Zenit Saint Petersburg

There is a veil of mystery surrounding the date upon which Zenit Saint Petersburg were founded. The given date is 1925, but some Russian sources argue that it was actually founded in 1914. The club currently play at the cramped 21,504-capacity Petrovsky Stadium as they wait for the completion of the New Zenit Stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2015.

In the early half of the 20th Century, the club was still finding its feet. They also had to compete with the Soviet political powers, who had a tendency of manipulating the careers of individual players. During the Soviet era between 1922 and 1991, the club won the Soviet Top League in 1984 and the Soviet Cup in 1944.

The club proceeded to go into a period of decline following the collapse of communism. The whole country was faced with economic ruin, and Zenit were no exception to this rule. The club were relegated in 1992, and it took them until 1996 to win promotion back to the top-flight. In 1999 they won the Russian Cup and in 2003 they won the Russian Premier League Cup.

2005 was the defining year for Zenit as oil and gas company Gazprom acquired a majority stake in the club. After purchasing the club they immediately injected £100million into the side (a pittance for a company with revenues over $153billion), transforming them into genuine title contenders. Since Gazprom invested, the club have won the Russian Premier League three times, one Russian Cup, two Russian Super Cups and the UEFA Cup.

With the financial clout Gazprom brought to the club, the club started to attract higher profile managers. Dutch manager Dick Advocaat came to the club in 2006 and enjoyed a successful three-year tenure, while current manager Luciano Spalletti has also seen success at the former Russian capital.

As is, of course, to be expected with money, Zenit have had some high-profile players at their disposal. In their current side they have international stars like Brazilian Hulk, Portuguese Danny, Axel Witsel of Belgium and Ukrainian Anatoliy Tymoshchuk. Former Arsenal player Andrei Arshavin is revered at Zenit after he helped guide them to UEFA Cup success. In total he has played 263 times for the club and has scored 57 goals.

FC Petrotrest Saint Petersburg are from the same city as Zenit but the side have always played in the lower echelons of Russian football, so an intense rivalry has never really developed. Instead, their biggest rivals are Spartak Moscow. The fixtures were often marred by violence but in recent years it seems to have simmered down somewhat.

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