As in most spheres of Russian life, extraordinary success in football raises suspicion of foul play. Until now, it was no different for Kurban Berdyev, the eccentric coach of Russian champion Rubin Kazan. The Turkmenistan-born coach oversaw a stunning transformation at the Tatarstan-based club, turning it from a second-division also-ran to a topflight champion that shook the traditional powerhouse Moscow teams. Rubin Kazan's remarkable turnaround had doubters - accustomed to the bribe-prone Russian game - crying foul. "Of course there were those who took a cynical point of view from the first day," Rubin spokesman Maxim Lopukhov said. But a string of even more remarkable results in the Champions League, including last month's 2-1 away win over reigning champion Barcelona, has proved Berdyev's credentials and earned him overdue recognition. "Of course, you have to say his rating has shot up," Lopukhov said. "We never doubted him." Barcelona arrived in snowy Kazan late Monday for Wednesday's return fixture. The media-shy Berdyev, 57, is a practicing Muslim who prays before and after each game. Post-match news conferences are short, philosophical, and punctuated with praise for Allah from under a pulled-down baseball cap. During matches, Berdyev can be seen walking the touchline with prayer beads running through his hands, and he has celebrated his successes by making pilgrimages to Mecca. He seldom gives interviews, turning down requests by The Associated Press and UEFA's own reporters in the run-up to Wednesday's match. Rubin's rise under Berdyev has mirrored the success of Russia's national team, which made the 2008 European Championship semifinals and is on the brink of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Well-traveled Dutchman Guus Hiddink has been credited with instilling maturity and incisiveness in the national team's game. But Berdyev, who has brought those same qualities to Rubin, is a product of the Soviet system. Berdyev had moderate success as a defensive midfielder in the 1970s and '80s, playing for Russian team Rostov in the top Soviet league before turning to coaching. Working with clubs in Kazakhstan before a brief spell with Turkish side Genclerbirligi in 1994-95, he returned to his native Turkmenistan in 1997 to coach the national team before joining Russian second-division side Krystall Smolensk in 2000. Berdyev joined Rubin in 2001 and has barely looked back since. The team, formerly known as "Iskra," won the second-division title in 2002 and made its top-division debut in 2003. Berdyev signed a host of foreigners, including three South Americans, a South African and a Czech, to compete with the talent-laden elite of the Russian Premier League. He added steel to the newcomers' flair, while their creativity inspired domestic players. The club overcame a 4-0 thrashing at CSKA Moscow in its topflight debut to finish in third place - a position it cemented with a win over CSKA in the final game of the season. After several erratic seasons, Rubin won its first Premier League title in 2008. It is only the second team from outside Moscow and St. Petersburg to have won a title since the league's inception in 1992 - Alania Vladikavkaz was champion in 1995. Berdyev keeps the squad in almost perpetual flux with transfer dealings. Former English Premier League strikers Savo Milosevic and Serhiy Rebrov are two veterans who recently left a squad that is now built around Russia midfielder Sergei Semak and Argentinian striker Alejandro Dominguez. "Berdyev brings harmony to the team - he is the link between the experienced players and the youngsters," Rubin fan Radoslav Suchin said as he kicked up the snow outside the team's stadium. "It's like the harmony - I mean religious harmony - between Muslims and Orthodox Christians you can see in Tatarstan." Club officials privately hope Rubin can blaze a trail by becoming the first Russian club to progress to the knock-out stages of the Champions League. But in public, they are talking down the club's achievements. "We can really only talk of Berdyev's success when Rubin doesn't finish last in its group," club spokesman Lopukhov said.
