Six months ago Yuriy Vernydub was celebrating wildly at the Bernabeu. His Sheriff Tiraspol team had just produced one of the great Champions League shocks, beating Real Madrid 2-1.It was a seismic result for the Moldovan league winners, who come from Transnistria, a breakaway republic under heavy Russian influence. A triumph against the 13-time European champions was barely believable for a side who came through four rounds of qualifying to reach the group stage and did so on an annual budget of around £5m.