Frank Artiga reveals three tactical changes at Rubin Kazan

Rubin Kazan coach Frank Artiga has revealed the three main changes he has made to the team since his arrival. Under his leadership, Rubin significantly improved its spring performance. "In the spring, Rubin was one of the top five teams in the league in terms of points scored. How do you explain that?" – asked a reporter. Artiga responded: "The key point is that my committee and I didn't come to Rubin to destroy what was already working. We recognize that this squad has its qualities. We wanted to preserve them, improve some areas and add nuances to bring us closer to the style I want to implement."


When asked about the specific changes he made, Artiga highlighted three aspects. "First, pressure and counter-pressing. Before our arrival, Rubin practically did not use high pressure when the opponent came out of defense. We have improved considerably in this component. In relation to counter-pressing, we are now acting in a much more active and aggressive way. We are recovering many balls in high sectors of the field. The second aspect, fundamental for football, is the distance covered by the players. In the first half of the year, Rubin was the last team in the league in this regard, both in terms of total distance and high In the season, we managed to improve this indicator and move up to the middle of the table. Furthermore, Rubin was at the bottom in possession – we also focused on improving this. In the first half, the average possession was 41%. We managed to increase this number to 48%, and in some matches, we reached 50% and even 60% possession.