FC Zenit Saint Petersburg

Football Club Zenit (Russian: Футбольный клуб «Зенит» [fʊdˈbolʲnɨj ˈkɫup zʲɪˈnʲit]), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in 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 are the reigning champions of the Russian Premier League. Previously they won the 2007, 2010, 2011–12, 2014–15 and 2018–19 seasons of the Russian Premier League, as well as the 2007–08 UEFA Cup and the 2008 UEFA Super Cup. The club is owned and sponsored by the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom. The team play its home matches at the Gazprom Arena.

Zenit

Full name	Футбольный клуб Зенит
Nickname(s)	Sine-Belo-Golubye (The Blue-White-Sky Blues) Zenitchiki (The Zeniters)
Founded	25 May 1925
Ground	Krestovsky Stadium
Capacity	67,800[1]
Owner	Gazprom
President	Alexander Medvedev
Head coach	Sergei Semak
League	Russian Premier League
2019–20	Russian Premier League, 1st of 16
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

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 officially-recorded 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 Zenit team stemmed from several football teams, which changed names and owners many times during the Soviet era after the Revolution of 1917, as 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 the team "Murzinka," founded in 1914, which played in the Obukhovsky stadium from 1914 until 1924, when the team came to be known as "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 to 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 "Stalinist"; 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. The name Zenit means "Zenith".

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

Zenit won their first honours in 1944, claiming the war-time USSR Cup after defeating CSKA Moscow in the well-attended final. The club was always adored in Leningrad, but was not able to make much of a significant impact in the Soviet League. In 1967, Zenit finished last but were saved from relegation because the Soviet leadership decided it would not 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. Zenit won the bronze medal in 1980, also reaching the Soviet Cup Final and winning 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

The LOMO optical plant took up the ownership of the team after the war. In 1990, FC Zenit were re-registered as an independent city-owned professional club. After being relegated in the first year of the Russian League (1992), Zenit returned to the top flight in 1996 and has been decent since. They claimed the 1999 Russian Cup, finished third in the League in 2001, made the Cup final in 2002, became the runners-up in the Premier League and won the Russian Premier League Cup in 2003.

Gazprom era

In December 2005, Gazprom took a controlling stake in the club.[2] The deal was announced by Valentina Matviyenko, the Saint Petersburg governor. Gazprom bought the majority of the club and invested over $100 million, buying new players and building the new stadium.

Under Advocaat

Andrey Arshavin, one of the most successful players in Zenit history.

Although Zenit reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 2006, a mediocre start to the league season led to the summer replacement of coach Vlastimil Petržela. In July 2006, Dick Advocaat [3] took over as Zenit's manager. Advocaat worked together with his assistant manager, former Netherlands national youth team coach Cor Pot. Zenit won the 2007 Russian Premier League—their best league achievement since winning the USSR Championship in 1984—allowing them to compete in the group stage of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League.

In 2008, Zenit won the Russian Super Cup and reached the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup for the second time in their history. In the first leg of the quarter-final away game against German side Bayer Leverkusen, the team achieved a 4–1 victory. They qualified for the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in their history, despite a 1–0 home loss to Leverkusen in the second leg, and were drawn to play further German opposition in the semi-final, Bayern Munich, considered the top team remaining.[4] A battling performance in the first leg of the semi-final earned Zenit a 1–1 draw away against Bayern Munich. In the second leg at home, Zenit won 4–0, defeating Bayern 5–1 on aggregate and going through to the UEFA Cup Final for the first time in club history, where they met Scottish side Rangers at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester on 14 May. Zenit won 2–0, with goals from Igor Denisov in the 72nd minute and Konstantin Zyryanov in stoppage time, to lift the club's first-ever UEFA Cup. Andrey Arshavin was named man of the match.[5]

On 29 August 2008, at the Stade Louis II in Monaco, Zenit then defeated Manchester United 2–1 in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup, becoming the first Russian side to win the trophy. Pavel Pogrebnyak scored the first goal and Danny scored the second, the latter being named man of the match in his debut for Zenit.[6]

In the 2008–09 Champions League group stage, Zenit was grouped with Real Madrid, Juventus and BATE Borisov in Group H, which by some was marked as the "group of death." Zenit ultimately finished in third place in the group, behind Juventus and Real Madrid, and was thus unable to progress to the knockout phase of the competition. This position, however, was good enough to earn the club a place in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup last 32, where the team faced VfB Stuttgart for a place in the last 16 of the competition. After defeating Stuttgart on away goals, Zenit went on to lose 2–1 over two legs against Italian club Udinese.

Under Spalletti

Zenit against Bayern Munich in 2011.

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 mandated him to return the Russian Premier League title to Zenit, win the Russian Cup and progress from the group stage of the Champions League in his first year.

Zenit won the Russian Cup on 16 May 2010 after beating Sibir Novosibirsk in the final (previously beating Volga Tver in the quarter-finals and Amkar Perm in the semi-finals). After 16 games in the 2010 Premier League, with 12 wins and four draws, Zenit claimed 40 points, setting 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, securing forward Aleksandr Bukharov and midfielder Sergei Semak from Rubin Kazan; defenders Aleksandar Luković from Udinese and Bruno Alves from Porto.

Hulk.

On 25 August 2010, Zenit lost its first game under Spalletti to French side Auxerre and failed to advance to the Champions League group stage, instead participating in the Europa League. On 3 October, 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, however, Zenit suffered its first defeat of the season at the hands of rival club Spartak Moscow, just seven games short of finishing the championship undefeated. On 14 November, Zenit defeated Rostov and two games prior to the end of the season won the championship title, the first in Spalletti's managerial career.

Zenit progressed through the knockout stage of the 2010–11 Europa League in first place, then beating Swiss side Young Boys in the Round of 16. On 6 March 2011, Zenit won against CSKA Moscow in the Russian Super Cup, the third Russian trophy won under Spalletti. On 17 March, however, Zenit were knocked out of the Europa League, losing to Dutch team Twente 2–3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.

In the 2011–12 Champions League, Zenit began the group stage drawn into Group G alongside Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and APOEL. On 6 December 2011, the team 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 the Round of 16, Zenit were drawn with Portuguese side Benfica, winning the first leg 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 thus eliminated from the competition.

In April 2012, Zenit won their second-straight Russian Championship after beating Dynamo Moscow.[7]

Under Villas-Boas

After a series of disappointing results in both the Champions League and the Premier League, Spalletti was fired on 11 March 2014.[8] A week later, the club announced they had negotiated a two-year deal with André Villas-Boas, who himself had been released a few months prior after a disappointing stint as manager of English side Tottenham Hotspur.[9] In the 2014–15 Europa League, Zenit were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual champions Sevilla. In May 2015, Zenit won the Russian Championship, the first championship title under Villas-Boas and the team's fifth-ever on the eve of its 90th anniversary celebration. Zenit then defeated Lokomotiv Moscow in the 2015 Russian Super Cup 1–1 (4–2 on penalties).

Later in the 2015 calendar year, Villas-Boas said that he would be leaving the club after the 2015–16 season. In the 2015–16 Champions League, Zenit began the competition in the group stage. They were drawn in Group H alongside Valencia, Lyon and Gent. They ended the group stage with their best group stage finish ever, winning five out of six matches and emerging as group winners. They were, however, eliminated from the competition in the Round of 16 by Portuguese side Benfica.

On 24 May 2016 Villas-Boas left the club at the end of the season, with Mircea Lucescu appointed the new manager of Zenit.[10][11]

Under Lucescu

In July 2016 Zenit won the Russian Super Cup after a 0–1 victory over CSKA Moscow.

During the 2016–17 Europa League, Zenit began the group stage drawn into Group D alongside Maccabi Tel-Aviv, AZ Alkmaar and Dundalk. On 8 December 2016, the team finished the group stage in first place and qualified for the spring knockout phase of Europa League. In the round of 32, Zenit faced R.S.C. Anderlecht and was eliminated 3–3 on aggregate due to the away goals rule. In the league, Zenit's performances in the spring were disappointing and as such the club finished third and missed out on the Champions League for the second year in a row. Zenit was also eliminated in the round of 16 by FC Anzhi Makhachkala 0–4 on aggregate after an abysmal performance. The first (and last) season of Mircea Lucescu was a complete disappointment despite the expectations.

Under Mancini

On 1 June 2017 Zenit appointed Roberto Mancini as the new manager of the team.[12] On 13 May 2018, Mancini terminated his contract by mutual consent.[13]

Under Semak

FC Zenit logo during the 95th birthday celebrations at May 2020.

In May 2018, Mancini left to become the head coach of the Italy national football team. Sergey Semak became the new manager of Zenit, receiving a two-year contract.[14]

In August 2018, during the 1st leg of the 3rd qualification round of the UEFA Europa League, Zenit suffered a 0–4 loss to Dynamo Minsk. During the 2nd leg back on home ground, Zenit made a comeback winning 8–1, scoring 3 goals in the second half and 4 goals in the second half of the extra time, with 2 goals scored in the 120th minute.[15] Zenit went on to beat Molde FK 4–3 on aggregate in the next round, entering the group stage of 2018-19 UEFA Europa League.[16]

In March 2020, the league was forced to halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia.[17] Zenit secured another title on 5 July 2020 after a victory over FC Krasnodar, with 4 games left to play in the tournament.[18]

Stadiums

Petrovsky Stadium

Krestovsky Stadium

Zenit's home ground is now the 67,800-capacity Krestovsky Stadium, known as Gazprom Arena for sponsorship reasons, in Saint Petersburg.

Petrovsky Stadium used to be the home ground of the team before the new Krestovsky Stadium was built.

Before moving to the Petrovsky Stadium, Zenit’s home ground was the Kirov Stadium. It stood on the site where the Krestovsky Stadium was later erected.

Honours

Domestic competitions

Soviet Top League / Russian Premier League[19]

• Champions (7): 1984, 2007, 2010, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2018–19, 2019–20

Soviet Cup / Russian Cup[20]

• Winners (5): 1944, 1998–99, 2009–10, 2015–16, 2019–20
• Runners-up: 1939, 1984, 2001–02

Soviet Super Cup / Russian Super Cup

• Winners (6): 1984, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2020
• Runners-up: 2012, 2013, 2019,

USSR Federation Cup / Russian Premier League Cup

• Winners: 2003
• Runners-up: 1986

Soviet First League / Russian National Football League

• Runners-up: 1993 (Center)

International competitions

UEFA Cup

• Winners: 2007–08[21]

UEFA Super Cup

• Winners: 2008[22]

League and cup history

Soviet Union

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Domestic Cup	Europe
1936	2nd	3	6				9	9	13
1936	2nd	6	7				6	13	12	Round of 16
1937	2nd	4	12				22	18	25	Round of 128
1938	1st	14	25	7	10	8	38	57	24	Round of 16
1939	1st	11	26	7	7	12	30	46	21	Runner-up
1940	1st	10	24	6	6	12	37	42	18
1944										Winner
1945	1st	6		8	7	7	35	31	23	Semi-final
1946	1st	9	22	5	5	12	22	45	15	Round of 16
1947	1st	6	24	10	2	12	35	49	22	Quarter-final
1948	1st	13	26	4	9	13	29	48	17	Round of 16
1949	1st	5	34	17	8	9	48	48	42	Quarter-final
1950	1st	6	36	19	5	12	70	59	43	Quarter-final
1951	1st	7	28	10	8	10	36	40	28	Round of 16
1952	1st	7	13	6	2	5	20	21	14	Quarter-final
1953	1st	5	20	11	1	8	25	21	23	Round of 16
1954	1st	7	24	8	7	9	27	26	23	Semi-final
1955	1st	8	22	5	8	9	23	36	18	Round of 16
1956	1st	9	22	4	11	7	27	43	19
1957	1st	10	22	4	7	11	23	41	15	Round of 16
1958	1st	4	22	9	8	5	41	32	26	Round of 16
1959	1st	8	22	8	4	10	29	38	20
1960	1st	15	30	14	5	11	47	37	33	Round of 32
1961	1st	13	32	12	8	12	50	52	32	Semi-final
1962	1st	11	32	11	7	14	53	42	29	Round of 32
1963	1st	6	38	14	17	7	45	32	45	Round of 32
1964	1st	11	32	9	9	14	30	35	27	Round of 16
1965	1st	9	32	10	12	10	32	32	32	Round of 32
1966	1st	16	36	10	8	18	35	54	28	Round of 16
1967	1st	19	36	6	9	21	28	63	21	Round of 32
1968	1st	11	38	10	14	14	35	49	34	Round of 32
1969	1st	9	26	6	9	11	21	34	21	Round of 16
1970	1st	14	32	10	7	15	30	40	27	Quarter-final
1971	1st	13	30	8	10	12	29	32	26	Quarter-final
1972	1st	7	30	11	11	8	44	30	33	Quarter-final
1973	1st	11	30	9	12	9	33	35	21	Round of 16
1974	1st	7	30	8	15	7	36	41	31	Round of 16
1975	1st	14	30	7	10	13	27	42	24	Round of 16
1976	1st	13	15	4	5	6	14	15	13
1976	1st	5	15	6	4	5	22	16	16	Round of 16
1977	1st	10	30	8	12	10	34	33	28	Semi-final
1978	1st	10	30	9	8	13	31	46	26	Quarter-final
1979	1st	10	34	11	9	14	41	45	30	Group stage
1980	1st	3	34	16	10	8	51	42	42	Group stage
1981	1st	15	34	9	10	15	33	43	28	Round of 16
1982	1st	7	34	12	9	13	44	41	33	Group stage	UC	First round
1983	1st	4	34	15	11	8	42	32	40	Semi-final
1984	1st	1	34	19	9	6	60	32	47	Runner-up
1985	1st	6	34	14	7	13	48	38	35	Semi-final
1986	1st	4	30	12	9	9	44	36	33	Semi-final	ECC	Second round
1987	1st	14	30	7	10	13	25	37	24	Round of 16
1988	1st	6	30	11	9	10	35	34	31	Round of 16	UC	First round
1989	1st	16	30	5	9	16	24	48	19	Round of 16
1990	2nd	18	38	8	14	16	35	41	30	Round of 32	UC	Second round
1991	2nd	18	42	11	14	17	44	50	36	Round of 32

Russia

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe		Top scorer (league)	Head coach
1992	1st	16	30	10	8	12	39	45	28	—	—		Kulik – 13	Melnikov
1993	2nd, "Centre"	2	38	25	8	5	87	33	58	Round of 32	—		Kulik – 36	Melnikov
1994	2nd	13	42	14	12	16	44	49	40	Round of 64	—		Kulik – 9	Melnikov
1995		3	42	24	5	13	68	42	77	Round of 32	—		Kulik – 19	Sadyrin
1996	1st	10	34	13	4	17	32	37	43	Round of 32	—		Kulik – 11	Sadyrin
1997		8	34	13	10	11	28	29	49	Semifinal	—		Gorshkov – 5	Byshovets
1998		5	30	12	11	7	42	25	47	Round of 16	—		Panov – 8 Maksimyuk – 8	Byshovets Davydov
1999		8	30	9	12	9	36	34	39	Winner	—		Popovich – 7	Davydov
2000		7	30	13	8	9	38	26	47	Round of 32	UC IC	1st round Runner-up	Popovich – 10	Davydov Morozov
2001		3	30	16	8	6	52	35	56	Round of 32	—		Popovich – 7	Morozov
2002		10	30	8	9	13	36	42	33	Runner-up	—		Kerzhakov – 14	Morozov Biryukov Rappoport
2003		2	30	16	8	6	48	32	56	Round of 16	UC	1st round	Kerzhakov – 13	Petržela
2004		4	30	17	5	8	55	37	56	Round of 16	—		Kerzhakov – 18	Petržela
2005		6	30	13	10	7	45	26	49	Semifinals	UC	Group stage	Arshavin – 9	Petržela
2006		4	30	13	11	6	42	30	50	Semifinals	UC	Quarterfinals	Arshavin – 7	Petržela Borovička Advocaat
2007		1	30	18	7	5	53	32	61	Quarterfinals	—		Pogrebnyak – 11	Advocaat
2008		5	30	12	12	6	59	37	48	Quarterfinals	UC	Winner	Tekke – 8	Advocaat
2009		3	30	15	9	6	48	27	54	Round of 32	UCL UC	Group stage Round of 16	Tekke – 8	Advocaat Davydov
2010		1	30	20	8	2	61	21	68	Winner	EL	Play-off round	Kerzhakov – 13	Spalletti
2011–12		1	44	24	16	4	85	40	88	Quarterfinals	UCL	Round of 16	Kerzhakov – 23	Spalletti
2012–13		2	30	18	8	4	52	25	62	Semifinals	UCL EL	Group stage Round of 16	Kerzhakov – 10	Spalletti
2013–14		2	30	19	6	5	63	32	63	Fifth Round	UCL	Round of 16	Hulk – 17	Spalletti Semak Villas-Boas
2014–15		1	29	19	7	3	57	17	59	Round of 16	UCL EL	Group Stage Quarterfinals	Hulk – 21	Villas-Boas
2015–16		3	30	17	8	5	61	32	59	Winner	UCL	Round of 16	Hulk – 14	Villas-Boas
2016–17		3	30	18	7	5	50	19	61	Round of 16	EL	Round of 32	Dzyuba – 13	Lucescu
2017–18		5	30	14	11	5	46	21	53	Round of 32	EL	Round of 16	Kokorin – 10	Mancini
2018–19		1	30	20	4	6	57	29	64	Round of 16	EL	Round of 16	Driussi – 11	Semak
2019–20		1	26	19	5	2	56	14	62	Winner	UCL	Group stage	Azmoun – 17 Dzyuba – 17	Semak
2020–21									?	?	UCL	?	?	Semak

League results

Players

Current squad

As of 29 January 2021.[23]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  RUS Dmitri Chistyakov (on loan from Rostov) 3 DF  BRA Douglas Santos 4 DF  RUS Danil Krugovoy 5 MF  COL Wílmar Barrios 6 DF  CRO Dejan Lovren (captain) 7 FW  IRN Sardar Azmoun 8 FW  BRA Malcom 11 FW  ARG Sebastián Driussi 14 MF  RUS Daler Kuzyayev 15 DF  RUS Vyacheslav Karavayev 17 MF  RUS Andrei Mostovoy 18 MF  RUS Yuri Zhirkov 19 MF  RUS Aleksei Sutormin

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  BRA Wendel 21 MF  RUS Aleksandr Yerokhin 22 FW  RUS Artem Dzyuba 27 MF  RUS Magomed Ozdoyev (vice-captain) 36 FW  RUS Stanislav Krapukhin 41 GK  RUS Mikhail Kerzhakov (3rd captain) 44 DF  UKR Yaroslav Rakitskiy 71 GK  RUS Daniil Odoyevskiy 78 GK  RUS Aleksandr Vasyutin 87 DF  RUS Danila Prokhin 92 FW  RUS Daniil Shamkin 99 GK  RUS Andrey Lunyov

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  RUS Nikita Goylo (at Akron Tolyatti) — DF  ARG Emanuel Mammana (at Sochi) — MF  RUS Sergei Ivanov (at Zemplín Michalovce)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  RUS Kirill Kaplenko (at Orenburg) — FW  RUS Ilya Vorobyov (at Orenburg) — FW  ARG Emiliano Rigoni (at Elche)

Reserve squad

Zenit's reserve squad played professionally as Zenit-2 (Russian Second League in 1993, Russian Second Division from 1998 to 2000) and Zenit-d (Russian Third League from 1994 to 1997). Another team that was founded as Lokomotiv-Zenit-2 played as Zenit-2 in the Russian Second Division from 2001 to 2008. By 2008, there was no relation between that team and FC Zenit. Another farm club called FC Smena-Zenit debuted in the Russian Second Division in 2009, taking the spot of the former FC Zenit-2. FC Smena-Zenit was dissolved after the 2009 season because it did not fulfill Zenit's initial expectations. Zenit-2 reentered professional football in the 2013–14 season in the Russian Professional Football League.

Team captains

Name	Years
Aleksey Naumov	1992
Oleg Dmitriyev	1993–94
Vladimir Kulik	1995–96
Yuriy Vernydub	1997–2000
Andrey Kobelev	2000–01
Aleksei Igonin	2001–03
Vladislav Radimov	2003–07
Andrey Arshavin	2007
Erik Hagen	2007
Anatoliy Tymoshchuk	2007–09
Vyacheslav Malafeev	2009
Aleksandr Anyukov	2009–12
Vyacheslav Malafeev	2012
Danny	2012–13
Roman Shirokov	2013
Danny	2014–17
Domenico Criscito	2017–18
Aleksandr Anyukov	2018–19
Branislav Ivanović	2019–20
Artyom Dzyuba	2020
Dejan Lovren	2020–

Club officials

Board of directors

Position	Name
General Director	Alexander Medvedev
Sporting Director	Javier Ribalta[24]
Deputy General Directors	Dmitri Mankin
Deputy General Directors	Vyacheslav Malafeev
Deputy General Directors	Rosteslav Leontyev
Deputy General Directors	Zhanna Dembo
Deputy General Directors	Yury Andreyevich
Director of the "Smena" study-practice complex	Vasily Kostrovsky

Source: fc-zenit.ru

Management

Position	Name
Head Coach	Sergei Semak
Assistant coaches	Aleksandr Nizelik William Artur de Oliveira Igor Simutenkov Anatoliy Tymoshchuk Aleksandr Anyukov
Goalkeeping coach	Mikhail Biryukov Yuri Zhevnov
Fitness coach	Ivan Carminati Andrea Scanavino Mariya Burova
Doctor	Mikhail Grishin

Source: http://fc-zenit.ru/zenit/coaches/

Kit suppliers

Period	Kit manufacturers
1997–2000	Adidas
2001–02	Diadora
2003–04	Umbro
2005–07	Adidas
2008–09	Puma
2010–	Nike

Presidents

Name	Period
Vladislav Gusev	1990–1992
Leonid Tufrin	1992–1994
Vitaly Mutko	1995–2003
David Traktovenko	2003–2005
Sergey Fursenko	2006–2008
Alexander Dyukov	2008–2017
Sergey Fursenko	2017–2019
Alexander Medvedev	2019–

Head coaches

Name Period Pyotr Filippov 1936–37 Mikhail Yudenich 1938–39 Konstantin Egorov 1938–39 Pyotr Filippov 1940 Konstantin Lemeshev 1941–45 Mikhail Butusov 1946 Ivan Talanov 1946–48 Konstantin Lemeshev 1948–50 Georgiy Lasin 1950–51 Vladimir Lemeshev 1952–54 Nikolay Lyukshinov 1954–55 Arkadiy Alov 1956–57 Georgiy Zharkov 1957–60 Gennadiy Bondarenko 1960 Evgeniy Eliseev 1961–64 Valentin Fyodorov 1964–66 Arkadiy Alov 1967 Artem Falyan 1968–70 Yevgeniy Goryanskiy 1970–72 German Zonin 1973–77 Yuri Morozov 1977–82 Pavel Sadyrin 1983-87

Name Period Vladimir Golubev 1987 Stanislav Zavidonov 1988–89 Vladimir Golubev 1989 Anatoliy Konkov 1990 Vyacheslav Bulavin 1990 Yuri Morozov 1991 Vyacheslav Melnikov 1992–94 Pavel Sadyrin Jan 1, 1995 – Dec 31, 1996 Anatoliy Byshovets Jan 1, 1997 – Sep 25, 1998 Anatoli Davydov 1998–00 Yuri Morozov 2000–02 Mikhail Biryukov 2002 Boris Rappoport 2002 Vlastimil Petržela Nov 19, 2002 – May 3, 2006 Vladimír Borovička (caretaker) 2006 Dick Advocaat July 13, 2006 – Aug 10, 2009 Anatoli Davydov Aug 10, 2009 – Dec 9, 2009 Luciano Spalletti Dec 10, 2009 – March 11, 2014 Sergei Semak (caretaker) March 11, 2014 – March 20, 2014 André Villas-Boas March 20, 2014 – May 24, 2016 Mircea Lucescu May 24, 2016 – May 28, 2017 Roberto Mancini June 1, 2017 – May 13, 2018 Sergei Semak May 29, 2018 – present

In Europe

As of 28 September 2017

By competition

Competition	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win%[nb 1]	Ref
Champions League / European Cup	58	27	11	20	77	64	+13	046.55
Europa League / UEFA Cup / Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	93	50	16	27	169	111	+58	053.76
Super Cup	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Intertoto Cup	8	6	1	1	17	7	+10	075.00
Total	160	84	28	48	265	183	+82	052.50

UEFA club coefficient ranking

As of 22 August 2019[25]

Rank	Team	Points
17	Tottenham Hotspur	78.000
18	Manchester United	78.000
19	Zenit Saint Petersburg	72.000
20	Ajax	70.500
21	Benfica	68.000

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Zenit.

USSR/Russia Mikhail Biryukov Vasily Danilov Sergey Dmitriyev Vladimir Golubev Aleksandr Ivanov Leonid Ivanov Anzor Kavazashvili Vladimir Kazachyonok Nikolay Larionov Fridrikh Maryutin Sergei Salnikov Sergei Shvetsov Yuriy Voynov Anatoli Zinchenko Vasili Kulkov Dmitri Radchenko Valeri Broshin Aleksandr Anyukov Andrey Arshavin Aleksandr Bukharov Vladimir Bystrov Maksim Demenko Igor Denisov Artyom Dzyuba Viktor Fayzulin Alexandr Gorshkov Aleksei Igonin Aleksei Ionov Maksim Kanunnikov Vyacheslav Karavayev Aleksandr Kerzhakov Andrey Kobelev Aleksandr Kokorin Sergei Kolotovkin Andrei Kondrashov Daler Kuzyayev Vladimir Lebed Yury Lodygin Andrey Lunyov Ilya Maksimov Vyacheslav Malafeev Pavel Mogilevets Andrei Mostovoy Elmir Nabiullin Ivan Novoseltsev Magomed Ozdoyev Aleksandr Panov Sergei Petrov Sergei Podpaly Pavel Pogrebnyak Dmitry Poloz

Vladislav Radimov Aleksandr Ryazantsev Oleg Salenko Sergey Semak Igor Semshov Oleg Shatov Roman Shirokov Igor Smolnikov Renat Yanbayev Aleksandr Yerokhin Artur Yusupov Anton Zabolotny Yuri Zhirkov Denis Zubko Konstantin Zyryanov Other former USSR countries Roman Berezovsky Sargis Hovsepyan Yervand Krbachyan Artem Simonyan Ramil Sheydayev Dmitry Ogorodnik Boris Gorovoy Sergey Gerasimets Sergey Kornilenko Yuri Zhevnov Solomon Kvirkvelia Andrei Kurdyumov Peter Neustädter Yevgeni Tarasov Egidijus Majus Darius Miceika Robertas Poškus Irmantas Stumbrys Ovidijus Verbickas Serghei Cleșcenco Alexandru Curteian Andrei Manannikov Vazgen Manasyan Dmitri Khomukha Dmitri Nezhelev Vladimir Gorily Roman Maksimyuk Sergey Popov Yaroslav Rakitskiy Aleksandr Spivak Aleksandr Svistunov Anatoliy Tymoschuk Igor Zhabchenko Europe Nicolas Lombaerts

Axel Witsel Ivica Križanac Dejan Lovren Pavel Mareš Radek Šírl Michael Lumb Boris Rotenberg Szabolcs Huszti Domenico Criscito Claudio Marchisio Alessandro Rosina Mikhail Zaritskiy Veliče Šumulikoski Luka Đorđević Erik Hagen Bruno Alves Danny Fernando Meira Luís Neto Milan Rodić Branislav Ivanović Mateja Kežman Danko Lazović Aleksandar Luković Kamil Čontofalský Tomáš Hubočan Róbert Mak Martin Škrtel Miha Mevlja Javi García Fatih Tekke South and Central America Cristian Ansaldi Ezequiel Garay Matías Kranevitter Emanuel Mammana Leandro Paredes Emiliano Rigoni Giuliano Hulk Douglas Santos Wílmar Barrios Christian Noboa Yordan Osorio Salomón Rondón Asia Sardar Azmoun Hyun Young-min Kim Dong-jin Lee Ho

Partnership

Other football clubs

• Schalke 04[26]
• Shakhtar Donetsk[27]
• Red Star Belgrade

Corporations

• MegaFon[28]
• Rossiya Airlines[29]
• Nissan[30]
• Obi (store)[31]
• Rostelecom[31]
• Corinthia Saint Petersburg[32]
• St. Peter Line[33]
• Google[34]

Rivalries

Zenit's traditional rivals are the big Moscow clubs, most notably FC Spartak Moscow and FC Torpedo Moscow. They also shared rivalries with the big Ukrainian clubs FC Dynamo Kyiv and FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Soviet era.

See also

• ZFK Zenit Saint Petersburg

Notes

1. Win% is rounded to two decimal places

References

1. "Arena St Petersburg".
2. "Gazprom Buys Zenit". The St. Petersburg Times. 23 December 2005. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014.
3. "Gazprom fuels Zenit dream". uefa.com. 19 January 2007. Archived from the original on 24 February 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
4. "Zenit stuns Bayern in UEFA Cup semi, 4–0". The New York Times.
5. Ravdin, Eugene (14 May 2008). "Proud Arshavin spent by star turn". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
6. "2008: Zenit claim Russian first". uefa.com.
7. "The secrets of Zenit's third title success". uefa.com. 28 April 2012. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012.
8. "Zenit St. Petersburg fires coach Luciano Spalletti". The Moscow News. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014.
9. "Andre Villas-Boas agrees deal to become Zenit St Petersburg head coach - ESPN FC". ESPNFC.com.
10. "André Villas-Boas announces he is to quit as Zenit St Petersburg manager". The Guardian. Associated Press. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
11. "Mircea Lucescu takes charge at Zenit". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
12. Роберто Манчини назначен главным тренером «Зенита» (in Russian). FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. 1 June 2017.
13. "Official: Mancini leaves Zenit". Football Italia. 13 May 2018.
14. "Zenit name Semak as new manager". BeSoccer. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
15. "Match Summary". UEFA Europa League. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
16. "Match Summary". UEFA Europa League. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
17. Matchett, Karl (17 March 2020). "Coronavirus outbreak sees Russian Premier League postponed until April". The Independent. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
18. "«Зенит» в седьмой раз в истории стал чемпионом страны" (in Russian). FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. 5 July 2020.
19. "Russia – List of Champions". rsssf.com. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
20. "Russia – Cup Finals". rsssf.com. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
21. "Previous winners". uefa.com. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
22. "Previous winners". uefa.com. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
23. "ZENIT FIRST TEAM SQUAD". FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
24. "Official: Javier Ribalta is the new Zenit Sporting Director". Zenit Football Club. 31 July 2018.
25. UEFA.com. "Member associations – UEFA Coefficients – Club coefficients". UEFA.
26. "ФК "Зенит" подписал соглашение о партнерстве с ФК "Шальке 04"". FC Zenit.
27. "Сергей Фурсенко: Партнерство с "Шахтером" – шаг актуальный и своевременный". FC Zenit.
28. ""Zenit" has begun a partnership with "MegaFon"". FC Zenit.
29. "Rossiya Airlines becomes official Zenit partner". FC Zenit.
30. ""Zenit" has begun a partnership with Nissan".
31. "Premium partners". FC Zenit.
32. "Zenit and Corinthia St. Petersburg 5-star hotel have become partners". FC Zenit.
33. "Official partners". FC Zenit.
34. "Zenit launches new partnership with YouTube". FC Zenit.

External links

• Official website (in Russian, English, Spanish, German, Hebrew, and Persian)