Gazprom roots for Zenit
The Zenit football club being sponsored by Gazprom for several years is among Russia’s best teams nowadays.
Luciano Spalletti (Italy) has been Head Coach of Zenit since 2010. The club is managed by Alexander Dyukov, President of Gazprom neft.
Zenit is the only team that won all major football trophies of the USSR and Russia: the USSR Championship (1984), the USSR Cup (1944), the USSR Super Cup (1985), the Championship of Russia (2007, 2010), the Cup of Russia (1998/99, 2009/10), the Premier League Cup (2003) and the Super Cup of Russia (2008, 2011). In the recent decade the team headed by Dutch coach Dick Advocaat has made a significant progress on the international scene as well: in 2008 it won the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.
Zenit is the only Russian premiere league team representing Saint Petersburg. Independent analysts estimate that nearly 60 per cent of Saint Petersburg’s citizens root for Zenit, while 80 per cent consider the team a symbol of the country’s Northern Capital.