), Ugarte (Daku, 63).
Rubin: Staver, Rozhkov, Urozov (Teslenko, 69), Vujacic, Lobov, Arroyo, Ivu, Khodzha (Saavedra, 69), Babaev (Gripshi, 46), Salcedo (Motorin, 79), Sive (Bezrukov, 69).
Warnings: Urozov (4), Ugarte (5), Parada (36).