Football Club Zenit (Russian: Футбо́льный клуб «Зени́т» ˈklup zʲɪˈnʲit], Zenith), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg, is a Russian football club from the city of Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club plays in the Russian Premier League. Zenit were the 2007, 2010 and 2011–12 champions of the Russian Premier League and the winners of both the 2007–08 UEFA Cup and the 2008 UEFA Super Cup.
History
Before Zenit
Zenit's history is tightly connected with the political history of Saint Petersburg, Russia (also called "Petrograd" and "Leningrad" at times in its history). In 1897, the first football match in Russia was held in Saint Petersburg on Vasilievsky Island, an unofficial game between the local English team "Ostrov" and the local Russian team "Petrograd," which the English team won, 6–0. The players of those local teams were amateurs and loosely associated with each other. At the same time, several formal football clubs were founded in Saint Petersburg, mainly around large industrial companies. Players' membership was unofficial and very loose, however, sometimes allowing the same players to play for several different teams during the same season.
Formation of Zenit
The original team Zenit stemmed from several football teams, which changed names and owners many times during the Soviet era after the Revolution of 1917. Powerful political forces manipulated the careers of individual players as well as the fate of the whole team. The club was renamed several times, and its owners and leaders were under political pressure for many decades. The origins of Zenit date back to the beginning of the 20th century, to several predecessor teams in Saint Petersburg that were playing locally. The oldest documented predecessor of Zenit was team "Murzinka", founded in 1914, which played in the same Obukhovsky stadium from 1914 until 1924, when the team became to be called "Bolshevik" (the new name for Obukhovsky industry and its stadium). The team and stadium survived the drama of World War I, the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, and the Russian Civil War of 1918–1922.
In 1925, another predecessor team of Zenit was formed, of workers from the Leningradsky Metallichesky Zavod (Leningrad Metal Plant); they were called the "Stalinets" in the 1930s. (Stalinets translates literally to English as "Stalinists"; however, in Russian, the name is a play on words as stal means "steel" in that language.)
Historians documented that both predecessor teams of Zenit were playing independently until their official merger at the end of 1939. The Stalinets were not the same team named Zenit that took part in the 1938 USSR championship. The current name of FC Zenit was registered in 1936, as Bolshevik became part of the Zenit sports society and was renamed, three years before the Stalinets merged with it. In 1939, during the rule of Joseph Stalin, Leningradsky Metallichesky Zavod became part of the military industry and its sports teams, players, and managers were transferred to the Zenit sports society. FC Zenit was ordered to take in members of the "Stalinets" metallurgical workers' team after the end of the 1939 season.
Zenit in the Soviet League
FC Zenit won their first honours in 1944, claiming the war-time USSR Cup after defeating CSKA in the well-attended final. The club was always adored in Leningrad,[citation needed] but wasn't able to make much of an impact in the Soviet League. In 1967, Zenit finished last but were saved from relegation because the Soviet leadership decided it wouldn't be prudent to relegate a Leningrad team during the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution, which occurred in the city. Composer Dmitry Shostakovich and film star Kirill Lavrov were well known as ardent supporters of Zenit, a passion that is reflected in their attendance of many games.[citation needed] FC Zenit won the bronze medal in 1980. They reached Soviet Cup Final and won the Soviet League title in 1984. In 1985, Zenit beat the Soviet Cup holder in the Soviet Super Cup (also called the Season Cup).
Zenit in the Russian League
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Spalletti era
Luciano Spalletti signed a contract with Zenit in December 2009, with Italian coaches Daniele Baldini, Marco Domenichini, and Alberto Bartali also joining the Russian club. The Board of Zenit wanted him to return the Russian Premier League title, win the Russian Cup, and go through the group stage of the Champions League in his first year.
Zenit won the Russian Cup on 16 May 2010, beating FC Sibir Novosibirsk in the final (having beaten Volga Tver in the quarterfinal and Amkar Perm in the semifinal). After 16 games in the 2010 Premier League, with 12 wins and four draws, under Spalletti Zenit have obtained 40 points. This set a new Russian Premier League record for most points won at that stage of the campaign. In the summer transfer window of 2010, Spalletti made his first signings: forward Aleksandr Bukharov and midfielder Sergei Semak came from Rubin Kazan; defenders Aleksandar Lukovic from Udinese and Bruno Alves from FC Porto.
On 25 August 2010, Zenit lost its first game under Spalletti to AJ Auxerre and failed to advance to the Champions League group stage, but Zenit moved on to play in UEFA Europa League. On 3 October 2010, Zenit beat Spartak Nalchik to set another Russian Premier League record for most consecutive games going undefeated, with 21 games since the start of the league season. On 27 October 2010, Zenit suffered its first defeat of the season at the hands of rival club Spartak Moscow, seven games short of finishing the championship undefeated. On 14 November, Zenit won FC Rostov and 2 games prior to the end of the season won the championship title. This champions title became the first in Spalletti's career.
Zenit went through to knockout stage of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League in first place. In the Round of 16 stage, Zenit beat BSC Young Boys. On 6 March 2011, Zenit won against PFC CSKA Moscow in the Russian Super Cup, it became the third Russian trophy Zenit won under Spalletti. On 17 March 2011 Zenit were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League, losing to FC Twente 2–3 on aggregate in the quarter final stage.
In the 2011–12 Champions League, Zenit started in the group stage drawn into Group G alongside FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, and APOEL. On 6 December 2011, Zenit finished the group stage in second place and for the first time in club's history qualified for the spring knockout phase of Champions League. In 1/8 stage Zenit were drawn with S.L. Benfica of Portugal. In the first leg against Benfica, Zenit won 3–2 at home through two goals from Roman Shirokov and one from Sergei Semak. In the second leg in Lisbon, however, Zenit lost 2–0 and were eliminated from the competition.
In April 2012, Zenit won their second straight Russian Championship after beating Dynamo Moscow.
After a series of disappointing results in both the Champions League and the Russian Premier League, Spalletti was fired on March 11, 2013. A week later, the club announced they had negotiated a 2-year deal with Andre Villas-Boas, who had been released a few months earlier after a disappointing run as manager of Tottenham Hotspur.
Stadiums
Zenit's home ground is now the Petrovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg. Petrovsky Stadium has a capacity of 21,500. In 2007, the club's former home base at the Kirov Stadium was demolished, to be replaced with a new stadium built for Zenit, Gazprom Arena. The new football stadium in Saint Petersburg is currently under construction. Once completed, it will host Zenit's home matches. The stadium will have a capacity of 64,287.
Achievements
League and cup history
Russia