Football Season Guide

In spite of failing to perform at their best, head coach Sergei Semak lead Zenit to their sixth successive Russian Premier League title last term. The squad heading into the new campaign is currently huge and will be expected to be cut down by the end of the summer. Major additions have come in the form of Maksim Glushenkov, Sergey Volkov, Wilson Isidor (completing permanent move), Yuriy Gorshkov and Evgeniy Latyshonok. Loan returns in the form of Robert Renan, Du Queiroz, Zelimkhan Bakaev, Dmitriy Chistyakov, Aleksey Sutormin, Daniil Odoevskiy and Nikita Goylo bolster the ranks even further with none of them leaving the club as of yet. Zenit have only seen minor departures thus far in Danil Krugovoy, Aleksandr Vasyutin and Arsen Adamov (on loan). More will be expected, however, due to the sheer size of the current squad. RPL top goalscorer Mateo Cassierra will be hoping to continue in the same vain this season, but has plenty of competition for places in Glushenkov and Ivan Sergeev. Glushenkov will look to provide a creative spark after finishing as the league's top assister with 16 last season with Lokomotiv Moscow. Meanwhile, Douglas Santos will be pivotal at the back. He was named as the RPL Defender of the Season last term.