29 August 2002 - They Should Have Saved Some Of Those Goals For Later

On 29 August 2002, Zenit St. Petersburg secured their record victory, beating FC Encamp 8-0 in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.

It was the second leg of the tie, with Zenit having beaten the Andorrans 0-5 away two weeks earlier. In the rematch, Encamp would have been forgiven for hoping for a closer margin of victory and, for the first half, it appeared they might get it, as Zenit were up only 2-0 at the break with goals from Sergei Osipov (14') and Predrag Ranđelović (21').

The visitors maintained that margin for the first twelve minutes of the second half, but then the floodgates opened. Aleksandr Spivak led the assault on Encamp's goal in the 57th minute, followed by additional strikes from Osipov (69') and Ranđelović (71', 73') to stretch the lead to 6-0. Darius Miceika added a seventh in the 86th minute, then striker Andrei Nikolaev--making his first Zenit appearance--completed the 8-0 rout three minutes later.

Although the combined 13-0 result qualified Zenit for the UEFA Cup proper, their campaign ended in the first round with a 4-3 aggregate loss to Swiss club Grasshopper.

11 November 2007 - Zenit Live Up To Their Name

On 11 November 2007, Zenit St. Petersburg won their first Russian Premier League title with a win over Saturn Moscow Oblast on the last matchday of the season.

Founded in 1925, Zenit had won only one other league title in their history--the 1984 Soviet Top League. After the advent of the Russian Premier League in 1992, they were relegated after that first season, then returned to the top flight in 1996. A handful of top-10 finishes followed, as well as one season in which they finished third (2001) and one in second (2003).

The 2007 season was their first full one under new manager Dick Advocaat, who had taken over in July 2006. Despite losing both of their league meetings against Spartak Moscow, Zenit entered the last matchday two points clear of their rivals from the capital, knowing that a win would secure the title. But to get it, they needed an away victory over Saturn, with whom they had drawn 1-1 at home in the first week of the season.

Playing before a crowd of 16,500, Zenit looked to rely on their top goalscorers, forwards Andrey Arshavin and Pavel Pogrebnyak, with respective league totals that season of 10 and 11 goals, respectively. But they received a spark from a less likely source, as a 14th-minute shot from Zenit midfielder Radek Šírl deflected past Saturn goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky. It was the only goal of the match.

The win made Zenit the first team outside of Moscow to win the title since 1995. It also launched them into European competition that ended with them lifting both the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 2008. 

2 February 2009 - Arsenal Get Their Arshavin

On 2 February 2009, Arsenal completed their long courtship of Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin, with the former Zenit St. Petersburg player agreeing to move to the London club for a fee close to £15 million.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had shown interest in Arshavin after the 2008 Euros, in which the Russian had emerged as a star for his national team, but initial discussions in the summer of 2008 proved fruitless. And, although talks resumed in the January transfer window, it appeared that those talks would similarly fail to result in an agreement. The on-again-off-again deal dragged on until the last day of the window and was not completed until late that evening.

Despite Arsenal's lengthy pursuit, their signing of Arshavin was a departure from the club's usual transfer policy under Arsene Wenger, who usually preferred not to purchase players at the peak of their career nor to make big signings in the January window.

Arshavin proved to be shrewd purchase, however. When he signed for Arsenal, the Gunners were sitting in fifth place, five points behind Aston Villa. Arshavin instantly adapted to the Premier League and began scoring for the club, including all four goals in Arsenal's 4-4 draw with Liverpool at Anfield. By the end of the season, Arsenal had overtaken Villa to finish in fourth place and qualify for the Champions League.

His success at Arsenal proved short-lived, however, as he scored only 31 goals in 143 appearances. In March 2012, he returned to Zenit on loan, then signed a permanent deal there in June 2013 on a free transfer from Arsenal.

29 August 2002 - They Should Have Saved Some Of Those Goals For Later

On 29 August 2002, Zenit St. Petersburg secured their record victory, beating FC Encamp 8-0 in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.

It was the second leg of the tie, with Zenit having beaten the Andorrans 0-5 away two weeks earlier. In the rematch, Encamp would have been forgiven for hoping for a closer margin of victory and, for the first half, it appeared they might get it, as Zenit were up only 2-0 at the break with goals from Sergei Osipov (14') and Predrag Ranđelović (21').

The visitors maintained that margin for the first twelve minutes of the second half, but then the floodgates opened. Aleksandr Spivak led the assault on Encamp's goal in the 57th minute, followed by additional strikes from Osipov (69') and Ranđelović (71', 73') to stretch the lead to 6-0. Darius Miceika added a seventh in the 86th minute, then striker Andrei Nikolaev--making his first Zenit appearance--completed the 8-0 rout three minutes later.

Although the combined 13-0 result qualified Zenit for the UEFA Cup proper, their campaign ended in the first round with a 4-3 aggregate loss to Swiss club Grasshopper.

11 November 2007 - Zenit Live Up To Their Name

On 11 November 2007, Zenit St. Petersburg won their first Russian Premier League title with a win over Saturn Moscow Oblast on the last matchday of the season.

Founded in 1925, Zenit had won only one other league title in their history--the 1984 Soviet Top League. After the advent of the Russian Premier League in 1992, they were relegated after that first season, then returned to the top flight in 1996. A handful of top-10 finishes followed, as well as one season in which they finished third (2001) and one in second (2003).

The 2007 season was their first full one under new manager Dick Advocaat, who had taken over in July 2006. Despite losing both of their league meetings against Spartak Moscow, Zenit entered the last matchday two points clear of their rivals from the capital, knowing that a win would secure the title. But to get it, they needed an away victory over Saturn, with whom they had drawn 1-1 at home in the first week of the season.

Playing before a crowd of 16,500, Zenit looked to rely on their top goalscorers, forwards Andrey Arshavin and Pavel Pogrebnyak, with respective league totals that season of 10 and 11 goals, respectively. But they received a spark from a less likely source, as a 14th-minute shot from Zenit midfielder Radek Šírl deflected past Saturn goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky. It was the only goal of the match.

The win made Zenit the first team outside of Moscow to win the title since 1995. It also launched them into European competition that ended with them lifting both the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 2008.