Photo: Sport BO.
Last month, one of Russian Football News’ partners, Kazan-based Sport Business Online (Sport BO), published a two-part interview with Rubin Kazan manager Kurban Berdyev, which took place in early January. Berdyev, who is arguably one of the RFPL’s greatest ever managers, is notoriously introverted and has never given an interview of this length and detail before. In total, the Turkmen spoke with Sport BO’s Vladislav Zimagulov and Airat Shamilov for almost seven hours. An interview of this magnitude and rarity was something we wanted to share with our readers, and so Sport BO has given us permission to translate and publish segments of the interview in English on our website.
Here we present to you Part Two, in which Berdyev exclusively discusses his second spell at Rubin since he returned in the summer.
We must note that this was conducted before the end of the transfer window, so some parts are out of date but have chosen to publish the full interview.
The original article in Russian can be found here.
I KNEW THERE WOULDN’T BE ANY IMMEDIATE RESULT
You achieved much success in Rostov. What motivated you to return to Rubin? Perhaps you should’ve continued to build the team there?
Rostov has a good president now, the governor also promised to support the team, it’s going to be all right with them. But when I got an offer from Rubin… We agreed immediately. Didn’t even think about it. We knew there’s going to be a lot of hard work.
Did you talk with Rustam Minnikhanov before returning?
No, I didn’t. I congratulated him on his jubilee, our relationship is normal. Moreover, I’m grateful to him for his help in one private situation. He helped with a family problem, acted very decently.
So, you didn’t want to prove anything to those in Kazan while you worked with Rostov?
Proving anything to anybody isn’t my nature. Even to myself. We’re trying to work like we ought to. When I’m told I have to prove something, I’m always baffled. Prove what? To whom? I’m just working as I see, as it’s ought to be right. If I fail, then it’s my fault. That’s it.
When I returned to Rubin, I’d hear, “You should prove.” Allah as my witness, I’ve never had a single thought about “proving”! We returned because we saw the infrastructure crumbling. Everything we spent years to build isn’t in the best shape, to put it mildly. And our goal is to rebuild that. We understood that there wouldn’t be any immediate result, especially after the first training camp when we saw that there was no battle-ready collective, the players were apathetic.
Even the young guys? Aren’t Akhmetov or Zhemaletdinov motivated enough by an opportunity to work with Berdyev?
Zhemaletdinov has only started to change very recently. He’s got a great potential, but mentally, there’s still a lot of work. You have to have the desire to learn. I hope he will change. He’s got potential. Akhmetov has changed in the last few matches. Yes, he’s good in training now.
Looking from the outside, Moritz Bauer looks like the most professional player. Is that true? (The interview was conducted a few days before several players mentioned below left the club.)
Yes, he’s very professional. But football-wise, he’s got some huge shortcomings. There was a time when I finally lost my patience with him. I asked him, before everyone’s eyes, “Moritz, the ball is here, here’s the situation, where should you be?” “Here.” “Are you sure?” “I am sure.” Then I play the video, and he’s standing in a totally different place, and we get a goal from his zone.
What about Caktas?
He’s a bit different: very diligent. But he’s not as consistent as Bauer, he doesn’t have a habit of keeping his level high. As soon as he’s out of practice, he fades. And Bauer, regardless of whether he’d played, still works hard at the training, stays in the gym afterwards. He’s a typical German, very hardworking. Caktas’ level is good, but not consistently.
It’s somewhat unclear with Rochina. He looks just like the creative type you need…
He’s accustomed to playing often. Asking me, “Why I am not in the squad?” We explained why and showed him a video of training. He’s great on the ball, no questions, but as soon as he’s off the ball, he just disappears. There are structural positions in attack and defence, and he’s assigning himself a free role. One wrong position is enough to break the entire structure. He’s playing like he wants. He’s trying to change, but still, he’s demoralized when he doesn’t play. He’s not Bauer, not Kambolov.
Does Kambolov work hard too?
If he’s injured and doesn’t play, he’s upset. He goes to the gym, works out, wants to play, to return to the field. It’s very obvious that he gets upset.
Photo: Sport BO.
RUBIN PLAYERS HAVE TO CHANGE THEIR LIFESTYLE
You said you’d changed the entire training process. Why?
I did, and the players came alive. It comes very hard for them, but they weren’t ready for that from the outset because their inner perception was different. We’re talking about mentality again. You have to change your lifestyle, your everything! Your attitude towards small things, professional conduct in everyday life. There were small things that the players weren’t paying attention to, at all.
For instance?
Passing to the far foot. Someone just passes the ball, and that’s all. But the pass to the far foot is a deciding factor for many attacks! And this became so habitual to the players that they just don’t notice this. Another moment is concentration: how many games have we lost because of the lack of it? We don’t have maximum concentration. And Rubin’s squad as a whole doesn’t have the skill to keep this concentration. They don’t have it now, and they didn’t have it before. And this is caused by mentality.
Can you change the mentality?
Yes, it’s possible. But if a man is satisfied with everything, his life is good, what concentration can we talk about? And why? The team wins – OK, he gets a couple more thousands as a bonus. What does it change if his salary is in the millions? Why should he work harder if he’s already satiated?
Are all players like that, or are there some “hungrier” players?
Yes, there are. There are some professionals, such as Yann M’Vila.
That was unexpected.
Yes! He’s born with that, brought up with that. There was a small episode near the beginning when he also acted “satiated”. But I told him in the training camp, “Yann, you’re different, aren’t you?” M’Vila said, “Coach, I understood.” We talked for just five minutes.
What about Song? He played in England. Doesn’t he have that professional mentality?
How many games did he play? And when? In the last few years, he was either used as a substitute or rotated regularly. He didn’t have that stable regimen of regular 90-minute games throughout the season. He’s got great potential ball control-wise, but his playing discipline leaves much to be desired. He’d come to me too and ask, “Coach, why am I not playing?” And then family troubles began. He’s very emotional, and when he had problems with his wife, this greatly hampered his footballing abilities. I could’ve rebooted his career, but family problems proved to be too much for him. He’d come and say, “I can’t do that anymore, can I go home?”
And others?
The others have only recently started to transform, before the game against Zenit in Kazan. I saw then that the team has indeed changed, and it’s different mentally. I told the coaches that after Zenit, we’d be changing the training process, and we did.
What exactly did you change?
These changes concern combinational play and footballing intelligence. We need to improve that. Before that, we had simpler solutions: some practised combinations, discipline, and that’s about all. We mostly improvised didn’t train positional attack. Yes, the price of a mistake is very high, but now, I’m giving the players the right to make mistakes. This allows you to control the ball more confidently. Big teams know how to keep concentration, and they’re playing second halves even better than the first.
Do the European coaches have to explain the simplest things too? Such as passing to the far foot, working harder at training, etc.?
They’re professionals. Take Navas, for instance. He’s still got the ability to play on the high level in him – this is professionalism, too. He doesn’t think about that, he’s doing some things automatically – he learned all that at the youth level. Why have we invited Spanish coaches to our youth team years ago? Because they helped to develop a worldview and playing philosophy. But then they were fired, and their work was totally undone. We’re planning to restore that.
Can you evaluate Lestienne? He scored a few goals, but recently, he often winds up at the bench…
Well, Maxime is a victim of the system with three centre-backs. If we had two fast centre-backs in the squad, we could’ve played with four defenders and Lestienne at the wing. He’s a natural winger. He’s accustomed to getting the ball at the flank, then dribbles past someone. He’s still good, he’s very good in training. But when we played 5-4-1 or 5-3-2 and tried to use him, he’s still going to the wing. He grew up as a winger, he’s accustomed to receiving the ball there, and one of his strengths is the ability to move towards the centre after that. But he’s bad at receiving the ball in the centre.
Can he still help the team?
He’s good in training, I can’t blame him. He changed his attitude. There are no problems that were written about earlier anymore. But he wants out because he’s in a hard financial situation. His wife was ill, underwent heart surgery. Still, she came here, and he asked for time off to be at the operation. His life isn’t easy. It crushes him, sometimes he’s not himself. But he’s still working very hard! However, he’ll leave, it’s hard for him and his wife to live here.
Can Nabiullin grow into a serious player? Many are waiting…
In the last matches, we saw the Nabiullin we all needed. His problems were tactical, he didn’t always understand all the intricacies. It’s a very difficult position. We’re calling fullbacks “the broadsiders”. In each situation, you have to make an individual decision based on the position of the ball, opponent and yourself. It’s more or less clear in other positions, but here, it’s harder. It also entails a huge workload: you go forward, then you go back. Nabiullin, Bauer, Kuzmin and Kudryashov have the most workload in the entire team. They have two hearts. In the last matches, Nabiullin becomes exactly the one we need. And he’s feeling that himself, he’s getting inspired. He’s changed mentally, and I hope he’ll be growing further.
There were rumours that Rubin were ready to sell him…
In the summer, they were indeed. There was interest, some talks, but no official offers. But the club needs him. I see that by his last matches, especially with Lokomotiv, where he indeed looked great.
Karadeniz is playing a bit more and more effectively. But it’s probably too hard for him physically now?
We have only a few fighters who can play until their last breath. Most players don’t like to leave their comfort zone, but Karadeniz is a fighter. His contribution to Rubin’s history is enormous, and he deserves great respect. Karadeniz is always giving his 100 percent in the training.
Does he have coaching ambitions?
He wanted to study under us in Rostov when he didn’t know we were going back to Rubin yet. We need to look at his potential. But he’s summarizing all training, watches a lot of matches. Sometimes he asks what games should he watch. I advise him, “Watch Napoli and Manchester City and write a report.” He wrote a report; not bad for a player, too green for a coach, but he’s got potential. He’s stubborn: if he’s determined to achieve something, he will.
Who are the key players in Rubin’s squad? Whom are you building your team around, who determines the climate, the team spirit?
As of now, it’s Navas, Ryzhikov, Kambolov, Karadeniz and Kuzmin – they are not indifferent. They know how to win titles and how much hard work is involved. Ruslan can even raise his voice on someone, he’s very demanding to himself and demands the same thing from others. I see him more like a defender, but currently, we’re having to use him in the midfield. I don’t know who’s going to come and leave in the winter, so I can’t tell which position he’ll be at.
I MADE A LIST OF PLAYERS WITH WHICH I GUARANTEED A EUROPA LEAGUE QUALIFICATION
Which positions would you like to strengthen during the winter? Which new players would you like to sign, regardless of the club’s financial woes?
We need a creative centre midfielder. It would be hard to find one. There are some variants, but I don’t know if we’d be able to loan them.
Is it true that you wanted to sign Kuzyaev to Rubin?
Yes. And there was a good chance to make this transfer come true. We wanted to get Poloz, Erokhin and Kuzyaev.
So you weren’t surprised with his progress this season?
No, Daler is a clever player. Kuzyaev loses the ball very rarely, it’s important for a midfielder. His work rate and field vision is great. We wanted to sign Kuzyaev back when we were at Rostov, but couldn’t reach an agreement with his former club.
Were these transfers authorized by the board?
I made a list of players, and I said that with this lineup, we’d guarantee a Europa League qualification. But the club didn’t know what to do with other players. We told them, “Do with them what you will but buy these players, and I’ll get Europa League.” We wouldn’t challenge for the championship in the first year, but we would get the Europa League. The club agreed, but then talks began about financial fair play, there was a pause, and Zenit swooped in and signed all three players. First, you can’t get this player, then you can’t get that player… After that, I understood that it’s going to be difficult.
You haven’t mentioned Noboa. What’s going on with him? Did he lose motivation?
I don’t know what’s going on inside of him. Perhaps he sees that he’s not in the coach’s plans, and this affects his morale. Cristian is training, but everybody’s getting their chances but him. This situation can break you. He’s still got a lot of health left in him. He can find good defensive positions, intercept the ball, close the zone.
Was he a key player in your Rostov?
Yes, especially in the European matches. He was playing at his absolute best, concentrated, gave his all in his matches. He scored goals against Anderlecht, Bayern, made several assists.
Can he return to Rubin?
Only on loan, and even this depends on Rubin’s financial situation. There’s a lot of questions.
How can you evaluate your chances of Europa League qualification? Is that still possible?
The gap is big, but there’s always a chance. It all depends on the club’s situation.
Everyone thought that Berdyev was a wizard who could immediately get a result. And now it turns out that he’s not a wizard, and he needs certain conditions…
I agree. This is a good thing: everyone should understand that miracles do not exist.
Why didn’t this magic happen this season?
At the first training camp, I’ve already understood that I wouldn’t get much because the players are different mentally: they aren’t hungry, aren’t working hard, aren’t giving all they got. It was different in Rostov. In Rostov, I had a team of fighters who got stuck in. They spared nobody, themselves included. And here, the players are different, they need some work. They are different mentally. Why I’m talking about mentality that much? Because Rostov’s magic was based on mentality, passion and desire. We don’t have that here, but I’m sure we’ll get it.