If unwittingly dropped into the neoclassical splendour of St. Petersburg, without any prior knowledge of the city, and asked for where you thought you were, one of your first guesses would probably be 'somewhere in Italy'. Besides the obvious geographical error, you wouldn't actually be that far wrong. The city's founder, Peter the Great, built St. Petersburg with Europe in mind. His travels and the time spent with Western advisers shaped his ambitions and the Russian Tsar employed a series of Italian architects to turn his riverside swamp into one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, albeit in a distinctly Italian style.
The city remains Russia's 'window to the West', and that is no better personified than by its football club, Zenit St. Petersburg, who are now coached by their very own Italian, Luciano Spalletti. Under their imported coach's guidance Zenit currently sit top of the Russian Premier League having enjoyed one of the best ever openings to a Russian Premier League season and boast both Russian and foreign talent in their side.
Saturday's 2-0 victory over Sibir extended Zenit's winning run to seven and provided an accurate cross-section of their season so far: fearsomely organised and boasting clever attacking individuals. The defence is settled and well drilled, while going forward the team are blessed with exciting talents such as Vladimir Bystrov, Portugal's Danny and Serbia's Danko Lazovic. And while a victory over their less-illustrious visitors from Siberia is certainly nothing to get too excited by, ten victories in thirteen matches certainly is.
A cosmopolitan approach is nothing new for Zenit, with Spalletti following in the footsteps of the Dick Advocaat in Russia's north-west. Unlike the Dutchman, however, Spalletti has led an evolution, not a revolution, at Petrovsky Park. Much of last season was a great disappointment, with the side only just sneaking into a Champions League qualification place courtesy of a late improvement in form. Spalletti's installation brought a couple of new additions to the playing squad, but the team appears to have benefited more from the work undertaken on the training ground than in the transfer market.
Danny | A key performer for Spalletti's side
By comparison with last season's Zenit side who, as it happens, were already fairly defensively sound, Spalletti has drilled the 2007 champions into an utterly impermeable opponent. Just five goals have been conceded so far, two of which can easily be attributed to errors by the side's unconvincing goalkeeper, Vyacheslav Malafeev. And no matter what pairing of Igor Denisov, Konstantin Zyryanov or Roman Shirokov is deployed in front of the defence, the side have managed to look both assured and balanced.
In attack, the return of Danny has been crucial. He was probably the best player in the the league during the first segment of the championship, prior to the World Cup, and returned to action in fine style against Sibir, laying on Shirokov for the side's second goal with a delightful back-heeled through ball. The €30 million purchase of the Portuguese international from Dynamo Moscow back in 2008 may have been inflated by the fact he was a foreigner already comfortable living in Russia, but it also remains an indication of a very capable footballer.
The side's main drawback has been the ineffectual form of striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov, who returned to Zenit in the winter after four years away. He has struggled to impose himself as the lone striker in Spalletti's – and, for that matter, Russia's – preferred 4-2-3-1 system. Kerzhakov's form has not gone unnoticed either, with Zenit having already secured the services of Rubin Kazan's Aleksandr Bukharov prior to the reopening of the transfer window in August. Their new recruit's power and goalscoring exploits have been vital in Rubin's back-to-back championship successes and are likely to usurp the disappointing Kerzhakov from the starting line-up.
With the addition of Bukharov, as well as the potential of a new central defender to replace the ageing Ivica Krizanac, Zenit appear on their way to a first league title in three years. Despite only having been in St. Petersburg for little more than six months, Spalletti already looks right at home. Hardly surprising, really.
Results
Zenit 2-0 Sibir
Dynamo 3-2 Rostov
Spartak 0-1 Rubin
Tom 1-4 Anzhi
Terek 1-0 Amkar
Lokomotiv 3-0 Alania
Krylya - CSKA (Monday)
Saturn - Nalchik (Monday)
Standings (games/points)
1. Zenit (13/33)
2. Rubin (13/26)
3. CSKA (12/24)
4. Nalchik (12/22)
5. Lokomotiv (13/21)
6. Rostov (13/19)
