As previously mentioned in #2 – Getting My Bering Strait, I had a clear pathway for Daniil Murayvoy to follow on his journey from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad. However, due to circumstances involving certain teams, one opportunity presented itself that proved to be good to turn down. My concern surrounding turning it down was the issue that it would never present itself again shortly, and as a result, I have taken the plunge. Let’s get down to business and understand what the opportunity was.
Daniil was both emotionally and mentally exhausted after what would be classed as a very successful season for FC Chita. Brought in to ensure the club avoided relegation, Daniil then took the side to a top 5 finish within 18 months and had a strong core in place. But there was the issue. Chita finished 5th in their division but did not have the quality or the financial muscle to compete with the bigger sides in their division consistently. Achieving a 5th placed finish was massive in its own right, but Daniil was aware of not falling into a trap. His ambitions were bigger than what Chita could offer, through no fault of their own, but for the sake of his own career, it was time to be brutal once again.
The Chita board were loving life under Daniil and were keen to keep a hold of their asset. Offering a brand new contract to tie Daniil down for a further two years, they were fairly confident in Daniil accepting it and had already made plans for the press release. However, there were tears in the boardroom. Daniil had informed the board of his decision to resign a month before his contract expires. Daniil didn’t feel right being paid for the remaining month and wasting more time with the squad when it was already decided that he would be leaving; it was huge for the board to get their new man in to take over the team and implement his ideas with plenty of time ahead of the new season.
And with that, Daniil was back to living in his flat seeing out his days, waiting for the next opportunity. During the season with Chita, Daniil did see an interesting project in Novosibirsk, and with the current manager underperforming throughout the season, it looked tempting. Daniil was watching the situation there with interest, but it was to be a nothing story as the existing manager signed a new contract. Although things can change within a couple of months, Daniil was determined to keep this door open.
Daniil decided to make the most of yet another absence from the dugout with a holiday. It isn’t often that a manager in the game would get to enjoy some time away in the sun – with the feet up and relax for a short period. Although it was mostly, going to be a relaxing time away, Daniil was still religiously following FC Novosibirsk, but it was futile as the current manager was smashing the ball out the park – that door looked firmly locked and bolted for the foreseeable future.
Ultimately, this was a spanner in the works for Daniil. No work was lined up in the short-term as bets were being hedged on landing an opportunity in the city of Novosibirsk. An opportunity looked as though it could arise in the city of Yekaterinburg shortly, as current Ural manager Alexey Berezutskiy was struggling in the top-flight and had the team rock bottom of the Premier League, and the chances of survival were fading as the weeks passed.
And then, out of darkness, came a phone call. Following the departure of Yury Krasnozhan to the Russian National Team, Rubin Kazan was on a mission to appoint a new manager to continue their impressive start to the season:
Rubin was looking for a manager that would be able to match the ambitious outlook and try to push the club further – it had been 15 years since the club last saw success in any shape, the board was ready to shape a new future for the club.
Daniil knew that this opportunity was going to be too good to say no to. He had already turned down Spartak Moscow earlier in his career but he was now at the point of his career where he had to throw caution to the wind. The demands at Rubin Kazan was not going to be the same at Spartak, so the pressure would be significantly less, but Daniil was not foolish enough to disregard the task at hand.
With the promise of further coaching courses available to Daniil and European exposure, this had the prospect of a successful partnership for both parties. Daniil was packing his bags – Kazan here he comes!
A 2-year deal for Muravyov as he is announced at the Kazan Arena in front of the media, and it marks his return to the top flight of the Russian football pyramid. Arriving at the start of the winter break is a bonus for Daniil, as it will give him time to evaluate the squad, identify weak areas within the squad and then bring in his own people to fill in the gaps within the backroom staff.
A massive job for Daniil, and a huge 6 months coming up. Daniil was eager to start well at his new club, and immediately the pens and papers were out to start drafting the New Year plans for Rubin Kazan. £13.89 million to spend in the window with £76.14K to spend in wages, there was certainly room for Daniil to bring in his own style to this squad.
CAMERONFM 