Zenit Saint Petersburg is a professional football club from St. Petersburg. In Soviet times, the team was only twice in the prize-winners of the USSR championship and basically balanced in the middle of the tournament table. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Zenit took the lead in the national championship and is now rightfully considered the flagship of Russian football.

The history of Zenit's foundation dates back to 1925, when several football teams were organized at the Leningrad Metallurgical Plant. Initially, they participated only in in-plant competitions, but from 1931 the plant's united team began to perform at the city championship.

In 1936 Zenit (at that time Stalinets) entered the group "B" of the USSR championship. The team thoroughly prepared for performances at the all-Union level, having assembled a combat-ready squad and invited Pyotr Filippov to the post of head coach, who was considered one of the best experts in football tactics in the USSR. The Petersburgers played their debut match on May 27 against Dynamo Dnipropetrovsk, drawing 1: 1. A month later, Zenit played the first in its history match in the USSR Cup, defeating the second team of the Moscow Lokomotiv (7: 1) at the 1/32 final stage. By the way, in that cup, the anti-aircraft gunners reached the 1/8 finals, where they lost to the capital's Spartak (0: 3).

However, Zenit was not destined to play in the Second League of the USSR. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Petrograd got the right to play in the top division of the Russian championship, but the financial difficulties of the team did not disappear, and at the end of the season, the anti-aircraft gunners were relegated to the First League.

In the 1994/95 offseason, the blue-white-blue finally acquired serious sponsors and significantly strengthened their squad with the aim of returning to the top flight. The task was completed in the shortest possible time. At the end of the 1995 season, Zenit took third place and received a direct ticket to the Premier League, from where it has not been relegated since.

Zenit is one of the most titled Russian clubs. Since 2007, St. Petersburg residents have been left without Premier League medals only twice, and for the last three seasons they have completely dominated the top division, not allowing anyone to take the championship title.

Thanks to its successful performances in the national championship, Zenit is a frequent guest of the most prestigious tournaments in Europe. In the 2007/08 season, St. Petersburg residents won the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) and forever inscribed their name in the history of European football.

The title of the most successful coach in the history of Zenit is worthy of two specialists - Dick Advocaat and acting mentor Sergei Semak. Under the leadership of the Dutchman, the Petersburgers won their first gold in the Russian championship, and also took the UEFA Cup. Semak, in turn, since his appointment in 2018, won three championships in a row with Zenit, which none of his predecessors could do.

The most productive player in the history of the club is a student of the St. Petersburg Academy, striker Alexander Kerzhakov. The forward played for Zenit from 2001 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2017, having hammered a total of 163 goals during these periods.

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