Football
Michael Yokhin, ESPN.com writer 8y

Rostov could outdo Leicester under coach Kurban Berdyev

Rostov are the Russian Leicester City, and their players are saying so themselves. Ecuadorian midfielder Christian Noboa used the comparison ahead of the fixture against CSKA Moscow on Saturday, which unbelievably -- absolutely surreally -- turned into the game of the season. Rostov had to win in order to leapfrog their illustrious rivals into the top spot, and win they did, clearly and deservedly.

Iranian striker Serdar Azmoun contributed a sublime assist for his teammate Dmitry Poloz on the stroke of half-time. Late substitute Moussa Doumbia made it 2-0 with the last kick of the game, sending the usually reserved and phlegmatic coach Kurban Berdyev into uncharacteristically wild celebrations on the touchline. "I hope we keep it up and surprise everyone by winning the title. If Leicester can do it, so can we," Azmoun said.

There are, of course, obvious similarities between the cases. Rostov were very poor last season -- in fact, much worse than Leicester -- only avoiding automatic relegation by the skin of their teeth. Level on points with the equally dreadful Torpedo Moscow, they finished ahead of them by the virtue of more games won, and then had to face second-tier Tosno in the playoffs.

After losing a number of important players in the summer, they were expected to struggle again, and many considered them the favourites to go down. Instead, they are top with two thirds of the season gone. This is a miracle, and might even be bigger than Leicester's story if you take all the circumstances into account.

Firstly, we might not have fully understood it at the beginning of the season, but the Foxes' squad is full of world-class players, acquired thanks to their outstanding scouting work. Rostov don't have stars at all, even by Russian Premier League standards. To say that they are performing to the limit of their abilities would be a huge understatement.

Secondly, Leicester are very stable financially. They are light years behind the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City, but their stars are well paid and on time. On the other hand, Rostov have been mismanaged for years. They are almost bankrupt, and their players didn't get paid at all for several months. They nearly went on strike towards the end of last season, and the situation hasn't dramatically changed for the better this term. The club were fined by the Russian FA in October for failing to pay debts. 

It is surprising that the team didn't fall apart, let alone go on to produce the most sensational title challenge in Russian football history -- and one man is responsible for that. It is impossible to overestimate Berdyev's contribution, and his work this season proves beyond doubt that he is one of the best coaches in Europe. Granted, his style is rarely spectacular, but one never expects Rostov to play like Barcelona, or even Leicester for that matter. They just stick to what brings them points.

The biggest previous surprise in Russia occurred when Rubin Kazan won the championship title in 2008, and Berdyev was there as well. He took the reins at Tatarstan-based club in 2001, got them promoted to the Premier League for the first time ever and built a solid mid-table outfit over the years, but nobody expected to see them at the top.

When Rubin won the first seven fixtures in 2008, they were expected to fade away sooner rather than later, but that never happened, and Berdyev wrapped up an extraordinary title with three games to go. Furthermore, Rubin successfully defended the trophy the next season, playing much more attacking and inventive football to boot. They became a respected club in the Champions League as well, famously beating Barcelona at the Camp Nou 2-1 in 2009.

Berdyev is a rather unusual coach in Russia, because he demands total control over the club's activities. At Rubin, he was not only the coach but also vice-president, and took charge of absolutely everything. After some changes in the club's senior management around 2012, his position became weaker, and the team suffered massively. He was eventually fired in sensational circumstances in December 2013, for political reasons rather than the sporting ones.

Thirteen years at Kazan came to an end, and all of Russia wanted to know what the Turkmenian coach was going to do next. Spartak Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg were mentioned as possible destinations at different stages, but they are not clubs that allow coaches a free hand to do as they please. Rostov, in total disarray with a porous defence and seemingly on their way to the second division, were delighted that the veteran agreed to join them in December 2014, but nobody really understood why Berdyev himself took up such a challenge.

It is much clearer now. The 63-year-old saved Rostov last season, and then brought some of the players he knew and trusted from his Rubin days. The most important of them was the 36-year-old Spanish centre-back Cesar Navas, released by Kazan and signed on a free transfer. Azmoun's loan from Rubin has been extended, and then Noboa arrived as well. The Ecuadorian never found his feet after leaving Rubin in 2012, and was delighted to be reunited with his coach.

The new season started with five matches without defeat, and it became obvious that Berdyev's work in the summer training camp had been phenomenal. He inherited a disorganised team but managed to make them the most disciplined unit in the country by a distance. They are not spectacular, often even boring, but they rarely concede goals and can drain the life out of their opponents. Nine clean sheets in 20 matches to date speak for themselves.

Throughout the squad, players have significantly improved under Berdyev. Veteran Moldovan midfielder Alexandru Gatcan was only famous for receiving yellow and red cards, but became the ultimate midfield general. Defender Ivan Novoseltsev, 24, was renowned for proposing to his girlfriend on the football field but is now a legitimate candidate to the national team. Defender Timofei Margasov was totally anonymous, loaned out to second division Sibir last season. This term he hasn't missed a minute of play, and has performed superbly. The list goes on, but Berdyev is the team's only real star.

Remarkably, Russia and CSKA coach Leonid Slutsky didn't name any of Rostov's players in his recent squad, and none of them are likely to go to Euro 2016. That only made the win over Slutsky himself even sweeter for them on Saturday.

"We are not trying to prove anything. We just make our game plans according to opponents. I am grateful to my players for their discipline," Berdyev said after the game. When asked about the objectives, he didn't mention the title. "We are taking it one game at a time," the coach said.

Can they really make it? Rostov's attack is not exciting, to put it mildly, with just 26 goals scored in 20 games -- less than any of the teams in the top half of the table. Their chances of overtaking CSKA in the long term don't look very high, but then again nobody could have imagined they would be anywhere near the summit before the season started. Remembering Rubin in 2008, anything is possible, because Berdyev is capable of producing miracles.

Even if they don't win the title, finishing second and reaching the Champions League qualifiers is feasible, because Rostov are now six points ahead of the multi-millionaires of Zenit. That might not be good news for Russia, though. When Rostov somehow won the Russian Cup in 2014, they were nearly thrown out of European competitions for financial irregularities.

Such a scenario is possible this time as well but, in the meantime, fans are trying not to think about it. They are enjoying the wildly unpredictable title race and who knows? Maybe both Leicester and Rostov will both be seeded when the Champions League group-stage draw takes place in August.

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