The Sky Blues are hoping for a repeat of a European title after winning the 2007/08 UEFA Cup
In little more than a decade, FC Zenit has become the team to beat in Russian football. The side from St. Petersburg has a great list of titles, including four leagues and three Russian Cups, as well as a UEFA Cup and a UEFA Super Cup, both won in 2008. More than ten seasons after their greatest sporting achievement, the team of the tsars dream of winning a European title once more.
Founded in 1925, the Russian team was originally linked to the national arms industry. During its early years, it lifted the Soviet Cup (1944), and the Soviet League (1984). However, its golden era did not arrive until the 21st century, when, in December 2005, the world’s largest oil producer Gazprom, acquired a majority of the club’s shares.
Since then, the club has taken up a policy of big-name signings, which has seen world-renowned players such as Hulk, Axel Witsel and Bruno Alves pulling on the shirt. They have had competitive teams year after year, and have become a regular in European competition.
FC Zenit has an intense rivalry with the three main Muscovite sides: Spartak Moscow, CSKA Moscow and Dynamo Moscow. Known commonly as the Rivalry of Two Capitals, the tension in the matches between Zenit and the sides from Moscow is representative to a historic rivalry between two cities long entwined in the annals of Russian history.
Winter reinforcements to an already competitive side
FC Zenit went into the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League with important winter reinforcements. The Russian side have combatted the departure of Leandro Paredes to PSG with the arrival of important players such as Yaroslav Rakytsysky, midfielder Wilmar Barrios and striker Sardar Azmoun, who join a squad which already had the likes of Artem Dzyuba, Claudio Marchisio and Branislav Ivanović.
The Saint Petersburgian outfit qualified for the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 by knocking out Fenerbahçe (1-0 and then 3-1). The only previous meeting between Villarreal and FC Zenit took place in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 in the 2007/08 season. The first leg, on Russian soil, saw the home side win 1-0 thanks to a Pavel Pogrebnyak goal. The return leg, at what was then called El Madrigal, ended in a 2-1 victory for Villarreal. The Yellows’ goals came from Guille Franco and Jon Dahl Tomasson, while the Russian’s goal once more came from Pogrebnyak. Zenit went on to win the UEFA Cup, after getting through on away goals.
Villarreal is one of three teams, who after the group stage and Round of 32 in the Europa League, is unbeaten in the competition. The other two sides are Eintracht Frankfurt and Chelsea.
Luxury and exclusivity at the Saint Petersburg Stadium
The Saint Petersburg Stadium, also known as the Krestovsky Stadium or the Gazprom Arena, is one of the most expensive and most state-of-the-art grounds in football history. After more than ten years of construction, FC Zenit’s coliseum was opened in 2017, and was a host stadium for the 2018 World Cup and 2017 Confederations Cup.
This coliseum has a capacity of around 70,000 spectators and is a UEFA Category One stadium and has a retractable roof. Before moving to the Saint Petersburg Stadium, the Russian side played at the Petrovsky Stadium, where the Yellow Submarine played their only match against FC Zenit on Russian soil.
