Zenit St Petersburg

It's no secret that Zenit has missed Andrei Arshavin's creativity and playmaking ability in the early stages of the 2009 campaign.

The powder blues have played to a decent 5-3-3 record through the first 11, but are far from satisfied. In their biggest match of the season, Zenit fell hard at Luzhniki National Stadium against fellow Russian giant CSKA Moscow.

When Arshavin finally left for Arsenal, he left manager Dick Advocaat with the daunting task of replacing the hometown hero. But the answer was fairly obvious.

You don't.

Danny tried to emulate his creativity, but could not show the scoring touch. Lumbering center-forward Pavel Pogrebnyak has never been that kind of playmaker.

And now, Advocaat has made the decision to leave Zenit to take the reigns of the Belgian National side. The Little General lead Zenit to the UEFA Cup just over a year ago.

I'm pretty sure Belgium does not have a player like Arshavin either.

But Arshavin and Advocaat may not be the only powder blues to depart in 2009. The Petrovski faithful could in fact, be looking at a completely different squad in a couple months' time.

Team captain and veteran Ukraine national Anatoliy Tymoschuk has already announced his departure, and he will head to German club Bayern Munich in July. The Ukrainian shot down a potential move to England for Bayern.

Pogrebnyak could also be leaving Russia. The 25-year-old has already played for seven different Russian clubs, including Tomsk, Yaroslavl and Spartak Moscow. Despite not moving to Blackburn in the winter, he is still drawing and expressing interest.

He has not hid his interest in following good friend Arshavin to the Emirates. 

"I'm pleased that the club is interested in me. I think that for any player to get the opportunity to work with Arsene Wenger would be a big step forward." said Pogrebnyak.

The only catch there, seems to be whether Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor stays or goes.

As the summer comes around, Turkish delight Fatih Tekke is also on the market, but it does not seem likely that he will be going anywhere.

That would seem to leave a lot of holes.

Call it a Chinese Fire Drill. Call it a move out day.  

For a squad that has never lacked offensive production, talented offensive players are now at a premium for the powder blues. Most offensive forces not named Pogrebnyak are sitting out with ailments.

Although a strong push for Juventus forward Vincenzo Iaquinta fell through, it didn't seem like management had too many backup plans in line. The Italian goliath and Giovanni Cobolli Gigli deemed Iaquinta was too important to lose. 

But all news is not bad news for Zenit.

Towering 24-year-old Belgian national defender Nicolas Lombaerts is very close to returning to the lineup. He has missed considerable time with a nagging knee injury, but he says it has helped him immensely in becoming familiar with the city.

Zenit will take on perennial cellar-dwellers Spartak Nalchik on Sunday, and 20-year-old midfielder Alexey Ionov will again be in the lineup. The young phenom has proven that he is much too talented to continue to play for Zenit-2, but he has not be able to find a starting role until now.

He will start in his third match of the season, and will attempt to assist Pogrebnyak up front in the task of attacking Nalchik's surprisingly staunch defense.

The boys from Nalchik have allowed one of the fewest amounts of goals in the league, but they also don't find the net very often, as they boast six goals in 10 games. Four of those came in a washout win over Perm at the end of April.

Good thing for Nalchik, however. Zenit has not had much success taking the road in 2009, winning only once in six away matches.

No matter how chaotic the next few weeks could be for the former Cup champions, their play needs improving, and quickly. Two gigantic clashes at home against 3rd-place FC Moscow and 1st-place FK Rubin Kazan loom ahead.

Chaos indeed.    

ROSTOV: Zenit St. Petersburg suffered its first defeat of the season at Rostov, giving up a late goal by Moldovan Alexandru Gatcan in the 86th minute.

On a day where league-leader Kryliya Sovetov fell in decisive fashion to CSKA Moscow, Zenit could not find the composure to capitalize.

Zenit was sloppy defensively all game long, and it didn't seem to matter what combination Dick Advocaat put on the field.

The defensive corps played with fire and got away with it, until Rostov finally came through late.

Dmitri Akimov began the scoring after halftime for Rostov, which did not sit well with Advocaat, judging by how many scoring opportunities Zenit strikers had in the first period.

Fatih Tekke missed a few golden opportunities, getting his second consecutive start of the season. Danny also hit the woodwork.

The first goal of the game lead to Zenit substitutions, while Rostov stuck with a four-striker format until nearly the end of the game.

Pavel Pogrebnyak came on in the 64th minute for the vastly ineffective Sszabolcs Huszti, while youngster Aleksei Ionov came on for his third appearance of the season, all by substitution.

Pogrebnyak got the equalizer in the 83rd minute, off a penalty kick. Danny drove a crossing ball from the left, but it was batted down by the hand of Mikhail Rozhkov.

Rostov keeper Veniamin Mandrykin got a hand on the blast by Pogrebnyak, but not enough to keep it out.

A collectively poor effort by the Powder Blues on defense allowed the match-winning goal by Gatcan.

Zenit frustration was painfully obvious, as Tekke received a yellow and red card in the final two minutes.

Advocaat had some high praise for Rostov after the match.

"I would like to congratulate Rostov with the victory, they deserved the three points. They played smart and error-free." 

The Powder blues will face Kryliya Sovetov next weekend at Petrovski Stadium.

Other Notes

Zenit St. Petersburg resumed talks with Juventus about a possible transfer of striker Vincenzo Iaquinta to St. Petersburg this summer. Despite playing very well, Iaquinta is still buried behind players like Alessandro Del Piero and Carvalo De Oliveira Amauri.

2008-09 Russian Champions FK Rubin Kazan annihilated Saturn Moscow, 0-5 to jump into first place. Former Zenit midfielder Alejandro Damian Dominguez scored the first three goals for Kazan.

SAINT PETERSBURG—Zenit St. Petersburg jumped back into second place in the Russian Premier League after a 4-2 domination of cellar-dwellers Khimki.

But it sure won't be an easy task to stay there, as they prepare to run the gauntlet through Russia's finest.

Captain Anatoly Tymoschuk, who was used as a substitute, was pleasantly shocked by the effort and play of Khimki, who played with 10 men from the 15th minute on, after midfielder Oleg Kozhanov was ejected.

"I think we should have played with a cool head after 2-0. But due to a conceded goal in the end of the first half, the game got nervous and challenging. Khimki showed good play with 10 men, on this field they tried to play with long balls, and they were not at all too bad at that. They scored twice." -Anatoly Tymoschuk

Zenit took a 3-1 lead a mere two minutes after Tymoschuk came on in favor of defenseman Ivica Krizanac. A motivated Khimki squad would score again before the end of the match, but the one-goal lead would not stand for long.

Pavel Pogrebnyak bagged the match for good with a goal in the 87th minute after a perfect assist by veteran midfielder Konstantin Zyryanov. After the match, Pogrebnyak had some very kind things to say about his fellow teammate.

"I would like to thank Konstantin for the marvelous pass, he was the one who made most of this goal. I shot, hoping for luck, and luck was with me this time." -Pavel Pogrebnyak.  

Victory is sweet indeed. But the road gets much more challenging for the powder blues. They travel to eighth-place Rostov on Sunday, then come back home to take on 1st-place Krylia Sovetov.

They will then get a tour of Moscow, taking on struggling Dynamo and high-octane CSKA to add to the enjoyment.

Coach Dick Advocaat knows that the team must improve after a slightly bothersome series of events. After ties with Perm and Lokomotiv, many people would not have expected a 4-2 result against a 10-man Khimki squad. This is especially true, given all the scoring opportunities handed to Zenit, namely Danny.

"Danny, as example, should have scored three goals in 10 minutes. Our game wasn't easy, but I am happy with a win. I am happy with the result, but it wasn't our best game." -Dick Advocaat.

Turkish delight Fatih Tekke scored his third goal of the season in four games, and is tied for the Russian League lead. Mainly used as a substitute previously, he got his first start of the season against Khimki in place of Pogrebnyak.

Pogrebnyak should back in his normal starting role against Rostov, however, as well as Tymoschuk. It is possible that both Tekke and Pogrebnyak start though.

FK Rostov has been going with starting formations including three or four strikers more often. In their 1-2 victory over CSKA Moscow, they got goals from two of the four, Igor Lebedenko and Yong-Jo Hong. Both will start against Zenit.

But that also leaves a back end very vulnerable to Zenit's offense-from-defense midfield.

In what figures to be a high-scoring affair, Zenit can also score, as they are tied with CSKA for the RPL lead in goals.

Kickoff from Olympic Stadium in Rostov will be 12:15 PM GMT.

When I heard about the "Giant Killers" series, I felt that I could contribute a new angle to this delicious topic. So, I thought this was an upset story that not many realized.

This football match wasn't just about the game being played, but about the city they were playing for. In it's darkest hours, a band of survivors traveled to Moscow in attempt to accomplish an unthinkable feat.

Let's turn back the pages a few times.

It's the winter of 1943-1944 and the city of Leningrad had been under seige by Nazi Germany for over two years. After turning on his former promises, Adolf Hitler declares that "St. Petersburg must be erased from the face of the Earth".

The city was encircled by the Nazis, but not taken. The hardened citizens and soldiers were going to do anything it took to repel the invaders.

However, in the process, the home of the Tsars had been decimated, along with a large portion of its populace. Almost 90 percent of the citizens of Leningrad perished during the 872-day siege.

Among the honored dead were a number of Zenit Leningrad players. Of the 20-man amateur squad made up of mostly of factory workers, half were killed in combat and many of the others were severely wounded.

January 27, 1944 finally came. Possibly the greatest day in the history of Saint Petersburg.

The city itself was nearly eradicated, but the Soviet Cup was going to be held again in April. And Zenit Leningrad barely had anyone to put on the field.

Manager Konstantin Lemeshov did his best to assemble a squad, but many had not done much more than kick a ball around casually.

After a couple months of training, the team set off for Moscow, expecting to get blown out. But they were going to make a showing for the city.

Captained by war veteran Ivan Kurenkov, the patchwork squad carried the same skill level as a high school team.

With nothing to lose, Lemeshov's boys faced Dynamo Moscow in the first round. Although Zenit would walk away with the win, the only goal came from an own goal by Dynamo. Lucky.

Next round was a professional side, Spartak Moscow. The crowd was out in full force at Pishcheviki Stadium, to will on the locals.

Spartak stormed out to a 2-0 halftime lead and the game looked to be about in the books. Nikolai Starostin scored both times for Spartak, who had dominated play from the beginning.

But within the 10 minutes after halftime, Zenit had tied the game back up thanks a goal and assist by Kurenkov. With five minutes to go, Zenit's Alexey Pshenichny poked home the game-winning goal to advance Zenit to the USSR Cup match.

Lemeshov and the home town supporters already considered the victory as a success. Even the generally optimistic Kurenkov didn't like their chances against powerhouse CDKA Moscow in the championship.

The "Red Army" was just too good on paper.

Once again, Zenit got behind heading into half, this time down 1-0. The legendary Lieutenant Vsevolod Bobrov scored for CDKA.

CDKA came awful close to scoring again after halftime with a couple misses. With time ticking off the clock, Boris Chuchelov netted the equalizer in the 80th minute of play. Zenit was driven by pure ecstasy at that point, as they continued to push for a possible cup-winning goal.

And they got it.

Nine minutes later, defenseman Sergey Salnikov punched in the winner. A most unlikely source, Salnikov had nearly lost his entire family in the siege. Zenit had defeated the Moscow juggernaut in a ridiculous series of events in the capital city.

For the city of Leningrad, they had a reason to smile for the first time in years, as Salnikov held the USSR Cup high over his head.

For Capt. Kurenkov and the rest of the squad, a half a year had not even passed since they were attempting to survive the siege by eating wallpaper and drinking mud water.

Now they were taking in the sun, basking in the glory of the Cup.

TOMSK, Trud Stadium -- Visiting Zenit St. Petersburg made quick work of a neglectful Tom side, claiming three important road points.

With the decisive victory, Zenit now move to the top of the Russian Premier League with seven points in three games. Tom fall to 11thplace overall with three points.

Dirk Advocaat changed up the lines a bit, inserting Korean defenseman Kim Dong-Jin into the starting lineup for the first time all season, while giving veteran midfielder Radek Sirl the afternoon off.

The powder blues had a tough going at first. Maybe the long travel east made a difference. The home crowd was active in the match and Tom had several scoring chances, but no shots on net. Lone Tomsk striker Vladimir Dyadyun looked often bogged down at times with no help up front.

But Tom were plagued with penalties and the yellows began to mount for a side that was already looking very overmatched.

Zenit striker Pavel Pogrebniak had a great look at the net right before half, but he was denied by keeper. Several possible fireworks, but no results on the board and Tom breath a sigh of relief to be going in tied at zero.

However, Zenit came out determined to come away with the three points.

Wave after wave of powder blue attack came at the locals, and it seemed like only a matter of time before the first tally went up. Soon enough, the tie would be broken.

A perfect corner kick from 22-year-old Victor Fayzulin was dumped into the far side of the cage by none other than Portuguese import Fernando Meira, his first goal in a Zenit uniform.

Advocaat's side would not let up, as they kept flying through a punchless Tom defense like scissors through tissue paper. They knew a one goal advantage was not safe in a hostile environment.

Only minutes later, Miguel Danny came dashing through the defense and fired a cross into the middle, which was promptly shot by Pogrebniak. It was blocked, but the defender attempted a clear which ended up right on the foot of Zenit midfielder Igor Denisov, who bagged the goal for a two-nil lead.

The two goals in rapid succession lead to some Tom substitutes. Veteran defender and National Team member Igor Semshov came on in favor of Croatian Ivica Krizanac to help shore up the lines.

Tomsk pulled the vastly ineffective Dyadyun in favor of Anton Arkhipov.

The changes for Tom seemed to have little effect, as they still struggled to make way through the Zenit lines. The crowd was eerily silent.

Turkish delight Fatih Tekke came on in the 74th minute, and it didn't take him long to get to work. Not even ten minutes later, midfielder Konstantin Zyryanov flashed his brilliance as the seas parted, running through five Tom defenders. With only the keeper to beat, he calmly passed it off to a flanking Tekke, who easily deposited it into the empty net.

Three to nil, Zenit. Warm up the busses, our work here is done.

The final scoresheet gave Zenit nine shots on goal, to Tom's zero.     

SUMMARY

Scoring: Zenit St. Petersburg 3 (Meira 54', Denisov 59', Tekke 83'), Tom Tomsk 0

Yellow Cards: Zenit St. Petersburg (Dong-Jin 40'), Tom Tomsk (Smirnov 24', Klimov 32', Evsikov 39', Ivanov '70)

Red Cards: None

MATCH NOTES

• Zenit (2-1-0) now sports a +4 goal differential and leads Terek for first place.
• Zenit will now head home to the friendly confines of the Petrovsky Sports Centre for a match on Apr. 12 with Amkar Perm, who has yet to score a goal this season.

Now that the Arshavin transfer saga is over, I think it's a good time to stop, sit back, reflect, and digest everything that went on.

There are more than enough reports out there recapping the whole ordeal.

But one of my favourite blogs out there was a full quote from the Arsenal Supporters Trust that I thought worthy of repeating here, to help other people understand exactly why Arsenal is a special club, supported by people who, collectively, look upon football in a slightly different manner than their counterparts elsewhere.

I quote:

“Arsenal deserve credit for keeping their nerve and not having paid over the odds for Arshavin. We must remember that Zenit wanted £30m last summer and £20m at Christmas. They have ended up with less than £15m. It amazes me that some supporters have suggested that we should have given up another £5million just to get it over with.

Arsenal’s money is actually the supporter’s money. Pay over the odds now and there is less for the new contract for Robin Van Persie or a need to raise ticket prices. At the AST we believe the Board have to look after the finances as custodians. That means carefully spending only what we can afford.

Arsenal’s approach is very consistent. They never comment on transfer speculation. It might be frustrating for some but it is right. If the dignify the made up stories by commenting it only inflates them, if they comment on genuine targets it makes the chances of landing the transfer harder to achieve.

Part of the problem is that the on-line media and blog sites give agents the platform to try and manipulate transfers. And the media have a herd like mentality. So when Sky Sports News got it wrong yesterday, they all followed. Except for the AST who stuck by our understanding that the transfer was in its final stages,
and would be completed.

It is an encouraging start for Ivan Gazidis. One target from Arsene, one player secured. Let us hope it is the first of a successful track record.”

Hear hear. The Club, the Manager, the Board, the Supporters Trust, and true fans should all be very proud of themselves. We got our man, we got him at the price we wanted, and we didn't compromise our ethics, our class, our style, or our beliefs in the process.

Arsenal have always regarded themselves as having a bit of class. Arsenal, especially under Arsene's reign, have usually played with a bit of style and panache. Arsenal, as a club, pride themselves on being financially prudent; not overspending on players, and using their revenue sources wisely and properly to support a proper business.

Arsenal’s money is actually the supporter’s money. Arsenal Football Club are Gooner's football club.

We have much to be proud of. Yes, these might be trying and frustrating times, but we haven't lost our minds, mortgaged our futures, or stepped too far in to the circus that is modern day football media.

There is only one thing to say now. C'MON YOU REDS!

There has been a lot of hype in these very last moments of the winter transfer window that Russian forward Andrei Arshavin is on his way to English club Arsenal.

Arshavin is in London at the moment (Monday) for a proposed medical at the club, and it appears that if the Gunners can actually agree a fee with Zenit, then Arshavin could well sign for Arsenal.

However, whilst all that is going on, Zenit also claim to be negotiating with other English clubs, over a deal for their goalkeeper Kamil Contofalsky.

The 30-year old Slovakian international has been forced back in the pecking order at Zenit after Dick Advocaat took charge, with the Dutch boss prefering Russia's No. 2 Vyacheslav Malafeev as the man between the sticks.

When talking to the club's official radio station (if only my club, Gillingham, had their own radio station! Lucky Russians!!), Zenit president Maxim Mitrofanov said: "We hope the transfer of Kamil Contofalsky will go through today."

"Today is the last date for completing transfers in the English Premier League.

"If the transfer won't happen today and Kamil still wants to play first-team football, he can be transferred in summer.

"Two English clubs are interested in his goalkeeping abilities. One is more interested than the other. I won't publish their names at the moment.

"Kamil understands that it can be a chance for him, and despite the fact he is absolutely happy in Zenit, he wants more competitive football and he asked us to find him a new club.

"If someone will bid for him, Zenit will be glad to let him go where he wants."

This might be a clue or not, but when seeing this story on www.skysports.com it was tagged under the Championship link.

Like with a lot of fairly unknown players, I have seen Kamil Contofalsky play before for Slovenia, and he did look quite the player in between the sticks for them.

If a club in the Championship can attract a player like him, it could surely be a massive coup for that club.

And if Arsenal can finally get Andrei Arshavin at the club, then it will surely put an end to another boring, tiresome transfer saga.

quotes: www.skysports.com

Bolton have started adding to their extremley small squad by signing defender Sebastien Puygrenier on loan from Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg until the end of the season.

The 26-year-old played in Zenit's UEFA Super Cup victory over Manchester United in August and his move is subject to international clearance.

The Frenchman moved to Zenit last summer after spells in his homeland with Stade Rennais and Nancy.

It is Bolton boss Gary Megson's first signing of the transfer window. He in many fans views now either look for an attacking midfielder or an out-an-out striker. But do Bolton have the buying power?

INFO ON PLAYER

Sébastien Nioclas Puygrenier (born Jan. 28, 1982 in Limonges) is a French footballer; he currently plays for Bolton Wanderers on loan from FC Zenit St. Petersburg.

Starting his career at Stade Rennais, Puygrenier made his Ligue 1 debut in the 4-1 defeat at Lyon in 2003. He started the next two matches, but these proved to be his last games for the club before joining Nancy on loan for the 2003-04 season.

After playing 27 games in Ligue 2 that season, Puygrenier spent a further season on loan at Nancy, with 20 appearances as the club won promotion. League rules prevented him from staying on loan at a rival Ligue 1 club so he was signed permanently in 2005.

Puygrenier scored his only league goal to date on 28 August in the 6-0 win over his old club. He also scored Nancy's opener in the 3-0 win over Feyenoord Rotterdam in the Uefa Cup. He was voted Fans' Player of the Year for 2006-07, and named in the Ligue 1 07-08 Team of the Year the following season, when he helped Nancy stay unexpectedly in the top three for most of the season.

On July 31, 2008 he signed a four-year contract with FC Zenit. He took part in the team's victory in the 08 UEFA Super Cup.

After Drenthe and Saviola linked up for a near miss early doors, Real Madrid took the lead at BATE as Drenthe’s next cross picked out Raul and the number 7 smashed home via the underside of the bar.

Fiorentina, needing a win to keep their Champions League hopes alive, got off to the worst possible start against Lyon with Benzema teeing up Jean Makoun for the opener. The French champions silenced the Stadio Artemio Franchi by building a two-goal advantage through a low drive from talisman Karim Benzema.

Away at Fener, Porto’s bid to seal qualification from the group got off to a flyer as Lisandro Lopez volleyed home a Bruno Alves cross after Volkan flapped at a high ball, grasping thin air. Lopez quickly doubled the lead tucking home despite claims of handball in the build-up.

Zenit St. Petersburg 0 - 0 Juventus (Champions League, Nov. 25, 2008)

In the early kick-off in Russia, Juve had the first real opportunity to score as Olof Mellberg headed against the outside of the post from Camoranesi’s free-kick. Juve again hit the woodwork later in the half, Nedved played in Del Piero who in turn found Iaquinta, but his shot could only find the upright.

Tymoschuk’s free-kick was the closet Zenit came in the opening 45. The chances kept coming after the break, Del Piero forced a great save for Juve, and Danny come close for Zenit on a couple of occasions but in the end neither side could find a breakthrough.

Real Madrid beat UEFA Cup and Supercup holders Zenit St. Petersburg 2-1 to win their first away game in Europe in two years. It was also their second successive win in Russia after beating Lokomotiv Moscow in 2003. The game was played at breakneck pace, especially in the first half, resulting in a very open attacking encounter with a large number of chances from both sides.

Real Madrid laid siege to the Zenit goal in the opening minutes with very fast one-touch football. The pay-off was not long in coming as Van der Vaart crossed into the area for Hubočan to turn it into his own net when trying to clear.

Dick Advocaat's men reacted to the shock of going behind by taking control of the game, with Real struggling to maintain possession. The constant pressure paid off as Danny inched ahead of Heinze to put away a cross from Arshavin after 25 minutes.

Real nearly struck back immediately as Van der Vaart had a shot blocked by Zenit keeper Malafeev. In the end they had to wait another six minutes to regain the lead as Van Nistelrooy pounced onto a loose ball in the area and put it away in typical fashion.

The first half was far from over: Higuaín, who got the nod from Schuster ahead of Raúl to start the game, missed two clear chances (one off a clever backheel by Van der Vaart and the other from a quick counter led by Robben). Casillas, in the other half of the pitch, also had plenty to do with a couple of important saves to keep his side ahead.

The second half started controversially with Hubočan booked presumably for handling the ball in the Real Madrid area when the replay suggested Sergio Ramos was the more likely culprit.

On the hour mark, Schuster brough Javi García on for Van der Vaart. The Spaniard was intended to provide additional cover for Diarra in midfield and to follow the dangerous Danny around, but, if anything, the pressure from Zenit increased in the first few minutes after he came on, and Casillas was again forced to intervene several times.

Real could have made it safe fifteen minutes from time but Higuaín was perhaps too greedy and decided to go for goal when laying it off to Robben may have been the better option. Just three minutes later Arshavin should have equalised but the post denied him when Casillas couldn't.

The last 10 minutes saw Real Madrid suffer to maintain their lead, as Zenit besieged their area to try to get their first point in the Champions League. Drenthe and Saviola came on for Robben and Higuaín but they could contribute little up front. The four minutes of injury time ticked off agonisingly slowly for Schuster's men, but the two goals in the first half in the end proved to be enough.

View the original article at the All In White blog.