Thursday, November 03, 2011

Rubin Kazan FC

Rubin Kazan 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0 - UEFA Europa League, Group Stage


Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 it is the eighth most populous city and lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the right to brand itself as the "Third Capital" of Russia. The Kazan Kremlin is a World Heritage Site. Since 2000, the city has been undergoing a total renovation. The historical centre, including its Kremlin, has been rebuilt. Kazan celebrated its millennium in 2005, after a city-organised historical commission settled on 1005 as the official year of the city's founding.
Kazan Kremlin
Курбан Бердыев прокомментировал итоги встречи Динамо Рубин и ответил на вопросы корреспондента. – Удовлетворён игрой, особенно во втором тайме. Если в первом таме было небольшое волнение и у "Динамо" были моменты, то во втором тайме ребята сыграли хорошо.Сегрей сыграл на том уровне на котором он привык играть. Это его стабильный уровень. Так он играл в 2008 и 2009 году, и в прошлом году он хорошо стоял. Сегодня он сыграл на своём уровне.


We reached Kazan via Moscow on connecting Aeroflot flights. Reaching our hotel in the early hours meant being able to spend the day of the match looking around the city. My first impression was that this place is one enormous building site (with not a lot of building work taking place – Ed). Many of the pavements are uneven or broken and you have to be careful to maintain your footing.


Having explored for a while, we were able to gain entry to the Central'nyj stadion Kazan' to have a look around and take some photographs in daylight. We were able to view the contained area where the visiting support would be housed, accepting that this would facilitate a poor view compared to elsewhere in the stadium.


The nearby Mirage Hotel contains the Joker Bar, which apart from being a music venue and restaurant also doubles as a homebrew pub. This Pieman was pleased to be able to sample all three of the beers available. Helles 4.5%, Marzen 4.35% and Dunkel 4.4%. Quality brews with Marzen being my favourite on this occasion. It was important to get some solid refreshment before the match and we were delighted to locate Kazan Ashkane Chai Yorti. This busy café/restaurant serves hearty Tartar food at very reasonable prices. This Pieman indulged in beef dumplings in gravy, beef with mashed potatoes followed by a rather nice cross between custard tart and cheesecake.


The stadium is typical of many foreign venues, in that the pitch is enclosed by an athletics track. Half the spectator areas are under cover. On entry to the stadium, we were informed that our tickets were not the visitors section (they were – Ed) and we were waved towards the central part of the main stand. We failed to challenge this assertion and opted to get a really good view of the match instead! The complimentary food in the press area was another welcome bonus, including more of that custard tart cheesecake. The home support were excited to witness a 1-0 victory over a scratch Spurs XI. A result that means qualification from this group is still undecided.


On arrival in Kazan, we had travelled to our hotel by Taxi. Being adventurous, we opted to use public transport for the return leg. The local metro terminus at Prospekt Pobedy connects with the 97 bus to the airport (if you can find the stop!). Metro fares are 15 rubles per journey and the bus fare is 38 rubles covering the 40 minute journey.


Metro 







Attendance: 21,250
Admission: 300 rubles
Programme: 32 pages (no cover price but sold at stadium for 100 rubles)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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