In a year that showed Rubin"s first title...

The Tatarstan side won the title with a week to spare, but finished the season with a 3-0 procession past Kuban, confirming the Krasnodar team"s expected relegation after just one season in the top flight.

Rubin, whose manager Kurban Berdyev has been in charge since 2001, when the club was still in the First Division, won more games and points away from home than in Kazan, their only road loss coming against Lokomotiv Moscow in early October.

Berdyev"s long reign stands in stark contrast to the managerial merry-go-rounds in the other top clubs, which saw all of them end the season with Russian coaches.

Spartak Moscow were the first to change trainer, ditching Danish great Michael Laudrup in late April and moving general manager and club legend Valery Karpin downstairs. Taking over with the team lying 10th, Karpin brought in Spartak"s greatest manager, Oleg Romantsev, as an adviser and inspired the team to second place, pushing Rubin all the way until three defeats

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