Rubin v Bordeaux background
Monday, September 21, 2015
Article summary
Rubin Kazan have lost only one of their last 11 UEFA Europa League home games as they welcome Bordeaux, whose 3,650km Group B journey is not their longest of the season.
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FC Rubin Kazan will hope a decent run of home form holds as FC Girondins de Bordeaux make another mammoth journey east in UEFA Europa League Group B.
Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition.
• Rubin's only previous experience of French opponents was disappointing – they lost 4-2 on aggregate to Olympique Lyonnais in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League play-offs.
• Bordeaux's record in six encounters with Russian clubs is W5 D0 L1 (W3 D0 L0 at home – W2 D0 L1 away).
Form guide
• Rubin have lost only one of their last 11 UEFA Europa League home games (W8 D2 L1), going down 2-0 to Real Betis Balompié in the 2013/14 round of 32.
• Bordeaux's 1-0 success at AEK Larnaca FC in this season's third qualifying round is their only victory in their last seven European away fixtures (W1 D1 L5).
• Rubin navigated their way through to the round of 32 in all three of their previous UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns.
• Bordeaux made it through to the round of 32 in their first two UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns, but missed the cut in their most recent appearance, in 2013/14.
Trivia and links
• The journey from Bordeaux to Kazan is just shy of 3,650km. Les Girondins have already made a much longer voyage this season – around 5,950km for their play-off game at FC Kairat Almaty.
The coaches
• Valeri Chaly spent most of his playing career in the Soviet lower leagues with Chayka Sevastopol (formerly known as Atlantika Sevastopol). He started coaching in beach football and futsal, but in 2011 came back to football to take helm of Moldova's FC Iskra-Stal. After a short spell with Sevastopol reserves he joined Rubin Kazan and was appointed interim coach after Rinat Bilyaletdinov's dismissal in September 2015.
• Bordeaux's Willy Sagnol took charge in 2014 after a spell as France Under-21 coach. The 38-year-old shone as a right-back, lifting a French title with AS Monaco FC before heading to Germany, where he won five titles and the 2000/01 UEFA Champions League with FC Bayern München.
