Rubin had a really enjoyable last campaign that saw them playing some daring, enterprising football and eventually earn the fourth place in the final standings, something that few people believed Leonid Slutsky's men were capable of.
Now the task for the experienced coach and his eclectic mix of talents is to maintain the level that was shown last season and keep on pushing, while hoping to leave their mark in Europe too.
The squad has so far remained mostly unscathed but bigger clubs are chasing the likes of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia while Carl Starfelt has already moved to Celtic and leaves a gap to be filled in defence.
Rubin have so far added attacking midfielder Sead Haksabanovic, who will bring a bit more flair and movement in the spaces behind the striker, and an experienced player like Vladislav Ignatjev, but will look to bring a few more options for what should be a taxing campaign.
The overall outlook for Rubin is certainly positive but they will look to keep adding quality to the squad and at the same time continuing the improvement of players like Denis Makarov, Oliver Abligaard and especially keeper Yuri Dyupin in order to remain a factor in the top end of the standings.
Target
Will be aiming to get into the top six again.
Season Review
2020/2021
№4:
Rubin Kazan
After 6 years of struggle Rubin returned in Europe thanks to very strong finish to the season after nothing more than average start. Experienced coach Slutski was given money last summer and he used them well to add 4-5 important pieces to the squad, but with no proper training camp it took some time for the new players to gel-in.
Rubin earned single point from their first 3 games and up until the winter break their form was nothing more than average and enough only to keep them out of the bottom 4. The Tatars earned just 8 wins in the first 19 rounds.
However, excellent winter preparation and vastly improved scoring record for main striker Despotovic and playmaker Jevtic saw Rubin starting 2021 with 8 wins in 10 rounds. This proved enough for top 4 finish in the end and the players must feel high on confidence after having the best record in entire league in 2021.
The main strength of the team was undoubtedly their defending with captain Uremovic having excellent season. Even better campaign had goalkeeper Dyupin and his 147 saves big part as to why 11 clean sheets were kept.
Coach Slutski expected to receive extra funds to widen the squad further in the summer months as next season Rubin will be busy in Europe too.