Kurban Berdiyev - a mysterious dervish, who worships football
An outstanding football coach and the most mysterious trainer of modernity Kurban Berdiyev has an anniversary! 65 years old, which hold outstanding victories and achievements in the fields of world football!
Our compatriot Kurban Bekievich Berdiyev started his career long time ago in the Ashkhabad “Builder”, which was later renamed “Kopetdag”. His coaching career continued in 1986, at Jambul “Himik”. His track record includes mentoring in the Ashgabat “Nisa” and the national team of Turkmenistan. He coached Kazakhstan's “Kairat”, Russian “Kristall” and Turkish “Genclerbirlig”.
He was recommended to the Turkish clubby Valery Nepomnyashchy (incidentally, also our fellow countryman) who played a certain role in the formation of Kurban Berdiyev as a football specialist.
A little history.
Young Valery Nepomnyashchy at the age of seventeen already played for the national team of Turkmenistan. While serving in the army he defended the colors of the Samarkand “Spartak”. Having demobilized, he moved to the main football team of Turkmenistan - the Ashkhabad “Stroitel”. After completing his career, he coached children's teams, and then - and a team of masters, where fate brought him with Kurban Berdiyev.
In the end, after the refresher courses, V. K. Neponyaschy received a proposal to train then still unknown Cameroonian national team. It was Valeriy Kuzmich who opened the world not only to the Cameroonian phenomenon, but also paved a wide path for African football in the higher spheres of world football.
So Valery Nepomnyashchiy was one of the mentors of Kurban Berdiyev, who also began to train the youth team of the Ashkhabad “Kolkhozchi”. And he also recommended Kurban Berdiyev to the head coaches of the same “Gencherbirlig” - the outsider of the Turkish championship. In Turkey, under the leadership of Kurban Berdiyev, this provincial team, which occupied the lowest lines of the Turkish championship table, unexpectedly rose to seventh place.
This was a kind of football greeting - the beginning of the wonders of the future magician, the top of which many consider victory over the "winner of the winners", when in 2009 the football crown of "Barcelona" fell to the feet of the Turkmen coach, glorifying him and led by him "Ruby".
But all in its time.
A cornerstone for Berdiyev and “Rubin” was 2001, when the Turkmen coach moved to work in Kazan.
Under the leadership of Kurban Bekievich, “Rubin” in the following year moved to the Premier League, and in the debut year immediately won bronze.
Berdiyev twice led the Kazan team to the championship (2008, 2009), and also won the Cup and two Russian Super Cups with his wards.
A special glory to Berdiyev was the already mentioned victory in the Champions League over the strongest club of the world - the Spanish “Barcelona”.
The next “magic” page in the life of Berdiyev is his work in the team “Rostov”. Many still call this time a wonderful fairy tale for Rostovites. And they are right, because Kurban Berdiyev, leading the club, who lived at the bottom of the standings, brought the team to the silver medalists of the Russian championship. And at the international level they have conquered the automaticity of the well-functioning German “Bavaria” and with an equal game nearly finished off the legendary “Manchester United”.
It is surprising that at the disposal of Kurban Bekievich there were never any world-famous stars. His credo is to create a star team from talented singles.
Berdiyev does not demonstrate his external feelings easily, although there are unexpected breakthroughs of emotions, that the photo and video cameras tried to capture here.
He is also extremely laconic, because of which journalists often itch at him. He is such, from the fact that he lives more in his inner life, rather than its external manifestations.
He is a believer and at the same time he is superstitious. None of the teams headed by Berdiyev will have a player under number 13. They say that in hotels his players do not stop in the thirteenth room, and the flight to another city never falls on the 13th.
In the early stages of the football career, when the Jambul “Himik” did not get along very well with the game, the young coach, trying to iron his trousers, burned them. I had to go to the match in sports clothes, although before that in such cases I wore a suit. On that day, the game of his team went unexpectedly successful. Had this been related to the attire of the coach or not, no one knows, but the victory was convincing. Since then, we see Kurban Berdiyev during the match most often in sportswear. Although he does once in a while appear in the stadium in an elegant suit.
And the beads began to be worn after in Kazakhstan, where he once worked as a coach, he went to a mosque with a friend. Something happened inside him. Maybe, some insight has descended or something?
But since then Kurban Bekievich has not parted with the beads, somewhat resembling a lonely dervish who silently speaks with the Almighty.
Without trying to make him an idolater, I will assume that one of his gods is tailored in the image and likeness to a soccer ball.
Not surprisingly, Berdiyev likes chess. And the play of his teams is somewhat reminiscent of a thoughtful chess game with live figures that clearly follow the instructions of the grandmaster.
Today, when the football magician Berdiyev, returning to Kazan, headed the “Rubin”, we are all again in anticipation of another miracle.
Everyone is waiting, regardless of football likes and preferences.
Because Berdiyev has accustomed both fans and players to magic.
We congratulate You with anniversary, Kurban Bekievich!
And wish You multiple wonders in the magic field of football!
