Zenit St Petersburg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSINkKuUZx8

By now you have probably heard about the incident in Russia over the weekend that stopped a match between Dynamo Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg.

But wait. The story recently took a weird twist.

Here are the basics. The hosts, Dynamo Moscow, led Saturday's match 1-0 through Vladimir Granat's 27th-minute opener.

The match was then abandoned in the 36th minute because of crowd trouble. That trouble involved Dynamo goalkeeper Anton Shunin being hit by an object that had been thrown from the stands.

Footage of the incident appears in the video above. It serves as our Set Piece Video of the Day for this Monday.

Shunin, 25, later said he was having trouble with his vision and hearing. A team doctor said his cornea had been burned (Press Association via ESPN FC).

Zenit, a club that has been known to tell it how it is, in an official statement condemned what it called "stupidity and irresponsibility" (via FC-Zenit.ru). A Zenit supporters' club called the incident an "act of a provocateur or idiot" (via ESPN FC).

So here's the new twist.

The idiot, it turns out, was reportedly a female Zenit fan who smuggled the object into the match inside her body.

Yes, inside her body.

According to RT, 92 people—including three women—were arrested at the match. The perp was not among that number.

"During the inspection of the stadium after Dynamo’s match against Zenit, at which one of the female fans of the St. Petersburg team threw a firecracker on the pitch, injuring the Dynamo goalkeeper, the police found dozens of condoms in the ladies' room,” an unnamed source in the police force told Interfax.

Fireworks in condoms, eh? Maybe it's just us, but we're thinking Bill Buford has a sequel to write.

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What happens when a nouveau-riche football club starts throwing money around in a Russian city with a communist legacy?

The answer is being played out at Zenit St. Petersburg, and it involves Russian President Vladimir Putin, global energy giant Gazprom, the local communist party and two footballers bought for a combined $100 million—Hulk and Axel Witsel.

Gazprom are the Russian natural gas company who have bankrolled Zenit since 2005. It was their money that lured former Roma manager Luciano Spalletti to the club in 2009 and has since helped the Italian win two straight Russian Premier League titles.

But when Zenit bought Hulk and Witsel this summer—two of the most sought-after talents in European football—it soon became clear the club's naked ambition was at odds with certain philosophies, both internally at Zenit and woven into the political fabric of the city it calls home.

Club captain Igor Denisov has voiced his opposition to how much Hulk and Witsel are earning in comparison to Zenit's Russian players—with the former said to be bringing home an annual salary of $8 million.

Said Denisov to Sport Express Daily, as per Eurosport Asia:

I'm not against foreign players but there must be a balance in the team. Yes, the club has bought good players but do you think they are so much better than us that they should make three times as much?

Zenit already have great players who have won as many titles as the new guys. I would understand if we got Messi or Iniesta. They would deserve any price.

The principles of how the club is run are the most important as well as the respect of the Russian players, especially us—the St. Petersburg natives who have always made up the core of a team like Zenit.

Zenit were not pleased. In reaction to his comments and reported contract demands, Denisov was "indefinitely transferred to the club's youth team." For a 28-year-old international who's been at the club for a decade, the punishment is akin to being exiled to Siberia.

This, as per Zenit's official website:

This measure is related to the fact that Denisov made an ultimatum to the club and refused to take the pitch against Krylya Sovetov, demanding that his personal contract be reviewed.

...FC Zenit believes that by breaking his agreement with the club, Denisov is behaving unprofessionally, thereby discrediting himself as a player of FC Zenit and the Russian national team, and causing serious harm to his reputation.

Denisov is clearly not the only Zenit player to be at odds with the club's transfer policy. Striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov was also sent down to train with the youth team, though both he and Denisov may return to first-team duties as soon as Sunday.

Responding to a question on his players' mental state, Spalletti said, "They need to understand that the way they're thinking isn't fair."

We can only assume they're thinking Hulk and Witsel are taking up too much of the wage budget.

Whatever the truth behind the training-ground doors, speculation surrounding the inner turmoil at Zenit has only been encouraged by the club's recent results. Home defeats to Terek Grozny and Rubin Kazan were compounded by a 3-0 loss to Malaga in the Champions League.

Things have gotten so bad that the local branch of the Communists of Russia party decided to send an open letter to President Putin, pleading he intervene to put things right.

Here's an amended extract, as per their official website (translation from Google):

There is a loss of control over the team—and a loss of mutual understanding within team sports creates a heavy moral atmosphere. A series of very painful lesions has been replaced by open squabble between the leading players in the team to see who of them will get any more (money).

In this conflict, the public cannot decide who is right or wrong—all are equally ugly, selfish and greedy.

The letter goes on to reference the 1984 Zenit team, which won the league under Soviet communist rule, but with no "abnormal fees"—the suggestion being that success is just as achievable through hard work and organization as it is through free spending in the transfer market.

Most shocking was their attack on Spalletti and the claim that western coaches are purely money-motivated. In his place, they'd like "a stern coach from North Korea, where sport is part of the daily struggle for the independence and dignity of the country."

Who said sport and politics don't mix?

Here's what Putin had to say in response, as per insideworldfootball.biz:

I also complain sometimes. I would like to note that it's the companies that buy the players and not the Government. But fans also want to see world stars, not those who are on the wane but those who are at their peak.

Putin's position is a precarious one, because he also has to be mindful of Russia's role as hosts of the 2018 World Cup and the need for the country to be sending out the right message. The President wading into a crisis at one of the country's major clubs just doesn't look good.

As for Zenit's immediate future, home games against Lokomotiv Moscow—who have won their last four in a row and conceded just once—and Italian giants AC Milan in the Champions League loom large.

Spalletti is in a difficult spot. He must find a way to placate the likes of Denisov and Kerzhakov, while also making sure his big-money signings feel welcome enough to produce the kind of performances Zenit paid $100 million for.

Only success will suffice. And even then, there will still be those in St. Petersburg who undermine his progress as the natural result of gratuitous spending.

You get a sense Hulk and Witsel may come to regret their moves to Russia.

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The news was stunning, both because of the names and figures involved and for what it meant.

First, the names and figures involved.

On Tuesday, Zenit St. Petersburg announced the signings of Brazilian winger/forward Hulk from Porto and Brazilian midfielder Axel Witsel from Benfica (via The Guardian). Both players reportedly cost €40 million, for a total outlay of €80 million—or about £64 million.

Now, what it means.

Zenit, the two-time defending champions of the Russian Premier League, are no longer content with winning in Russia. Zenit and GAZPROM, a Russian energy company that bought a controlling stake in the club in 2005 (via St. Petersburg Times), have set their sights on Europe.

Spending increased immediately under GAZPROM, with the arrivals of high-priced foreign imports like Turkish international Fatih Tekke and South Koreans Kim Dong-Jin and Lee Ho (via UEFA Magazine).

This takes things to a lavish new level.

Hulk, 26, is a game-changer, a powerful, creative attacker powerful with a lethal left foot. Quite simply, he could start for almost any club in the world and the long-term pursuit of European champions Chelsea suggested just that.

That Hulk would cost €40 million is no surprise. The surprises are that Witsel cost the same amount, that both Porto and Benfica decided to sell and that Zenit bucked up for both.

Witsel, 23, has made 30 appearances for Belgium's senior national team and his precocious skills are well-documented. But €40 million is a lot of money for any player, and even Hulk apparently was surprised by the deal.

Hulk: "I wasn't expecting this. I had no reasons to leave, but my agent informed me FC Porto and Zenit have reached a deal" (@joao_ruela) -W

— Transfer Central TNC (@TransferNewsCen) September 3, 2012

The same probably could be said for most fans and even most European clubs. For all of GAZPROM's money—and they reportedly have buckets of it—Tuesday's news was as stunning as it was purposeful.

That purpose was to send Zenit's aggressive new message out to the continent. On that point, Zenit have succeeded, but now the question emerges: Will it work?

Zenit reached the round of 16 in last year's Champions League before losing to Witsel's Benfica. That team featured some impressive talent, including goalkeeper and captain Vyacheslav Malafeev, defenders Bruno Alves and Domenico Criscito and forward Aleksandr Kerzhakov.

Manager Luciano Spalletti has been with the club since 2009 and has molded the team into Russia's best. With this latest infusion of cash and talent, could a run at Europe come next?

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Zenit St. Petersburg midfielder Roman Shirokov used a derrogatory term in reference to club supporters after their UEFA Champions League match against Cypriot outfit APOEL, according to RT (the global news website from Russia).

During the Champions League tie with APOEL—which took place in St. Petersburg, Russia—the home side's supporters began throwing smoke bombs which interrupted the match on two occasions.

Referee Felix Brych had to order the two teams to return to their locker rooms until calm was restored. Roman Shirokov attempted to reason with the crowd without success.

Zenit coach Luciano Spalletti intervened and was able to restore order in the match. However, Shirokov was so enraged by the behavior of the home support that he used the derrogatory term in an interview after the match.

The two sides remained scoreless in this latest encounter. Therefore, Zenit are currently in second place in Group G of the competition and must defeat Porto to advance.

Zenit St. Petersburg remained in the news after one of the club's supporters was arrested for a bomb threat against the local NTV Channel. The fan was angry that he had to see the UEFA Champions League on NTV Pay TV instead of Russian Public TV.

The fan made his threatening call to NTV before the beginning of the tie. In the end, the irate fan was arrested under Russia's strong anti-terrorism laws.

The events in St. Petersburg, Russia makes one think that the country has a long way to go in a short time to prepare for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Luciano Spalletti, head coach of Russian outfit Zenit St. Petersburg, admitted in a post-match press conference Wednesday the his team had missed opportunities to score against Shakhtar Donetsk. The presser was published on the Zenit St. Petersburg website.

Spalletti was furious over his side's penalty miss. Spalletti went further and commented that the penalty conversion was "the most obvious" chance his side had to grab a winner, the official site reported.

The next match between the two clubs will be held in St. Petersburg on Nov. 1.

Spalletti was asked if he believed there were any psychological advantages for Zenit St. Petersburg in the run-up to the early November fixture.

The former Roma boss responded with candidness, referring to each match as a separate entity. Spalletti declared that he will continue to work with the team ahead of that November match.

Zenit St. Petersburg find themselves in second place in Group G after the 2-2 draw, with four points from three matches. The Russians sit behind APOEL and ahead of FC Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk.

In a separate news story involving Wednesday's match, Vyacheslav Malafeev, the Zenit keeper, paid tribute to Olexandr Rybka, his opposite number for Donetsk—as reported by UEFA.

Malafeev expressed dismay that Zenit did not win the match, but recognized that Rybka's heroics—particularly concerning the penalty—were instrumental in maintaining the draw. Malafeev expressed hope that Zenit can improve themselves for the next match.

It remains to be seen what will happen when Zenit and Shakhtar face each other in a fortnight.

Ovidius Verbickas told the Zenit St Petersburg website that his move to the team is "a step forward." Verbickas (Lithuanian and Zenit St Petersburg Midfielder) related about he signed with the team.

Verbickas talked about how scouts from Zenit St. Petersburg witnessed him play during the Lithuanian youth team matches. Verbickas related about how he was invited by the scouts to try out for Zenit.

The tryouts for Zenit eventually resulted in a Verbickas signing a contract with the major Russian Premier League team. The rest (according to Verbickas) is the creation of more opportunities. 

Verbickas admitted that his time is spent playing world football. Verbickas said that he had no problems adjusting to life in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Verbickas confessed that he would love to eventually play for CF Valencia in Spain. It is great that there are players who have loyalty to their teams and are willing to go the extra mile.

Verbickas is an example of how world football players can become responsive to the needs of their team, coach, and supporters. Verbickas deserves to be honored with an article since people like him receive very little publicity compared to the childish antics of Carlos Tevez at Manchester City.

The world will be better when more world football personalities adopt the thinking put forth by Ovidius Verbickas.

A group of people who claimed to be supporters of the rival team FC Spartak Moscow has attacked Zenit St. Petersburg supporters. The news reports (published in Russia Today) places the incident of the supposed attack within the border area of the Moscow and Tver Regions early this morning.

The police were called and a report was written detailing how three cars supposedly blocked the bus carrying the Zenit St. Petersburg supporters. The report continued in detail about how the people claiming to be FC Spartak Moscow supporters threw rocks at the bus.

The report also states that the alleged supporters of FC Spartak Moscow started to assault the Zenit supporters with baseball bats and bars made of metal. The perpetrators of this assault were arrested and charged with hooliganism, property damage and willful destruction.

The incident supposedly occurred in the wake of a match between Zenit St. Petersburg and FC Spartak Moscow. The match is to be held under police supervision at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow,

Balinfo News Agency interviewed Yuri Fedotov (Zenit St. Petersburg Security Director) and reported in Russia Today. Fedeotov confirmed that an attack happened but denied that the incident was a serious matter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayRltcNV8ik

The two teams refused to allow the incident to mar the match. According to reports published in the blog Bettor.com, Vyacheslav Malafeev (Zenit.St.Petersburg goalkeeper) expressed that his team and himself are ready for the match against FC Spartak Moscow.

Nicolas Pareja (FC Spartak Moscow Center Back) responded that he was ready to extend the unbeaten record of his team in the Russian Premier League. I am willing to comment about this latest incident of hooliganism. 

Whether the attacks happened in one way or another is motive to talk about hooliganism. While hooliganism will not go away, it is very important that the people who love sports condemn this blight.

It is a shame that there are a few people who spoil the joys of others with hooliganism. I can remember (personally) that in some of the international football matches in the USA, people use their cell phones if there is any act of hooliganism.

I wander if there are other ways to condemn this blight in international football.

In a bizarre incident in the Russian Football League, Zenit St Petersburg striker Danko Lazovic was tasered by a police officer after handing his shirt to a young fan.

This does not fill me full of excitement about the World Cup when it goes to Russia in seven years time.

After helping his side to a 2-0 win over FC Volga, Lazovic walked over to the young fan to hand him his jersey and was promptly stabbed in the back with the cattle prod type taser.

The police officer may have been excited about seeing a player up close and personal, or it may have been the fighting in the stands between rival supporters that confused the law man. Whatever the reason, Lazovic managed to walk away from the incident—albeit with a sting in his side from the prong marks.

Currently the league's leading scorer, the Serbian was baffled by what happened and tried to explain on the Zenit club website.

"I just went to give my jersey to the fans after the match when a police officer appeared behind me and tasered me in the back with his electric shocker, I don't know why that happened. Maybe he thought that I was one of the fans." Lazovic said.

"Sometimes people do really awful things."

"It was a strange feeling. It's just amazing that kind of thing can happen at sporting events, but here, in Russia, apparently everything is possible."

Even though there is a committee investigating the police and Russian Football as a whole, this does not look like a country that should be hosting the World Cup in 2018.

I thought I had seen and heard it all in football, but tasering a player when he is handing his shirt to a young supporter—now that takes the biscuit!

Marc Roseblade is a Contributor for Bleacher Report as well as Not Just Scottish Football and youth development reporter for Ayr United Football Academy. All quotes are obtained first-hand unless otherwise stated.

Year after year, even the most disinterested football fan would be able to pick the majority of teams that are likely to reach the later stages of the Champions League. Even without knowing the teams involved, a brief run through of the famous names of football would result in a fairly accurate outcome.

The big two Spanish teams, Real Madrid and Barcelona, will be there, as will Italian powers Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Roma.

Germany’s Bayern Munich are invariably there as well. Once you add in the four English teams, that is 10 of the 16 qualifiers covered. Lyon will almost certainly reach the later stages, as will Porto. Without too much difficulty, we have picked 75 percent of the teams that will be in the knockout stages.

However, one team that is likely to spring a few surprises this season is FC Zenit St. Petersburg. It was two years ago that the Russians, inspired by the mercurial Andrey Arshavin, won the UEFA Cup, and a few months later, they beat Manchester United to win the 2008 UEFA Super Cup.

Hopes were high that the team could cause a few shocks in the Champions League the following season, but having been drawn with Real Madrid and Juventus in their group, qualification was always going to be difficult.

Again, this year, hopes are high. Romanian outfit Unirea Urziceni were dispatched in the third qualifying round with relative ease.

Zenit's form in domestic competitions this season has been nothing short of magnificent. Under former Roma manager Luciano Spalletti, they look set for their first title in three years.

Despite only 15 of the 30 games having been played in the league, they are nine points clear of their nearest rivals, having won 12 of their 15 matches, conceding only six goals in the process. They already secured the Russian Cup back in May.

They have not lost a competitive match since losing to Udinese on 12 March, and have won a club-record nine straight league games—a daunting set of statistics.

Whether they can translate that form onto the European stage is still to be seen. However, they are still strengthening their squad, and they have money to burn. Early this week, they signed Portuguese international defender Bruno Alves from Porto for a fee in the region of €22 million.

Alves was being chased by European heavyweights Chelsea and Real Madrid, showing the drawing power of the Russian outfit. He joins Aleksandar Lukovic—the Serbian defensive partner of Nemanja Vidic, who joined from Italian side Udinese for €7.5 million—and Russian striker Aleksandr Bukharov, who signed from Rubin for €10 million.

That makes a spending spree of almost €40 million in the past week.

This comes in addition to the money they spent back in January, before the Russian season had begun. Aleksandr Kerzhakov returned to his first club for around €7 million, Tomás Hubocan signed for €4 million, the highest fee paid to a Slovakian club, and Danko Lazovic signed for €5 million.

Thus, in 2010, Zenit have spent over €55 million on new additions to their squad—the majority of whom have played in major European leagues and European competitions.

These new faces come in addition to some of the quality players that are already at the club. Portuguese international midfielder Danny, is a quality player, having cost the club a Russian record fee of €30 million.

Belgian international defender Nicholas Lombaerts is a solid fixture at the back, whilst they have the Russian international quintet of keeper Vyacheslav Malafeev, defender Aleksandr Anyukov, and midfielders Igor Denisov, Vladimir Bystrov, and Konstantin Zyryanov.

Everybody likes to see new faces in the later stages of European competitions. It gets repetitive when it is the same few teams challenging each year. This year, watch out for the Russian invasion—whilst Zenit are unlikely to be realistic challengers for the overall victory, it would be no surprise to see them causing a lot of problems for the established sides and progressing deep into the tournament.

No team enjoys going to play in Russia in mid-winter, let alone against a high quality side used to the conditions. Under the experienced leadership of Luciano Spalletti, with an expensively assembled squad, they have already taken the Russian game by storm. Zenit will be one side that Europe’s famous names will be desperate to avoid.

Every week, the Russian newspapers print a series of rumors that have been swirling around football. Most are completely ridiculous and haven't got a shred of truth to them. Some others are more wishful thinking on the part of the editors.

But a particularly strange rumor was published on April Fools Day.

Luciano Spalletti and Zenit St. Petersburg were apparently interested in a 24-year-old Brazilian forward, a believable rumor for sure, as Zenit still could use depth up front and have been pursuing several different South American-born forwards for the better part of the last four months.

Former Lyon forward Fred, now with Fluminense, comes to mind immediately.

But it wasn't Fred, it wasn't a player in Europe, and the player didn't have a Y-chromosome. 

"Zenit is close to the acquisition of Los Angeles Sol's Brazilian forward Marta, currently with Santos women's club," read the local papers, leaving more than a few supporters of both Zenit and Russian football utterly speechless. Were the newspapers trying to pull a massive prank? It certainly seemed that way.

The article continued to say that Zenit was willing to offer €4 million for the player with an annual salary of approximately €720,000. Spalletti, who was a guest of honor at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, also has very good relations with Marta, although it would take a special consent from FIFA to allow a female footballer to play the men's game.

Of course, the Los Angeles Sol was disbanded on January 27, meaning Marta is currently looking for new challenges. Playing for Santos has provided no competition for her whatsoever, as she has already scored 26 times in 14 matches.

But is it innovative or insane?

Worldwide, it is estimated that over 25 million women play the game of football at some level or another. Esteemed clubs like Arsenal, Lyon, and Frankfurt have all seen great amount of success in the women's game, and the newly formed WPS (Women's Professional Soccer) has also seen sunshine.

I know a lot less about the women's game than I would like. But an optimist would tell you that with the growing number of women in football worldwide, it would seem like only a matter of time before a female footballer breaks into the ranks of a European caliber club. Right?

Let's take a brief look at Marta. Known by Brazilian fans as "Pele with skirts," she has been awarded the FIFA Player of the Year honor for four straight years while winning both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball at the 2007 World Cup. She's a player who has scored more goals than matches played with nearly every club she has played for, including the Brazilian national team.

There's absolutely no doubt that she is the best player the women's game has today and perhaps in a very long time as well. 

While the optimist will be dreaming of daisies and golden fields ahead for women's football, a pessimist will just as quickly come back to say that women are not meant to play the men's game, which is why they have their own World Cup, Champions League, and such.

Marta stands at 1.63m (or around 5'4"), and would be one of the smallest players in the men's game. Who knows? Would her immense skill set, which has dominated other women for years, be able to translate to the much more physical style of play that the men's game has to offer? 

Two deductions can be made.

Either the Russian presses, along with Luciano Spalletti, have lost their minds, looking for any publicity stunt to boost ratings, or the idea is really what the future might have in store.

From a sheer objective standpoint, it's hard to see how Russia would be the best place for a player of her skill set. Making a complete generalization, the Russian Premier League is known for hard-nosed defense, some of the most physical football on the planet, and some awkward pitches to deal with for a new player. 

Zenit, under Spalletti, has been a side that possesses the ball for large percentages of the match and attacks with fluid, built-up play. It's also hardly some squad of semi-professionals in the Danish Viasat Divisionen. The men from St. Petersburg won the UEFA Cup in 2008 and are currently a perennial contender to be playing in Europe every season.

Everyone knows that Zenit's owner—Gazprom, Russia's largest natural gas company—is ridiculously loaded with cash and can afford nearly any player in the world, but would a €4 million experiment be worth it?

Maybe Spalletti is actually on to something and believes the future is now. Marta is as good as advertised and could make an impact in the men's game.

Maybe Zenit sporting director Igor Korneev has had a little too much vodka. After all, it was only a few days ago that Korneev declared that Zenit were still "actively searching for a new central defender and a striker." 

Insanity or innovation?

If the rumors are accurate, Marta could be a very rich woman in the near future and could also make history as the first female to pursue European titles with a men's club. Assuming FIFA provides consent, of course.

Women have always been held in high regard in Russia, dating back to the war days where they would ably fight alongside men in defense of the motherland. So why could a woman not be allowed the opportunity to play with men if the opportunity presented itself?

Fascinating thoughts.