Coach Kurban Berdyev has left Rostov ahead of their play-off against Ajax, with Dmitri Kirichenko named as his temporary replacement.
“Ahead of the evening training session Kurban Berdyev said goodbye to the team,” said the Russian club in a statement. “Berdyev told the board before the season that he would leave regardless of the result in the [UEFA Champions League] third qualifying round.”
Berdyev made a name for himself with Rubin Kazan, and had been in charge at Rostov since December 2014. Rostov finished second in last season’s Russian Premier league, earning a place in the UEFA Champions League, and beat Anderlecht 4-2 on aggregate in the third qualifying round to set u…