What can Manchester United expect on Thursday's trip to Rostov?
Last season, much was made of Rostov’s rise. Head coach Kurban Berdyev took them from the relegation play-offs to a title challenge, before ultimately falling short. Parallels with Leicester, though stretched, were continually drawn. Both were seen as upstarts, moulding together an uncelebrated group of players to challenge the regular cartel at the top of the league. But this season, the fortunes of Rostov and Leicester have diverged.
Unlike Leicester, who have plummeted towards the relegation zone and sacked Claudio Ranieri, Rostov’s tough second album has been more of a hit. They are 5th in the Russian Premier League, just a point behind Krasnodar, who occupy the last Europa League place. European qualification, unthinkable just two seasons ago, is now seen as a must. Experience of playing in the Champions League, defeating Bayern Munich in the group stage and dominating Sparta Praha in the Europa League has changed the outlook at Rostov. This is where they want to be.
Thursday’s visit of Manchester United, though crowning their recent ascent, is also a challenge. And it is a difficult one. Last weekend’s dominant 6-0 win over Tom Tomsk does not mitigate against the problems Russian club’s face at this stage of the season. The game against Tom Tomsk, easily the worst team in the Russian Premier League, was Rostov’s first domestic fixture since the first week of December.
Though necessary, the Russian winter break hampers teams. It’s length is more akin to the gap between seasons in Western Europe than any mid-season break around the continent. Russian teams, though playing friendlies and taking part in warm-weather training camps, reach March in a similar condition to Premier League teams in August. They are fit, refreshed but out of practice, lacking the intensity engendered by playing two games each week.
Despite these difficulties, Rostov’s coaches will have tinkered away at a plan to disrupt United. Head coach Ivan Daniliants is an old hand. A Moldovan, born in the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic and holding an Austrian passport, the 64-year-old has worked widely across Soviet, Austrian and now Russian football.
But Daniliants’ position at Rostov is quite odd, seen more as the frontman than the real bones of the operation. Kurban Berdyev remains at the club, despite resigning as head coach at the beginning of the season. Berdyev had a farewell meal, said goodbye to his players and staff and appeared to be ready to take over at Spartak Moscow. But, then he didn’t. He re-appeared in the Rostov directors’ box, in full club tracksuit, for the club’s Champions League qualification match with Ajax. Now, Berdyev’s official title is Vice-President and Coach, with Daniliants, his former assistant, installed as head coach. The power dynamics are not particularly clear, but Berdyev is said to still take training sessions, draw up plans for matches and identify players to recruit.
Whether Daniliants or Berdyev are afforded the final say, team selection is consistent. Rostov’s success has relied on a set of hard-working players each knowing their roles in a 5-3-2 system. The three-man central defence is ordered around by Spaniard Cesar Navas, an old Berdyev favourite from his title-winning days at Rubin Kazan. Timofei Kalachev provides crucial movement from the right-wing back position and leads the Russian Premier League’s assist charts with seven. With a WhoScored rating of 7.21, 35-year-old Kalachev has played his way into the team of the season so far.
Then there is the midfield, the real thrust and vigour of Rostov’s team. The tenacity, and creative quality, of Aleksandru Gatcan, Christian Noboa - who has won possession in the midfield third the seventh most times (56) in the Russian Premier League this season - and Aleksandr Erokhin drives Rostov forward and pulls them back when needed. This discipline allows the forwards to operate with freedom. Serdar Azmoun, previously linked with Liverpool, is the club’s most talented attacking player. He is often partnered by Dmitry Poloz, a pacey second striker who looks likely to miss the first leg of the Untied tie through injury.
That leaves the combative Aleksandr Bukharov, another favourite of Berdyev’s from his Rubin days. Bukharov, a hulking target man, has enjoyed a renaissance at Rostov after losing his way at Zenit. Two goals in the 6-0 win over Tom Tomsk demonstrated a striker in form and his early withdrawal in that game suggested energy conservation for Thursday’s game. Recent signing Marko Devic will likely start from the bench.
Rostov will not attempt to take the game to United. They will bide their time, try and fashion openings when they can and take advantage of any space available on the counter-attack. So far, their approach has worked against Bayern Munich and Ajax, two of the grand old teams of European football. Against United, they have a chance to add a third name to that list.
