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FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
Association football club in Russia
Association football club in Russia
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| clubname | Zenit |
| image | FC Zenit Saint Petersburg crest.svg |
| image_size | 220px |
| fullname | Футбольный клуб Зенит |
| nickname | Sine-Belo-Golubye (The Blue-White-Sky Blues) |
| Zenitchiki (The Zeniters) | |
| L’vy (The Lions) | |
| founded | |
| ground | Krestovsky Stadium |
| capacity | 67,800 |
| owner | Gazprom |
| chairman | Konstantin Zyryanov |
| chrtitle | President |
| manager | Sergei Semak |
| league | Russian Premier League |
| season | 2024–25 |
| position | Russian Premier League, 2nd of 16 |
| current | 2024–25 FC Zenit Saint Petersburg season |
| website | |
| pattern_sh1 | _whitejogel |
| pattern_so1 | _whitejogel |
| leftarm1 | 5DADEC |
| body1 | 5DADEC |
| rightarm1 | 5DADEC |
| shorts1 | 5DADEC |
| socks1 | 5DADEC |
| leftarm2 | ffffff |
| body2 | ffffff |
| rightarm2 | ffffff |
| shorts2 | ffffff |
| socks2 | ffffff |
Zenitchiki (The Zeniters) L’vy (The Lions) Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club plays in the Russian Premier League. They won the 2007, 2010, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23 and the 2023–24 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 plays its home matches at the Gazprom Arena. On 24 May 2023, Zenit became the first Russian sports club with 10 million followers on social media.
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.
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".) 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. In 1992, After being relegated in the first year of the Russian League, 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. The deal was announced by Valentina Matviyenko, the Saint Petersburg governor. Gazprom bought the majority of the club.
Under Advocaat
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 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. 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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. 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. 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.
Under Lucescu and Mancini
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.
On 1 June 2017 Zenit appointed Roberto Mancini as the new manager of the team. On 13 May 2018, Mancini terminated his contract by mutual consent.
Under Semak

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.
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. 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.
In March 2020, the league was forced to halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia. Zenit secured another title on 5 July 2020 after a victory over FC Krasnodar, with 4 games left to play in the tournament.
On 2 May 2021, Zenit secured their third title in a row in a 6–1 victory over second-place FC Lokomotiv Moscow. Zenit opened the 2021–22 season with a seventh win in the Russian Super Cup after a 3–0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow, but without major key players who left the club like Yuri Zhirkov, Andrei Lunev, and Sebastián Driussi.
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, former Ukrainian international Yaroslav Rakitskiy made a pro-Ukrainian post on Instagram and severed his contract with the team. FIFA and the UEFA indefinitely suspended the team from their competitions. In addition, the European Club Association suspended the team.
On 30 April 2022, Zenit secured their fourth title in a row and eighth overall. Many of Zenit's foreign players have not been able to leave Russia, unable to secure moves away from Russian clubs, due to international sanctions placed upon the country as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
On 7 May 2023, Zenit secured their fifth title in a row and ninth overall.
In 2024, Zenit was one of the organizers of the Equality Cup, an international football tournament.
On 25 May 2024, Zenit won their sixth title in a row dramatically on the last day of the season, as league-leading Dynamo Moscow lost to third-placed Krasnodar, allowing Zenit to come back to the top. The winning goal in Zenit's game against Rostov was scored in the 85th minute by Artur. On 2 June 2024, Zenit won the Russian Cup with a late-comeback 2–1 victory over Baltika Kaliningrad, Nuraly Alip scored the winning goal in the 5th added minute. On 13 July 2024, Zenit won the 2024 Russian Super Cup.
Stadiums
Main article: 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
- Soviet Cup / Russian Cup
- Soviet Super Cup / Russian Super Cup
- 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
League and cup history
Soviet Union
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Russia
| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Cup | Europe | Top scorer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (league) | Head coach | ||||||||||||
| 1992 | 1st | 16 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 39 | 45 | 28 | — | — | Russia Kulik – 13 | Russia Melnikov |
| 1993 | 2nd | 2 | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 87 | 33 | 58 | Round of 32 | — | Russia Kulik – 36 | Russia Melnikov |
| 1994 | 2nd | 13 | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 44 | 49 | 40 | Round of 64 | — | Russia Kulik – 9 | Russia Melnikov |
| 1995 | 3 | 42 | 24 | 5 | 13 | 68 | 42 | 77 | Round of 32 | — | Russia Kulik – 19 | Russia Sadyrin | |
| 1996 | 1st | 10 | 34 | 13 | 4 | 17 | 32 | 37 | 43 | Round of 32 | — | Russia Kulik – 11 | Russia Sadyrin |
| 1997 | 8 | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 28 | 29 | 49 | Semifinal | — | Ukraine Horshkov – 5 | Russia Byshovets | |
| 1998 | 5 | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 42 | 25 | 47 | Round of 16 | — | Russia Panov – 8 | ||
| Ukraine Maksymyuk – 8 | Russia Byshovets | ||||||||||||
| Russia Davydov | |||||||||||||
| 1999 | 8 | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 36 | 34 | 39 | Winner | — | Ukraine Popovych – 7 | Russia Davydov | |
| 2000 | 7 | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 38 | 26 | 47 | Round of 32 | UC | |||
| IC | 1st round | ||||||||||||
| Runner-up | Ukraine Popovych – 10 | Russia Davydov | |||||||||||
| Russia Morozov | |||||||||||||
| 2001 | 3 | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 52 | 35 | 56 | Round of 32 | — | Ukraine Popovych – 7 | Russia Morozov | |
| 2002 | 10 | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 36 | 42 | 33 | Runner-up | — | Russia Kerzhakov – 14 | Russia Morozov | |
| Russia Biryukov | |||||||||||||
| Russia Rappoport | |||||||||||||
| 2003 | 2 | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 48 | 32 | 56 | Round of 16 | UC | 1st round | Russia Kerzhakov – 13 | Czech Petržela |
| 2004 | 4 | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 55 | 37 | 56 | Round of 16 | — | Russia Kerzhakov – 18 | Czech Petržela | |
| 2005 | 6 | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 45 | 26 | 49 | Semifinals | UC | Group stage | Russia Arshavin – 9 | Czech Petržela |
| 2006 | 4 | 30 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 42 | 30 | 50 | Semifinals | UC | Quarterfinals | Russia Arshavin – 7 | Czech Petržela |
| Czech Borovička | |||||||||||||
| Netherlands Advocaat | |||||||||||||
| 2007 | 1 | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 53 | 32 | 61 | Quarterfinals | — | Russia Pogrebnyak – 11 | Netherlands Advocaat | |
| 2008 | 5 | 30 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 59 | 37 | 48 | Quarterfinals | UC | |||
| USC | Winner | ||||||||||||
| Winner | Turkey Tekke – 8 | ||||||||||||
| Netherlands Advocaat | |||||||||||||
| 2009 | 3 | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 48 | 27 | 54 | Round of 32 | UCL | |||
| UC | Group stage | ||||||||||||
| Round of 16 | Turkey Tekke – 8 | Netherlands Advocaat | |||||||||||
| Russia Davydov | |||||||||||||
| 2010 | 1 | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 61 | 21 | 68 | Winner | EL | Play-off round | Russia Kerzhakov – 13 | Italy Spalletti |
| 2011–12 | 1 | 44 | 24 | 16 | 4 | 85 | 40 | 88 | Quarterfinals | UCL | Round of 16 | Russia Kerzhakov – 23 | Italy Spalletti |
| 2012–13 | 2 | 30 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 52 | 25 | 62 | Semifinals | UCL | |||
| EL | Group stage | ||||||||||||
| Round of 16 | Russia Kerzhakov – 10 | Italy Spalletti | |||||||||||
| 2013–14 | 2 | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 63 | 32 | 63 | Fifth round | UCL | Round of 16 | Brazil Hulk – 17 | Italy Spalletti |
| Russia Semak | |||||||||||||
| Portugal Villas-Boas | |||||||||||||
| 2014–15 | 1 | 30 | 20 | 7 | 3 | 58 | 17 | 67 | Round of 16 | UCL | |||
| EL | Group stage | ||||||||||||
| Quarterfinals | Brazil Hulk – 15 | Portugal Villas-Boas | |||||||||||
| 2015–16 | 3 | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 61 | 32 | 59 | Winner | UCL | Round of 16 | Brazil Hulk – 17 | Portugal Villas-Boas |
| 2016–17 | 3 | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 50 | 19 | 61 | Round of 16 | EL | Round of 32 | Russia Dzyuba – 13 | Romania Lucescu |
| 2017–18 | 5 | 30 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 46 | 21 | 53 | Round of 32 | EL | Round of 16 | Russia Kokorin – 10 | Italy Mancini |
| 2018–19 | 1 | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 57 | 29 | 64 | Round of 16 | EL | Round of 16 | Argentina Driussi – 11 | Russia Semak |
| 2019–20 | 1 | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 65 | 18 | 72 | Winner | UCL | Group stage | Iran Azmoun – 17 | |
| Russia Dzyuba – 17 | Russia Semak | ||||||||||||
| 2020–21 | 1 | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 76 | 26 | 65 | Round of 16 | UCL | Group stage | Russia Dzyuba – 20 | Russia Semak |
| 2021–22 | 1 | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 66 | 28 | 65 | Quarter-finals | UCL | |||
| EL | Group stage | ||||||||||||
| Knockout round | Russia Dzyuba – 11 | Russia Semak | |||||||||||
| 2022–23 | 1 | 30 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 74 | 20 | 70 | Quarter-finals | Suspended | Brazil Malcom – 23 | Russia Semak | |
| 2023–24 | 1 | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 52 | 27 | 57 | Winner | Colombia Mateo Cassierra – 21 | Russia Semak | ||
| 2024–25 | 2 | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 58 | 18 | 66 | Semifinals | Argentina Luciano Gondou – 10 | Russia Semak |
League positions
ImageSize = width:900 height:60 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1991 till:01/07/2024 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1992 Colors = id:bl1 value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5) id:bl2 value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.3) id:rs value:rgb(0.8,0.6,0.6) id:rn value:rgb(0.9,0.1,0.1)
PlotData= bar:Position width:15 color:white align:center
from:01/07/1991 till:01/07/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/01/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2023 till:01/07/2024 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/01/1991 till:01/07/1992 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "VL" from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1995 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "RFNL" from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1997 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "VL" from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/2001 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "VD" from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2024 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "Russian Premier League"
Players
Current squad
Players at [[FC Zenit-2 Saint Petersburg|Zenit-2]]
Out on loan
Reserve squad
Main article: FC Zenit-2 Saint Petersburg
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 |
|---|---|
| Russia Aleksey Naumov | 1992 |
| Russia Oleg Dmitriyev | 1993–94 |
| Russia Vladimir Kulik | 1995–96 |
| Ukraine Yuriy Vernydub | 1997–2000 |
| Russia Andrey Kobelev | 2000–01 |
| Russia Aleksei Igonin | 2002–03 |
| Russia Vladislav Radimov | 2003–07 |
| Russia Andrey Arshavin | 2007 |
| Norway Erik Hagen | 2007 |
| Ukraine Anatoliy Tymoshchuk | 2007–09 |
| Russia Aleksandr Anyukov | 2009–12, 2018–19 |
| Russia Vyacheslav Malafeev | 2012 |
| Russia Roman Shirokov | 2013 |
| Russia Konstantin Zyryanov | 2013–14 |
| Portugal Danny | 2014–17 |
| Italy Domenico Criscito | 2017–18 |
| Serbia Branislav Ivanović | 2019–20 |
| Russia Artem Dzyuba | 2020 |
| Croatia Dejan Lovren | 2020–22 |
| Brazil Douglas Santos | 2023– |
Club officials
Board of directors
| Period | Brand | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1977–2000 | Adidas | LOMO, XX Trest and |
| Saint Petersburg City Administration | ||
| 2001–2002 | Diadora | David Traktovenko |
| 2003–2004 | Umbro | |
| 2005–2007 | Adidas | Gazprom |
| 2008–2009 | Puma | |
| 2010–2022 | Nike | |
| 2023–2024 | Joma | Gazprom, Wildberries |
| 2024–2025 | Kelme | Gazprom, Wildberries |
| 2025– | Jögel | Gazprom, Wildberries |
Partnership
Other football clubs
- Germany Schalke 04
- Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
- Serbia Red Star Belgrade
- Iran Sepahan
Corporations
- MegaFon
- Rossiya Airlines
- Nissan
- Obi
- Rostelecom
- Corinthia Saint Petersburg
- St. Peter Line
Presidents
| Name | Period |
|---|---|
| Russia Vladislav Gusev | 1990–1992 |
| Russia Leonid Tufrin | 1992–1994 |
| Russia Vitaly Mutko | 1995–2003 |
| Russia David Traktovenko | 2003–2005 |
| Russia Sergey Fursenko | 2006–2008 |
| Russia Alexander Dyukov | 2008–2017 |
| Russia Sergey Fursenko | 2017–2019 |
| Russia Alexander Medvedev | 2019– |
Head coaches
| Name | Period |
|---|---|
| USSR Pyotr Filippov | 1936–37 |
| USSR Mikhail Yudenich | 1938–39 |
| USSR Konstantin Egorov | 1938–39 |
| USSR Pyotr Filippov | 1940 |
| USSR Konstantin Lemeshev | 1941–45 |
| USSR Mikhail Butusov | 1946 |
| USSR Ivan Talanov | 1946–48 |
| USSR Konstantin Lemeshev | 1948–50 |
| USSR Georgiy Lasin | 1950–51 |
| USSR Vladimir Lemeshev | 1952–54 |
| USSR Nikolay Lyukshinov | 1954–55 |
| USSR Arkadiy Alov | 1956–57 |
| USSR Georgiy Zharkov | 1957–60 |
| USSR Gennadiy Bondarenko | 1960 |
| USSR Evgeniy Eliseev | 1961–64 |
| USSR Valentin Fyodorov | 1964–66 |
| USSR Arkadiy Alov | 1967 |
| USSR Artem Falyan | 1968–70 |
| USSR Yevgeniy Goryanskiy | 1970–72 |
| USSR German Zonin | 1973–77 |
| USSR Yuri Morozov | 1977–82 |
| USSR Pavel Sadyrin | 1983-87 |
| Name | Period |
|---|---|
| USSR Vladimir Golubev | 1987 |
| USSR Stanislav Zavidonov | 1988–89 |
| USSR Vladimir Golubev | 1989 |
| USSR Anatoliy Konkov | 1990 |
| USSR Vyacheslav Bulavin | 1990 |
| Russia Yuri Morozov | 1991 |
| Russia Vyacheslav Melnikov | 1992–94 |
| Russia Pavel Sadyrin | Jan 1, 1995 – Dec 31, 1996 |
| Russia Anatoliy Byshovets | Jan 1, 1997 – Sep 25, 1998 |
| Russia Anatoli Davydov | 1998–00 |
| Russia Yuri Morozov | 2000–02 |
| Russia Mikhail Biryukov | 2002 |
| Russia Boris Rappoport | 2002 |
| Czech Republic Vlastimil Petržela | Nov 19, 2002 – May 3, 2006 |
| Czech Republic Vladimír Borovička (caretaker) | 2006 |
| Holland Dick Advocaat | July 13, 2006 – Aug 10, 2009 |
| Russia Anatoli Davydov | Aug 10, 2009 – Dec 9, 2009 |
| Italy Luciano Spalletti | Dec 10, 2009 – March 11, 2014 |
| Russia Sergei Semak (caretaker) | March 11, 2014 – March 20, 2014 |
| Portugal André Villas-Boas | March 20, 2014 – May 24, 2016 |
| Romania Mircea Lucescu | May 24, 2016 – May 28, 2017 |
| Italy Roberto Mancini | June 1, 2017 – May 13, 2018 |
| Russia Sergei Semak | May 29, 2018 – present |
Zenit in European football
Main article: FC Zenit Saint Petersburg in European football
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win%Win% is rounded to two decimal places | Champions League / European Cup | Europa League / UEFA Cup / Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | Super Cup | Intertoto Cup | Total |
|---|
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
- USSR Mikhail Biryukov
- USSR Vasily Danilov
- USSR Sergey Dmitriyev
- USSR Vladimir Golubev
- USSR Aleksandr Ivanov
- USSR Leonid Ivanov
- USSR Anzor Kavazashvili
- USSR Vladimir Kazachyonok
- USSR Nikolay Larionov
- USSR Fridrikh Maryutin
- USSR Sergei Salnikov
- USSR Sergei Shvetsov
- USSR Yuriy Voynov
- USSR Anatoli Zinchenko
- RUS Arsen Adamov
- RUS Ilzat Akhmetov
- RUS Aleksandr Anyukov
- RUS Andrey Arshavin
- RUS Zelimkhan Bakayev
- RUS Aleksandr Bukharov
- RUS Vladimir Bystrov
- RUS Dmitri Chistyakov
- RUS Maksim Demenko
- RUS Igor Denisov
- RUS Igor Diveyev
- RUS Artyom Dzyuba
- RUS Viktor Fayzulin
- RUS BRA Mário Fernandes
- RUS Maksim Glushenkov
- RUS Yuri Gorshkov
- RUS Aleksei Igonin
- RUS Aleksei Ionov
- RUS Maksim Kanunnikov
- RUS Vyacheslav Karavayev
- RUS Aleksandr Kerzhakov
- RUS Andrey Kobelev
- RUS Aleksandr Kokorin
- RUS Sergei Kolotovkin
- RUS Andrei Kondrashov
- RUS Aleksandr Kovalenko
- RUS Stanislav Kritsyuk
- RUS Danil Krugovoy
- RUS CIS USSR Vasili Kulkov
- RUS Daler Kuzyayev
- Russia Yevgeni Latyshonok
- RUS Vladimir Lebed
- RUS Yury Lodygin
- RUS Andrey Lunyov
- RUS Ilya Maksimov
- RUS Vyacheslav Malafeev
- RUS Pavel Mogilevets
- RUS Andrei Mostovoy
- RUS Elmir Nabiullin
- RUS Ivan Novoseltsev
- RUS Magomed Ozdoyev
- RUS Aleksandr Panov
- RUS Sergei Petrov
- RUS Sergei Podpaly
- RUS Pavel Pogrebnyak
- RUS Dmitry Poloz
- RUS USSR Dmitri Radchenko
- RUS Vladislav Radimov
- RUS Aleksandr Ryazantsev
- RUS UKR Oleg Salenko
- RUS Sergey Semak
- RUS Igor Semshov
- RUS Ivan Sergeyev
- RUS Oleg Shatov
- RUS Kirill Shchetinin
- RUS Roman Shirokov
- RUS Igor Smolnikov
- RUS Aleksandr Sobolev
- RUS Aleksei Sutormin
- RUS Ilya Vakhaniya
- RUS Sergei Volkov
- RUS Renat Yanbayev
- RUS Aleksandr Yerokhin
- RUS Artur Yusupov
- RUS Anton Zabolotny
- RUS Yuri Zhirkov
- RUS Anton Zinkovsky
- RUS Denis Zubko
- RUS Konstantin Zyryanov ;Europe
- ARM Roman Berezovsky
- ARM Sargis Hovsepyan
- ARM Yervand Krbachyan
- ARM Artem Simonyan
- AZE Aleksey Isayev
- AZE Ramil Sheydayev
- BLR Sergey Gerasimets
- BLR Boris Gorovoy
- BLR Kirill Kaplenko
- BLR Sergey Kornilenko
- BLR Dmitry Ogorodnik
- BLR Yuri Zhevnov
- BEL Nicolas Lombaerts
- BEL Axel Witsel
- BIH Darko Maletić
- CRO Ivica Križanac
- CRO Dejan Lovren
- CZE Marek Kincl
- CZE Pavel Mareš
- CZE Radek Šírl
- DEN Michael Lumb
- FIN Boris Rotenberg
- GEO Solomon Kvirkvelia
- GEO Saba Sazonov
- HUN Szabolcs Huszti
- ITA Domenico Criscito
- ITA Claudio Marchisio
- ITA Alessandro Rosina
- KAZ Nuraly Alip
- KAZ Andrei Kurdyumov
- KAZ Peter Neustädter
- KAZ Yevgeni Tarasov
- LTU Egidijus Majus
- LTU Darius Miceika
- LTU Robertas Poškus
- LTU Irmantas Stumbrys
- LTU Ovidijus Verbickas
- LUX Mikhail Zaritskiy
- MKD Dragan Čadikovski
- MKD Veliče Šumulikoski
- MDA Serghei Cleșcenco
- MDA Alexandru Curteian
- MNE Luka Đorđević
- NOR Erik Hagen
- POR Bruno Alves
- POR Danny
- POR Fernando Meira
- POR Luís Neto
- ROM Zeno Bundea
- ROM Daniel Chiriță
- SCG Mateja Kežman
- SRB Strahinja Eraković
- SRB SCG Branislav Ivanović
- SRB SCG Danko Lazović
- SRB SCG Aleksandar Luković
- SRB Ognjen Mimović
- SRB Milan Rodić
- SRB Saša Zdjelar
- SVK Kamil Čontofalský
- SVK Tomáš Hubočan
- SVK Róbert Mak
- SVK Martin Škrtel
- SVN Vanja Drkušić
- SVN Miha Mevlja
- SPA Javi García
- TUR Fatih Tekke
- UKR Vladimir Gorily
- UKR RUS Olexandr Gorshkov
- UKR Roman Maksimyuk
- UKR Sergey Popov
- UKR Yaroslav Rakitskiy
- UKR Oleksandr Spivak
- UKR Oleksandr Svystunov
- UKR Anatoliy Tymoschuk
- UKR Igor Zhabchenko ;South and Central America
- ARG Cristian Ansaldi
- ARG Ezequiel Garay
- ARG Matías Kranevitter
- ARG Emanuel Mammana
- ARG Leandro Paredes
- ARG Emiliano Rigoni
- BRA Yuri Alberto
- BRA Gerson
- BRA Giuliano
- BRA Luiz Henrique
- BRA Hulk
- BRA Malcom
- BRA Nino
- BRA Douglas Santos
- COL Wílmar Barrios
- COL Mateo Cassierra
- ECU Christian Noboa
- VEN Yordan Osorio
- VEN Salomón Rondón ;Asia
- IRN Sardar Azmoun
- KOR Kim Dong-jin
- KOR Lee Ho
- KOR Hyun Young-min
- TJK Ruslan Khayloev
- TJK Andrei Manannikov
- TJK Vazgen Manasyan
- TKM USSR Valeri Broshin
- TKM Dmitri Khomukha
- TKM Dmitri Nezhelev
Rivalries
Zenit's traditional rivals are the big Moscow clubs, most notably FC Spartak Moscow, CSKA Moscow, FC Dynamo 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.
Notes
References
References
- "Arena St Petersburg".
- "Zenit hit 10 million followers across our social networks".
- "Russian Premier Liga".
- (23 December 2005). "Gazprom Buys Zenit". The St. Petersburg Times.
- (19 January 2007). "Gazprom fuels Zenit dream". [[UEFA]].
- (2 May 2008). "Zenit stuns Bayern in UEFA Cup semi, 4–0". The New York Times.
- Ravdin, Eugene. (14 May 2008). "Proud Arshavin spent by star turn". Union of European Football Associations.
- "2008: Zenit claim Russian first". [[uefa.com]].
- (28 April 2012). "The secrets of Zenit's third title success". [[uefa.com]].
- "Zenit St. Petersburg fires coach Luciano Spalletti". The Moscow News.
- (18 March 2014). "Andre Villas-Boas agrees deal to become Zenit St Petersburg head coach - ESPN FC". ESPNFC.com.
- (10 September 2015). "André Villas-Boas announces he is to quit as Zenit St Petersburg manager".
- (24 May 2016). "Mircea Lucescu takes charge at Zenit". Union of European Football Associations.
- FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. link. (1 June 2017)
- (13 May 2018). "Official: Mancini leaves Zenit". Football Italia.
- (29 May 2018). "Zenit name Semak as new manager". BeSoccer.
- "Match Summary". UEFA Europa League.
- "Match Summary". UEFA Europa League.
- Matchett, Karl. (2020-03-17). "Coronavirus outbreak sees Russian Premier League postponed until April".
- (5 July 2020). ""Зенит" в седьмой раз в истории стал чемпионом страны". FC Zenit Saint Petersburg.
- (2 May 2021). "Sensational Zenit storm to the title with utterly dominant thrashing". [[Russian Premier League]].
- Corrick, Lewis. (4 March 2022). "Russian club FC Krasnodar suspends contracts of eight foreign players".
- (2 March 2022). "Soccer-Ukraine's Rakitskiy terminates contract with Zenit St Petersburg". Reuters.
- "Russian football clubs banned from UEFA cups, Spartak Moscow ousted from Europa League after suspension".
- "Which sports have banned Russian athletes?". BBC Sport.
- (30 April 2022). "«Зенит» – восьмикратный чемпион Тинькофф РПЛ!". [[Russian Premier League]].
- "Stuck in Limbo: The Soccer Players Caught Between Russia and UEFA".
- (7 May 2023). ""Зенит" обеспечил 5-е чемпионство подряд благодаря победе над "Спартаком"". Russian Premier League.
- "Equality Cup Football Tournament in collaboration with Zenit Saint Petersburg FC.".
- (25 May 2024). ""Зенит" завоевал золотые медали Мир РПЛ в шестом сезоне подряд!". Russian Premier League.
- (2 June 2024). "Суперфинал FONBET Кубка России LIVE. Гол Алипа приносит "Зениту" победу". Russian Football Union.
- (13 July 2024). ""Зенит" – обладатель OLIMPBET Суперкубка России-2024". Russian Football Union.
- "Russia – List of Champions". [[rsssf.com]].
- "Russia – Cup Finals". [[rsssf.com]].
- "Previous winners". [[uefa.com]].
- "Previous winners". [[uefa.com]].
- (September 2025). "Zenit squad by RPL". Russian Premier League.
- (2023-07-24). "Утвержден состав правления футбольного клуба «Зенит»".
- "ФК "Зенит" подписал соглашение о партнерстве с ФК "Шальке 04"". FC Zenit.
- "Сергей Фурсенко: Партнерство с "Шахтером" – шаг актуальный и своевременный". FC Zenit.
- (11 April 2021). "Zenit and Iran's Sepahan S.C. sign a cooperation agreement". FC Zenit Saint Petersburg.
- ""Zenit" has begun a partnership with "MegaFon"". FC Zenit.
- "Rossiya Airlines becomes official Zenit partner". FC Zenit.
- "News".
- "Premium partners". FC Zenit.
- "Zenit and Corinthia St. Petersburg 5-star hotel have become partners". FC Zenit.
- "Official partners". FC Zenit.
- "Zenit launches new partnership with YouTube". FC Zenit.
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