fc rubin kazan may have settled for third place in russia this year but midfielder bebars natcho is backing them to go one better in group d, even if fc københavn stand in their way.
fc rubin kazan midfielder bebars natcho is optimistic the deposed russian champions can still overhaul fc københavn to finish second in group d – but accepts that the prerequisite of victory against the danish titleholders will not come easy.
with rubin lying third in the pool, four points behind their visitors to the centralni stadium, a win is essential if kurban berdyev's side are to stay in qualifying contention ahead of their matchday 6 trip to fc barcelona. however, rubin have first-hand knowledge of københavn's qualities having lost 1-0 in denmark in september, and natcho recognises that the main obstacle to his club's uefa champions league survival are "very strong from a tactical point of view and a team capable of delivering aggressive performances".
he expanded: "when the group was drawn i wouldn't have expected them to be better than panathinaikos [fc] but four matches into the competition i can see that i was wrong about fck."
even so, the 22-year-old israeli international – whose debut season in russian football was initially stalled by injuries – remains hopeful the tatar club can take advantage of the small window of opportunity open to them, beginning with a first-ever home success in the group stage. "if we fail to beat københavn we will have no chance whatsoever of getting second place, but there is a first time for everything and hopefully our first win will come on wednesday," said the former hapoel tel-aviv fc player, who has made three group d appearances.
rubin, in their second consecutive uefa champions league campaign, have recorded a total of five draws in kazan and just the one away win – curiously, and auspiciously perhaps given their closing fixture in december, at barcelona in 2009. "i don't think [the home form] is affecting us mentally," said natcho. "we drew [1-1] against barcelona, which was a good result, and if you look at the panathinaikos game [0-0] we had several good chances but didn't take them."
fck's captain william kvist prefers to underscore the hosts' unbeaten home record in the competition, regarding it as a measure of their strength. "they are very strong and patient – not every team can get something out of all their home matches," noted the midfielder. "they are dangerous opponents because of their team play, not because of any particular individual."
the worst-case scenario for natcho, meanwhile, would be having to settle for third place, and a spring tilt at the uefa europa league. "we are certainly well situated to take that slot, as panathinaikos are below us [by one point] in the table." rubin, champions in 2008 and 2009, have also been consigned to that position in russia's premier-liga, behind fc zenit st petersburg and pfc cksa moskva, with one game to go in their domestic campaign.
natcho has contributed two goals in 14 league matches since overcoming his injury problems, yet is not entirely satisfied with the year's individual or collective outcome. "i wouldn't say this is the best result in my career because we did not win the championship," said a player who experienced a state cup triumph with hapoel. "of course, to win bronze medals in russia is more difficult than to win israeli cups, but i want to come first here."
christian noboa's penalty earned rubin their maiden uefa champions league home win in six attempts – and reignited their qualification hopes.
fc rubin kazan kept their hopes of qualifying for the uefa champions league knockout stages alive with a 1-0 group d victory against fc københavn on a bitterly cold and blustery evening in the tatarstan capital.
christian noboa's penalty in first-half stoppage time was enough to give kurban berdyev's side their maiden home win in the competition at the sixth attempt. more importantly, however, it moves the kazan outfit to within a point of the danish champions going into the final round of matches in two weeks' time, when rubin travel to leaders fc barcelona and second-placed københavn entertain panathinaikos fc.
rubin started industriously but for all their pretty football in midfield, they were unable to fashion any notable chances. in fact, it was the visitors who should have taken the lead on 14 minutes. the evergreen jesper grønkjær skipped past his marker and crossed for an unmarked christián bolaños in the penalty area, but the costa rican international fired over.
the home team were enjoying the lion's share of possession but they only had sergei kornilenko's long-range drive, which never looked like troubling johan wiland in the visitors' goal, to show for their efforts. deep into added time at the end of the first half, though, rubin nudged in front. bebras natcho's free-kick hit grønkjær on the hand and captain noboa took the spot-kick responsibility upon himself, dispatching the ball high into the roof of the net.
fck began to increase the tempo after the break and finally managed to register their first shot on target on 49 minutes when zdeněk pospěch's effort forced sergei ryzhikov into a smart near-post save. rubin were happy to sit back and soak up the pressure while looking to use the hold-up play of kornilenko and the pace and trickery of gökdeniz karadeniz as an attacking outlet.
ståle solbakken's side continued to push forward, with dame n'doye shooting against the crossbar. in added time, ryzhikov made a match-winning save to deny substitute kenneth zohore as rubin defended desperately to hold on for a vital three points.
københavn: johan wiland (gk), zdeněk pospěch, claudemir, william kvist (c), jesper grønkjær, dame n'doye, mikael antonsson, oscar wendt, martin vingaard (dk. 73 kenneth zohore), mathias zanka jørgensen, christián bolaños
yedekler: kim christensen (gk), césar santin, peter larsson, thomas kristensen, bryan oviedo, thomas delaney
teknik direktör: ståle solbakken (nor)
gol: dk. 45+2 [penaltıdan] christian noboa (c) (1-0)
sarı kartlar: dk. 42 aleksandr ryazantsev, dk. 79 vitali kaleshin (rubin) dk. 10 christián bolaños, dk. 72 oscar wendt (københavn)
