FC Zenit Saint Petersburg

FC Zenit (Russian: ?????????? ???? "?????" ?????-?????????) is a Russian football club, based in Saint Petersburg. Currently FC Zenit is in the Russian Premier League. The team is coached by Vlastimil Petr?ela from the Czech Republic. Currently, the club is competing in the UEFA Cup competition, trying to become the second Russian team to win the Cup after CSKA Moskva won it in 2005.

History

The origins of Zenit Saint Petersburg date back all the way to 1925, when a team was formed consisting of shop collective workers from a Leningrad metallurgical factory.

Related Topics:
1925 - Leningrad

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Originally members of the metallurgical workers' sporting society, they were called Stalinets Leningrad (translated as "Stalinist") up until 1940. This was the year when the plant became part of the military industry and its sports teams were transferred to the Zenit sporting society. Stalinets were merged with a club called Zenit which played in the second division and assumed their name. The LOMO Optical Plant took up the ownership of the team after the war and in 1990 the independent city-owned professional club was created.

Related Topics:
1940 - 1990

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Zenit won their first honours in 1944, claiming the war-time USSR Cup after defeating CDKA in the well-attended final. The club was always adored in Leningrad but wasn't able to make much of an impact in the Soviet League. In 1967, Zenit finished last but were saved from relegation because the powers that were decided it wouldn't be prudent to relegate a Leningrad team during the 50th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, which occurred in the city.

Related Topics:
1944 - USSR - CDKA - 1967 - Bolshevik Revolution

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The Eighties have finally brought some glory to the Northern Capital: the bronze medal in 1980 and, finally, the Championship in 1984, the club's only league title to date.

Related Topics:
Eighties - 1980 - 1984

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After being relegated in the first year of the Russian League (1992), Zenit returned to the top flight in 1996 and have 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.

Related Topics:
1992 - 1996 - 1999 - Russian Cup - 2001 - 2002 - Premier League - Russian Premier League Cup - 2003

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Nicknames

Two of the widespread nicknames for Zenit are Bomzhi and Meshki. "Bomzhi" (The Homeless) refers to Zenit's fans travelling long distances to away matches by local trains and sleeping in the railway stations. "Meshki" (The Sacks) dates back to 1984, when lots of plastic bags were produced with a slogan stating that "Zenit are the champions", to celebrate the title victory. The slogan is popular until now, and the bags gave rise to the nickname. Both of these nicknames, however, are somewhat sarcastic and rarely used in Saint Petersburg.

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