Rémy Cabella in the colors of FK Krasnodar.

Positive for Covid-19, the former Stéphanois will however miss the match against Stade Rennais this Tuesday evening.

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Sputnik / SIPA

  • For its first Champions League match, Stade Rennais will face Russian club Krasnodar, also new to the competition.

  • Founded in 2008 by Russian billionaire Sergei Galitsky, the club stands out in its championship where it displays a seductive attacking game.

  • Since 2016, Krasnodar has had a magnificent stadium with a huge giant screen. 

It will be a duel of novices.

This Tuesday at 9 p.m., Stade Rennais will play the first match in its history in the Champions League against another new kid.

For its baptism, Rennes will face an opponent unknown in France but who has already crossed the road of Lille and Nice in recent seasons.

Founded twelve years ago not far from the Black Sea, FK Krasnodar is geographically closer to Turkey than to Moscow.

It is above all a club that stands out in the Russian landscape.

First of all by his young age, but also by his playing philosophy, his crazy stadium and his long-term ambitions.

Portrait of a newcomer.

When he founded FK Krasnodar in 2008, businessman Sergei Galitsky could have sprinkled football in Europe with millions of millions to afford aging stars.

But unlike billionaire Suleyman Kerimov, who had bought Roberto Carlos, Samuel Eto'o and Anji Makhachkala (yes, we did a copy and paste), Sergei Galitsky did not flare up.

Founder of Russian retail giant Magnit (the equivalent of Lidl), the billionaire is passionate about football.

“This is what sets him apart from other investors.

When he founded the club in 2008, he chose to create a great football school and wanted the team to practice attractive football, ”explains Philippe Ray, French fan of FK Krasnodar.

"I have never seen such a beautiful locker room in my career"

In three years, his team rose through the ranks, aided by the defections of other Russian squads.

Carried by the financial guarantees of its shareholder, FK Krasnodar played their first European match against another French club.

It was in 2014 against René Girard's LOSC, who admitted not knowing the opponent.

Since this first draw, the club has monopolized the first places in the Russian championship, beaten Dortmund, crushed Real Sociedad, slapped the OGC Nice and offered a magnificent stadium with 35,000 seats.

A sublime enclosure equipped with a heating system for supporters and a 5,000 m² screen going all around the enclosure.

"I have never seen such a beautiful locker room in my career," assured Rémy Cabella last year, who will be absent this Tuesday evening after having tested positive for Covid-19. 

The incredible screen at Krasnodar Stadium, where Argentina currently face Nigeria 😨 #ARGNGA # Russia2018 pic.twitter.com/VyUBdhUnrZ

- Lahcen Senhaji 🌎 (@LahcenSenhaji) November 14, 2017

Recruited for twelve million euros a year ago, the former Stéphanois is the biggest investment in the history of the club.

This is to say if his boss has not flamed.

“Krasnodar has a smart sports policy.

It is one of the best training centers in the country.

They train their young people, they make them play and often, they sell them well ”, estimates Vincent Tanguy, host of the Footrusse Twitter account.

Married to a Russian, this Frenchman from the Nantes region lived in Moscow for nine years.

This Spartak fan praises, however, “the freshness” brought by FK Krasnodar in recent seasons.

"They project themselves forward, it's often pleasant."

Philippe Ray goes in the same direction.

“When the team was coached by Oleg Kononov (2013 to 2016), it was a treat.

We saw a living football, constantly carried forward ”.

"What worries me is the central defense"

Since 2018, it is the former trainer of the reserve who has taken the reins of the pro team (hello Julien Stéphan).

At just 36 years old, Mourad Moussaïev (who will also be absent because of a sore throat) will have been the first to qualify his team in the Champions League after a double confrontation against PAOK Salonika where Cabella will score twice.

Twelve years after its creation, Krasnodar has touched its dream with its finger.

But who of the Bretons or the Byki (bull in Russian) will succeed in his first?

" It's hard to say.

What worries me is the quality of central defense.

Martynovitch has aged and the Brazilian Kaio does not offer many guarantees ”, asks Philippe Ray.

Renowned heavy, the central defense will have to contain the Rennes youth, who we imagine full of envy after hearing the Champions League anthem that makes all kids dream.

"If Rennes pushes, I think the first half hour will be difficult for Krasnodar," warns Vincent Tanguy.

In a group that will see the favorites Chelsea and Sevilla FC face off at the same time, this match between neophytes could offer a clear advantage to the winner in view of the third qualifying place for the Europa League.

Even more if affinities.

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