2011–12 FC Zenit Saint Petersburg season

Zenit Saint Petersburg
2011–12 season
Chairman	Aleksandr Dyukov
Manager	Luciano Spalletti
Stadium	Petrovsky Stadium
Russian Premier League	1st
Russian Cup	Quarter-finals
Russian Super Cup	Runners-up
UEFA Champions League	Round of 16
Top goalscorer	League: Aleksandr Kerzhakov (23); All: Aleksandr Kerzhakov (24)
Highest home attendance	21,400 vs Spartak Moscow, RPL ; 30 May 2012
Lowest home attendance	18,000 vs Anzhi Makhachkala, RPL ; 20 March 2012
Home colours	Away colours
	← 2010 2012–13 →

The 2011–12 FC Zenit Saint Petersburg season was the 16th straight season that the club will play in the Russian Premier League, the highest tier of football in Russia. The club were the defending champions of both the Russian Premier League and the Russian Cup.

Internationally, the club participated in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, entering the competition in the group stage as a result of qualifying for the competition as the first place team from Russia.

Squad

As of 21 October 2011. FC Zenit Saint Petersburg 2011–12

No.	Name	Position (s)	Date of Birth (Age)	Height (m)	Weight (kg)	Signed From
Goalkeepers
16	Vyacheslav Malafeev	GK	(1979-03-04) March 4, 1979 (age 45)	1.85	76	Youth System
22	Dmitri Borodin	GK	(1977-10-08) October 8, 1977 (age 47)	1.88	82	Youth System
30	Yuri Zhevnov	GK	(1981-04-17) April 17, 1981 (age 43)	1.80	85	FC Moscow
Defenders
2	Aleksandr Anyukov (C)	RB	(1982-09-28) September 28, 1982 (age 42)	1.78	67	Krylia Sovetov
3	Bruno Alves	CB	(1981-11-27) November 27, 1981 (age 42)	1.89	83	Porto
4	Domenico Criscito	LB	(1986-12-30) December 30, 1986 (age 37)	1.83	75	Genoa
6	Nicolas Lombaerts	CB / LB	(1985-03-20) March 20, 1985 (age 39)	1.88	83	Gent
14	Tomáš Hubočan	LB / RB / CB	(1985-09-17) September 17, 1985 (age 39)	1.83	74	Žilina
24	Aleksandar Luković	LB / CB	(1982-10-23) October 23, 1982 (age 42)	1.85	83	Udinese
28	Michael Lumb	LB	(1988-01-09) January 9, 1988 (age 36)	1.77	70	AGF Aarhus
50	Igor Cheminava	CB	(1991-03-23) March 23, 1991 (age 33)	1.86	76	Youth System
Midfielders
10	Danny	AM	(1983-08-07) August 7, 1983 (age 41)	1.78	70	Dynamo Moscow
15	Roman Shirokov	CM / AM / DM	(1981-07-06) July 6, 1981 (age 43)	1.87	83	Khimki
17	Alessandro Rosina	AM	(1984-01-31) January 31, 1984 (age 40)	1.68	65	Torino
18	Konstantin Zyryanov	LM / CM	(1977-10-05) October 5, 1977 (age 47)	1.76	72	Torpedo Moscow
20	Viktor Fayzulin	CM	(1986-04-22) April 22, 1986 (age 38)	1.76	72	Spartak Nalchik
23	Szabolcs Huszti	RM / LM	(1983-04-18) April 18, 1983 (age 41)	1.73	73	Hannover 96
25	Sergei Semak	DM / CM	(1976-02-27) February 27, 1976 (age 48)	1.78	73	Rubin Kazan
27	Igor Denisov	CM / DM	(1984-05-17) May 17, 1984 (age 40)	1.76	70	Youth System
34	Vladimir Bystrov	RM	(1984-01-31) January 31, 1984 (age 40)	1.77	73	Youth System
57	Aleksei Ionov	AM / CM	(1989-02-18) February 18, 1989 (age 35)	1.77	68	Youth System
Forwards
8	Danko Lazović	ST / LW	(1983-05-17) May 17, 1983 (age 41)	1.84	80	PSV
9	Aleksandr Bukharov	CF / ST	(1985-03-12) March 12, 1985 (age 39)	1.93	92	Rubin Kazan
11	Aleksandr Kerzhakov	ST	(1982-11-27) November 27, 1982 (age 41)	1.76	76	Dynamo Moscow

Season Events

Pre-season

Following the club's double in manager Luciano Spalletti's first season, Zenit made several moves in the winter. First, the loan deal of former Zenit youth player Anton Sosnin to Krylia Sovetov Samara was made permanent, and Yevgeni Starikov's loan to Tom Tomsk was renewed.^[1]^[2] Second, after a very successful 14-goal season with Tom Tomsk and Rubin Kazan, striker Sergei Kornilenko made his return to the club. On 14 January, Croatian defender Ivica Križanac, who had been with the club for the past six seasons and appeared in 100 Russian Premier League matches, was released by the club prior to his contract expiring in the summer of 2011.^[3]

On 15 January, the club departed for Dubai with 22 players for the first pre-season training session. However, 19-year-old striker Maksim Kanunnikov, who was a popular first-team substitute early in 2010 prior to the arrival of Aleksandr Bukharov, did not make the trip and was loaned to Tom Tomsk on 17 January until July 2012.^[4] The club also hosted the annual Commonwealth of Independent States Cup and were represented by youth team players. After qualifying for the knock-out round, Zenit defeated HJK Helsinki 2–1 in the quarterfinal thanks to a double by 19-year-old Stanislav Matyash before being eliminated by eventual champions Inter Baku in the semifinal.

On 29 January, Italian Alessandro Rosina was loaned to Serie A side Cesena until July 2011.^[5] On the final day of the English transfer window, striker Sergei Kornilenko was once again sent on loan, this time to Blackpool for the remainder of the 2010–11 Premier League season.^[6]

Match World Cup

In Dubai, the club participated in the 2011 Match World Cup, a friendly tournament including league winners from Europe and Asia. Zenit were drawn alongside defending Gambrunus liga champions Sparta Prague and defending Hazfi Cup winners, Persepolis of Iran. In the opening match against Sparta Prague, Zenit was fueled by a first-minute strike by Aleksandr Kerzhakov as the blue-whites cruised to a 3–0 victory.^[7]

Two days later, Kerzhakov had Zenit off and running against Persepolis with a seventh-minute goal, and 34-year-old Sergei Semak added the finishing touches in the second half with an open-net goal.^[8] With six points earned from two group stage matches, Zenit earned a date with Asia's Club of the 20th Century, Al-Hilal in the championship.

After a first half stalemate at the Al-Maktoum Stadium, Szabolcs Huszti finally broke the match open with a 63rd-minute strike. But Al-Hilal would not go quietly. Zenit substitute Danko Lazović was sent off in extra time and Romanian Mirel Rădoi scored in the 93rd minute for Al-Hilal to send the match to penalties. From the spot kicks, the Arabian side were perfect from all four shooters, while both Roman Shirokov and Fernando Meira were off the mark for Zenit, eventually falling 4–1 on penalties.^[9]

March

Only days before the start of the new season, Zenit signed 19-year-old Chilean left-back Nicolás Peñailillo on a loan deal from Everton de Viña del Mar.^[10]

Zenit opened their 2011–12 Russian Premier League campaign on March 13 against Terek Grozny, where Serbian Danko Lazović delivered the only goal of the match in a 1–0 Zenit victory. It took only 14 minutes for Danny to pick out Lazović with a cross and goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev made several excellent saves to deny new Terek manager Ruud Gullit his first points in Russia. After falling to Twente in the Europa League, the club was hit with tragedy on a personal level when they learned of the death of Malafeev's wife Marina, who was killed in a car crash on 17 March.^[11] Three days later, the club played its first home match of the season against an inspired Anzhi Makhachkala side led by former Brazilian international and Real Madrid left-back Roberto Carlos. Zenit midfielder Roman Shirokov opened the scoring just four minutes in and then just seconds before half-time, Lazović scored his second of the season to put the sine-byelo-goluboy up 2–0, a scoreline that would hold up for Luciano Spalletti's second victory of the year.

Roberto Carlos incident

Following the match on 20 March, Brazilian media reported that Anzhi captain Roberto Carlos was racially abused by a Zenit fan as the two teams took the field. A picture surfaced that revealed the fan offering a banana to the 37-year-old as he entered the pitch, however Russian journalist Boris Bogdanov argued against the allegations of racism, citing that the picture was taken at an "unfavorable angle" and it could not be known for sure if his intention was to offend. Even though there had been incidents of banana-throwing in Saint Petersburg before, there were none during the Anzhi match or any other sort of incident.^[12] Roberto Carlos, who initially stated, "In my 37 years I have seen everything, I'm not going to be upset after seeing a banana", and that it didn't make him feel uncomfortable, later demanded action from the Russian Football Union (RFU).^[13]

On 7 April, the RFU fined Zenit €7,400 and the club claimed it had banned the offending fan for life.^[14]

April

After a perfect start to the new season, the club travelled to Nalchik to face a Spartak Nalchuk side that had exceeded all expectations by finishing 6th in 2010 and once more, Sergei Tashuev's squad proved to be worthy competition. Despite an early strike from Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Spartak leveled the score on 60 minutes. Danko Lazović then scored his third goal in three matches in the 80th minute, which appeared to be the winner before 25-year-old Roman Kontsedalov brought the home side back on even terms again. For the sixth time in seven league matches, Spartak had scored multiple goals against Zenit and Spalletti's side left with a 2–2 draw.

On 10 April, Zenit hoste CSKA Moscow in a highly anticipated duel at the Petrovsky Stadium. The match ended 1–1, however the official result awarded a 3–0 victory to CSKA. According to the league regulations, every team has to put at least one player with a Russian citizenship born in 1990 or later on their game roster in every game (even if the player in question stays on the bench). If there is no such player or players, the team guilty is punished by the victory being awarded to their opponent and a fine. In the game Zenit did not have such a player in their lineup – the youngest player was born in 1989. After the game, RFU president Sergei Fursenko said that Zenit would likely be awarded a defeat for breaking the regulations.^[15] Zenit manager Luciano Spalletti said after the game that they did this intentionally, as they were told it is punishable by a fine only, and the team was ready to pay the fine. They have done the same thing in the 2010 season and fine was the only punishment.^[16] However, the regulations were updated in December 2010, and the current exact language of Article 109 of the Disciplinary Regulations of the RFU states it is punishable by "a defeat awarded and a fine", not "a defeat awarded or a fine".^[17] Zenit was awarded a defeat by the RFU on 13 April.^[18] Zenit removed Vladislav Radimov, who as team director was responsible for filing the game roster with the league, from his position to the reserve team's assistant coach position, with a reduction in salary. Zenit's lawyer was punished by the club by having his bonus cancelled.

Following the RFU decision, the Premier League further decided that the goals scored by Mark González and Konstantin Zyryanov would not count for their scoring totals, but the yellow cards received in the game would count for disciplinary purposes.^[19]

Following the events of 10 April, Zenit closed out the month strong with resounding victories over Amkar Perm (3–1) and Krylia Sovetov (3–0). After a double against Krylia, Danko Lazović had run his scoring total to five goals in six matches.

May

Zenit hit a brick wall on their first trip to Krasnodar, failing to score against the newly promoted Bulls. The club could not pick up full points in either of their next two matches either, drawing with Rubin Kazan and Lokomotiv Moscow. An early low point then came on 21 May as the club traveled to Tomsk. Tom Tomsk took an early lead off former Zenit youth star Yevgeni Starikov's 37th-minute goal. Another youngster, Aleksei Ionov, leveled the score for Zenit just four minutes later, but it was ultimately 23-year-old Pavel Golyshev who had the last laugh as he secured a 2–1 victory for Tomsk. The tally was Golyshev's sixth of the season.

To finish off the month before a week of international break, Zenit would have to face arch-rival Spartak Moscow. After a heated first half-hour of play, it was Lazović to the rescue once more, putting Zenit ahead in the 37th minute with a clever penalty. The goal seemed to open the game up considerably and Aleksandr Kerzhakov netted a double in the second half, with the first of the two coming off an artful one-time shot.

June

After the club's most resounding victory of the season on 14 June, a 4–0 win over Rostov, Portuguese midfielder Danny signed a contract extension to remain with Zenit until 2015.^[20]

Several days later, following the club's 2–0 victory over Volga Nizhny Novgorod, star striker Danko Lazović was tasered by police for giving his jersey to a fan in the crowd. "I just went to give my jersey to the fans after the match, when a police officer appeared behind me and tasered me in the back with his electric shocker. I don't know why that happened. Maybe he thought that I was one of the fans", explained Lazović on Zenit's official website, while the club itself vented its anger against the actions of the police.^[21]

Just after entering the Russian Premier League's one-month summer break, the club signed Italian left-back Domenico Criscito from Genoa for a sum of €11 million.^[22]

Statistics

Field

As of 26 June 2011

No.	Pos.	Name	League					Cup				Super Cup				Europe				Total				Discipline
No.	Pos.	Name	App	Min		A	PTS	App	Min		A	App	Min		A	App	Min		A	App	Min		A
2	DF	Aleksandr Anyukov	25	2224	1	4	5	1	75	0	0	1	90	0	0	3	270	0	0	30	2659	1	4	5	0
3	DF	Bruno Alves	26	2340	0	0	0	2	180	0	0	1	90	0	0	2	166	0	0	31	2776	0	0	9	1
5	DF	Fernando Meira	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	90	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	91	0	0	0	0
6	DF	Nicolas Lombaerts	27	2305	1	1	2	1	90	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	360	1	0	32	2755	2	1	5	0
8	FW	Danko Lazović	26	1580	11	4	15	2	151	0	0	1	55	0	0	3	34	0	0	32	1820	11	4	6	0
9	FW	Aleksandr Bukharov	13	446	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	446	2	0	2	0
10	MF	Danny	13	987	2	4	6	0	0	0	0	1	90	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	1077	2	4	3	0
11	FW	Aleksandr Kerzhakov	12	964	7	4	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	964	7	4	2	0
14	DF	Tomáš Hubočan	9	753	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	753	0	0	3	0
15	MF	Roman Shirokov	3	270	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	90	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	360	1	0	0	0
18	MF	Konstantin Zyryanov	15	1209	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	90	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	1299	1	0	2	0
20	MF	Viktor Fayzulin	11	433	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	433	0	0	1	1
23	MF	Szabolcs Huszti	11	351	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	360	1	1	1	0
24	DF	Aleksandar Luković	9	810	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	90	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	900	0	0	4	0
25	MF	Sergei Semak	6	433	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	82	0	1	0	0	0	0	7	515	0	2	0	0
27	MF	Igor Denisov	13	1170	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	90	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	1260	0	1	2	0
50	DF	Igor Cheminava	2	180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	180	0	0	1	0
57	MF	Aleksei Ionov	15	867	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	36	1	0	0	0	0	0	16	903	4	0	1	0
98	MF	Sergei Petrov	2	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	19	0	0	0	0

Goalkeeping

As of 26 June 2011

No.	Pos.	Name	League					Cup				Super Cup				Europe				Total				Discipline
No.	Pos.	Name	App	Min	GA	AVG	SV	App	Min	GA	SV	App	Min	GA	SV	App	Min	GA	SV	App	Min	GA	SV
16	GK	Vyacheslav Malafeev	15	1316	8	0.533	47	0	0	0	0	1	90	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	1406	8	47	1	0
30	GK	Yuri Zhevnov	1	34	1	1.000	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	34	1	1	0	0

Transfers

Ownership

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
1 January 2011	ST	Sergei Kornilenko	Rubin Kazan	End of Loan
27 June 2011	LB	Domenico Criscito	Genoa	€11,000,000

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
10 December 2010	CM	Anton Sosnin	Krylia Sovetov Samara	Undisclosed^[1]
1 January 2011	LB	Aslan Dudiyev	Akademiya Tolyatti	End of Loan
14 January 2011	CB	Ivica Križanac	Split	Released^[3]

Loan

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
9 March 2011	LB	Nicolás Peñailillo	Everton	Undisclosed Loan

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
29 November 2010	ST	Yevgeni Starikov	Tom Tomsk	Undisclosed Loan^[2]
17 January 2011	ST	Maksim Kanunnikov	Tom Tomsk	Undisclosed Loan^[4]
29 January 2011	AM	Alessandro Rosina	Cesena	Undisclosed Loan^[5]
31 January 2011	ST	Sergei Kornilenko	Blackpool	Undisclosed Loan^[6]

For recent transfers, see List of Russian football transfers winter 2010–11 and List of Russian football transfers summer 2011

Matches

Russian Premier League

13 March 2011 1	Terek Grozny	0–1	Zenit	Grozny, Chechnya
18:30 MST	Rodrigo Tiuí 90'	Report	Lazović 14', 74' Huszti 82' Zyryanov 84'	Stadium: Sultan Bilimkhanov Stadium Attendance: 9,700 Referee: Aleksey Nikolaev

20 March 2011 2	Zenit	2–0	Anzhi Makhachkala	Saint Petersburg
16:30 MST	Shirokov 6' Ionov 37' Lazović 45'	Report		Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Aleksey Eskov

3 April 2011 3	Spartak Nalchik	2–2	Zenit	Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria
11:00 MST	Jovanović 41' 67' Zahirović 60' Kontsedalov 88'	Report	Kerzhakov 7', 34' Luković 26' Lazović 56', 80' Alves 62' Danny 74' Lombaerts 78'	Stadium: Spartak Stadium Attendance: 5,800 Referee: Maksim Layushkin

10 April 2011 4	Zenit	0 – 3 Awarded	CSKA Moscow	Saint Petersburg
15:30		Report		Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 21,400 Referee: Igor Egorov
Note: The match originally ended 1–1 but later the FA awarded a 3–0 win to CSKA due to Zenit not including a player born after 1 January 1990 in the squad for the game.

17 April 2011 5	Amkar Perm	1–3	Zenit	Perm, Perm Krai
12:15 MST	Sirakov 4' Novaković 19' Cherenchikov 36' Mikhalyov 90'	Report	Ionov 20' Danny 24' Luković 38' Bukharov 80'	Stadium: Zvezda Stadium Attendance: 12,700 Referee: Alexey Nikolaev

24 April 2011 6	Zenit	3–0	Krylia Sovetov	Saint Petersburg
16:45 MST	Kerzhakov 11' Hubočan 25' Zyryanov 52' Lazović 81', 86'	Report	Priyomov 37'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 19,650 Referee: Sergey Karasev

1 May 2011 7	Krasnodar	0–0	Zenit	Krasnodar, Krasnodar Krai
16:30 MST	Gogniyev 12' Tubić 34' Martynovich 45'	Report	Anyukov 70' Danny 89' Lazović 90'	Stadium: Kuban Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Aleksey Eskov

8 May 2011 8	Zenit	1–1	Lokomotiv Moscow	Saint Petersburg
20:30 MST	Lombaerts 21' Lazović 51', 65' (pen.)	Report	Guilherme 35' Yanbaev 43' Ďurica 47' Maicon 51', 68' Ivanov 51' Ibričić 57'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 21,400 Referee: Igor Egorov

14 May 2011 9	Zenit	2–2	Rubin Kazan	Saint Petersburg
16:00 MST	Danny 9' Anyukov 11' Bukharov 51' Kerzhakov 71'	Report	Karadeniz 19' Medvedev 31'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 19,500 Referee: Yuri Baskakov

21 May 2011 10	Tom Tomsk	2–1	Zenit	Tomsk, Tomsk Oblast
11:45 MST	Starikov 37' Golyshev 52'	Report	Lazović 25' Ionov 41' Anyukov 69' Alves 75'	Stadium: Trud Stadium Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Almir Kayumov

30 May 2011 11	Zenit	3–0	Spartak Moscow	Saint Petersburg
16:00 MST	Kerzhakov 11', 67', 88' Hubočan 26' Lazović 37' (pen.) Fayzulin 81' Alves 84'	Report	Kudryashov 36' Suchý 41'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 21,400 Referee: Igor Egorov

10 June 2011 12	Dynamo Moscow	1–1	Zenit	Moscow
20:00 MST	Semshov 15' Kokorin 40' Wilkshire 56' Voronin 68' Sapeta 76' Samedov 81', 90'	Report	Luković 14' Hubočan 59' Lombaerts 70' Fayzulin 73' Lazović 82' Malafeev 90'	Stadium: Arena Khimki Attendance: 13,734 Referee: Igor Egorov

14 June 2011 13	Zenit	4–0	Rostov	Saint Petersburg
18:45 MST	Ionov 1' Lazović 40' Huszti 72' Bukharov 90'	Report	Khokhlov 20' Adamov 65' Khagush 79'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 15,081 Referee: Almir Kayumov

18 June 2011 14	Volga	0–2	Zenit	Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
18:45 MST	Bendz 13' Gogua 72' Getigezhev 90'	Report	Kerzhakov 9', 19' Cheminava 82'	Stadium: Lokomotiv Stadium Attendance: 17,800 Referee: Aleksei Eskov

22 June 2011 15	Zenit	1–0	Kuban Krasnodar	Saint Petersburg
21:00 MST	Luković 25' Zyryanov 35'	Report	A. Kozlov 20'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 20,200 Referee: Mikhail Vilkov

26 June 2011 16	Zenit	0–0	Terek Grozny	Saint Petersburg
18:45 MST	Bukharov 86'	Report	Gvazava 22' António Ferreira 86' Dzhanaev 90'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 18,500 Referee: Vladimir Kazmenko

24 July 2011 17	Anzhi Makhachkala	0–1	Zenit	Makhachkala, Dagestan
21:00 MST	Tagirbekov 18' Revishvili 81'	Report	Kerzhakov 80'	Stadium: Dynamo Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Maksim Layushkin

31 July 2011 18	Zenit	1–0	Spartak Nalchik	Saint Petersburg
16:30 MST	Fayzulin 23'	Report	Džudović 7'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 20,700 Referee: Yuri Baskakov

6 August 2011 19	CSKA Moscow	0–2	Zenit	Moscow
18:45 MST	Ignashevich 64' Doumbia 71' Vágner Love 79' Rahimić 88'	Report	Zyryanov 16' Kerzhakov 54' Anyukov 56' Fayzulin 79'	Stadium: Arena Khimki Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Aleksei Nikolaev

14 August 2011 20	Zenit	1–1	Amkar Perm	Saint Petersburg
17:45 MST	Kerzhakov 16', 52' Shirokov 61' Bukharov 90' Criscito 90'	Report	Kolomeytsev 23' Volkov 34' Popov 45' Mijailović 70' Narubin 90' Cherenchikov 90'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 21,000 Referee: Vyacheslav Kharlamov

20 August 2011 21	Krylia Sovetov	2–5	Zenit	Samara, Samara Oblast
18:15 MST	Yakovlev 31', 51', 90'	Report	Danny 22' Shirokov 29', 78' (pen.) Lombaerts 32' Fayzulin 34'	Stadium: Metallurg Stadium Attendance: 19,100 Referee: Igor Egorov

28 August 2011 22	Zenit	5–0	Krasnodar	Saint Petersburg
16:45 MST	Criscito 14' Kerzhakov 24', 30', 79' (pen.) Shirokov 85' Danny 90'	Report	Anđelković 35' Kulchiy 52' Mikheyev 67' Joãozinho 78'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 21,200 Referee: Vyacheslav Popov

10 September 2011 23	Lokomotiv Moscow	4–2	Zenit	Moscow
16:10 MST	Caicedo 16', 62' Yanbaev 18' Shishkin 33' Obinna 46' Tarasov 53' Da Costa 77', 88'	Report	Lazović 8' Hubočan 14' Fayzulin 20' Bukharov 31' Lombaerts 55'	Stadium: Lokomotiv Stadium Attendance: 19,180 Referee: Aleksey Nikolaev

17 September 2011 24	Rubin Kazan	2–3	Zenit	Kazan, Tatarstan
17:00 MST	Natcho 7' (pen.) Kislyak 23' Navas 69' Noboa 82'	Report	Danny 7', 50', 68' Shirokov 12', 28' Malafeev 24' Alves 33' Zyryanov 44' Zhevnov 90'	Stadium: Central Stadium Attendance: 21,450 Referee: Sergei Karasev

24 September 2011 25	Zenit	4–0	Tom Tomsk	Saint Petersburg
16:00 MST	Fayzulin 4' Shirokov 23' Luković 34' Kerzhakov 43', 54' Anyukov 55' Bukharov 90'	Report	Skoblyakov 41' Stroyev 45'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 19,000 Referee: Aleksei Eskov

2 October 2011 26	Spartak Moscow	2–2	Zenit	Moscow
16:00 MST	Anyukov 22' (o.g.) Pareja 32' 43' Welliton 68', 80'	Report	Danny 39' Kerzhakov 47' Hubočan 68' Lombaerts 71'	Stadium: Luzhniki Stadium Attendance: 37,075 Referee: Vladimir Kazmenko

15 October 2011 27	Zenit	0–0	Dynamo Moscow	Saint Petersburg
18:15 MST	Alves 52' Luković 71'	Report	Yusupov 40' Lomić 49' Granat 79'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 21,000 Referee: Mikhail Vilkov

23 October 2011 28	Rostov	1–3	Zenit	Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast
15:00 MST	Smolnikov 15' Ahumada 19' Bracamonte 49' Cociș 62' Kalachev 72' Adamov 85'	Report	Danny 9', 87' Luković 15' (pen.), 61' Bukharov 32', 65' Shirokov 69' Alves 80' Bystrov 90'	Stadium: Olimp – 2 Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Timur Arsanbekov

28 October 2011 29	Zenit	3–0	Volga	Saint Petersburg
19:00 MST	Fayzulin 2' Bukharov 37' Lazović 69' (pen.)	Report	Arziani 39' Shulenin 51' Abayev 69' Székely 89'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 19,350 Referee: Aleksei Nikolaev

6 November 2011 30	Kuban Krasnodar	1–1	Zenit	Krasnodar, Krasnodar Krai
17:15 MST	Lolo 2' Bucur 8' Traoré 46' Traoré 66' (pen.)	Report	Denisov 28' Luković 30' Alves 49' Hubočan 65'	Stadium: Kuban Stadium Attendance: 28,650 Referee: Igor Egorov

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Zenit St. Petersburg	30	17	10	3	59	25	+34	61	Qualification to Championship group
2	CSKA Moscow	30	16	11	3	58	29	+29	59
3	Dynamo Moscow	30	16	7	7	51	30	+21	55
4	Spartak Moscow	30	15	8	7	48	33	+15	53^[a]
5	Lokomotiv Moscow	30	15	8	7	49	30	+19	53^[a]

Source: Russian Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) number of wins; 3) head-to-head points; 4) number of head-to-head wins; 5) head-to-head goal difference; 6) number of head-to-head goals scored; 7) number of head-to-head away goals scored; 8) goal difference; 9) number of goals scored; 10) number of away goals scored.
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Spartak Moscow ahead of Lokomotiv Moscow on head-to-head points; Lokomotiv Moscow–Spartak Moscow 0–2, Spartak Moscow–Lokomotiv Moscow 3–0.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Zenit St. Petersburg (C)	44	24	16	4	85	40	+45	88	Qualification to Champions League group stage
2	Spartak Moscow	44	21	12	11	69	47	+22	75	Qualification to Champions League play-off round
3	CSKA Moscow	44	19	16	9	72	47	+25	73	Qualification to Europa League play-off round
4	Dynamo Moscow	44	20	12	12	66	50	+16	72	Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round
5	Anzhi Makhachkala	44	19	13	12	54	42	+12	70	Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round
6	Rubin Kazan	44	17	17	10	55	41	+14	68	Qualification to Europa League group stage^[a]
7	Lokomotiv Moscow	44	18	12	14	59	48	+11	66
8	Kuban Krasnodar	44	15	16	13	50	45	+5	61

Source: Russian Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) number of wins; 3) head-to-head points; 4) number of head-to-head wins; 5) head-to-head goal difference; 6) number of head-to-head goals scored; 7) number of head-to-head away goals scored; 8) goal difference; 9) number of goals scored; 10) number of away goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:

^ Rubin have won the 2011–12 Russian Cup and thus have qualified for the group stage of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.

UEFA Champions League

Group stage – Group G

13 September 2011 Matchday 1	APOEL	2–1	Zenit	Nicosia, Cyprus
20:45 CET	Oliveira 40' Morais 71' Paulo Jorge 71' Manduca 73' Aílton 75' Jahić 79'	Report	Alves 29' 76' Danny 35' Zyryanov 63'	Stadium: GSP Stadium Attendance: 21,269 Referee: Eduardo Iturralde González

28 September 2011 Matchday 2	Zenit	3–1	Porto	Saint Petersburg
18:00 CET	Shirokov 20', 63' Hubočan 61' Danny 72'	Report	J. Rodríguez 10' Fucile 25' 45' Otamendi 62' Belluschi 69'	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 21,405 Referee: Howard Webb

19 October 2011 Matchday 3	Shakhtar	2–2	Zenit	Donetsk
20:45 CET	Willian 15' Luiz Adriano 46' Chyzhov 58' Srna 62'	Report	Alves 3' Shirokov 33' Fayzulin 60' Criscito 62'	Stadium: Donbass Arena Attendance: 21,405 Referee: Frank De Bleeckere

1 November 2011 Matchday 4	Zenit	1–0	Shakhtar	Saint Petersburg
18:00 CET	Lombaerts 46' Denisov 74' Lazović 91'	Report	Srna 23' Willian 52' Luiz Adriano 65'	Stadium: Petrovskiy Stadium Attendance: 21,405 Referee: Stéphane Lannoy

23 November 2011 Matchday 5	Zenit	0–0	APOEL	Saint Petersburg
18:00 CET	Criscito 45' Lombaerts 85' Hubočan 93'	Report	Alexandrou 42' Ilia 53' Paulo Jorge 92'	Stadium: Petrovskiy Stadium Attendance: 21,500 Referee: Felix Brych

6 December 2011 Matchday 6	Porto	0–0	Zenit	Porto
20:45 CET	Helton 38' Otamendi 48' Hulk 71'	Report	Anyukov 28' Fayzulin 40' Malafeev 76'	Stadium: Estádio do Dragão Attendance: 46,512 Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo

Pre-season

22 January 2011 Match World Cup	Sparta Prague	0–3	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Dubai, UAE
18:30 MST	Řepka 35' Vacek 72' Kušnír 79'	Report	Kerzhakov 1' Ionov 34' Rosina 38' Alves 74' Lazović 78' Fayzulin 80' Zyryanov 83'	Stadium: Al-Maktoum Stadium

24 January 2011 Match World Cup	Zenit Saint Petersburg	2–0	Persepolis	Dubai, UAE
18:30 MST	Kerzhakov 8' Alves 34' Denisov 72' Semak 79' Rosina 80' Gigolayev 89'	Report	Zare 44'	Stadium: Al-Maktoum Stadium

26 January 2011 Final	Zenit Saint Petersburg	1–1 (1–4 p)	Al-Hilal	Dubai, UAE
18:30 MST	Denisov 21' Huszti 62' Kerzhakov 78' Lazović 80' 90'	Report	Rădoi 20', 90' Nami 22' Al-Marshedi 68'	Stadium: Al-Maktoum Stadium
	Penalties
	Luković Shirokov Meira		Rădoi Al-Shalhoub Al-Mehyani Hawsawi

28 January 2011	Metalist Kharkiv	1–1	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Jebel Ali, UAE
15:00 MST	Pshenychnykh 85'	Report	Lazović 43' (pen.)

3 February 2011 Marbella Cup	Zenit Saint Petersburg	2–1	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	Marbella, Spain
18:00 MST	Huszti 13', 67' Starikov 75'	Report	Vitanov 19' Y. Bengelloun 66' Zlatinski 72'	Stadium: Estadio Municipal de Marbella

5 February 2011 Marbella Cup	Polonia Warszawa	1–0	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Marbella, Spain
16:00 MST	Smolarek 9'	Report	Kerzhakov 24' Denisov 67' Ionov 75'	Stadium: Estadio Municipal de Marbella

8 February 2011 Marbella Cup	Zenit Saint Petersburg	1–2	Sparta Prague	Marbella, Spain
18:00 MST	Fayzulin 17' Lazović 38' (pen.)	Report	Abena 43' Kušnír 48' Lačný 52'	Stadium: Estadio Municipal de Marbella

13 February 2011 Marbella Cup	Zenit Saint Petersburg	0–0	Dynamo Kyiv	Marbella, Spain
19:00 MST		Report	Yussuf 40' Eremenko 53' Silva 63'	Stadium: Estadio Municipal de Marbella

2011 CIS Cup

Group stage

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Shakhtyor Soligorsk	3	2	1	0	9	2	+7	7
Zenit Saint Petersburg	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7
Flora Tallinn	3	1	0	2	3	7	−4	3
Balkan	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

15 January 2011	Zenit Saint Petersburg	1–0	Flora Tallinn	Saint Petersburg, Russia
	S. Petrov 25' Murikhin 60' Cheminava 62'	Report		Stadium: Petersburg SCC Attendance: 4,500

16 January 2011	Shakhtyor Soligorsk	1–1	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Saint Petersburg, Russia
19:00 MST	Kirenkin 26' Grenkov 45' Alumona 78'	Report	Tsyganov 83'	Stadium: Petersburg SCC Attendance: 5,300

18 January 2011	Zenit Saint Petersburg	2–0	Nebitçi Balkanabat	Saint Petersburg, Russia
20:00 MST	Murikhin 33' Tsyganov 84'	Report	Sarkisov 24' Meredov 68' Garakhanov 82'	Stadium: Petersburg SCC Attendance: 2,000

Knockout phase

19 January 2011 Quarter-final	Zenit Saint Petersburg	2–1	HJK Helsinki	Saint Petersburg, Russia
16:00 MST	Batov 6' Sirotov 43' Matyash 62', 65' Mogilevets 75' Zinkov 86'	Report	Ring 20' Kastrati 63' Yobe 78' Parikka 84' (pen.)	Stadium: Petersburg SCC Attendance: 500 Referee: Vitali Meshkov

21 January 2011 Semi-final	Inter Baku	5–0	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Saint Petersburg, Russia
17:00 MST	Karlsons 3', 15', 54' Zlatinov 7' Levin 27' Chertoganov 30' Amiraslanov 70'	Report	Kostin 45'	Stadium: Petersburg SCC Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Sergei Karasev

Russian Cup

1 March 2011 Round of 16	Anzhi Makhachkala	2–3	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Grozny
18:00	Agalarov 22' D. Ivanov 90'	Report	Huszti 12' (pen.) Danny 67' Lazović 83'	Stadium: Sultan Bilimkhanov Stadium Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Almir Kayumov
Note: Anzhi's home stadium in Makhachkala was ruled not fit for the game due to weather conditions.

20 April 2011 Quarter-finals	Zenit St. Petersburg	0–2	CSKA Moscow	Saint Petersburg
20:00		Report	Doumbia 41' Ignashevich 58' (pen.)	Stadium: Petrovsky Stadium Attendance: 19,000 Referee: Stanislav Sukhina

Russian Super Cup

6 March 2011	Zenit Saint Petersburg	1–0	CSKA Moscow	Krasnodar, Russia
13:00 MST	Ionov 57'	Report		Stadium: Kuban Stadium Attendance: 22,500 Referee: Aleksei Nikolayev

References

^ ^a ^b "Sosnin and Khokhlov are going to FC Krylya Sovetov".
^ ^a ^b ""Томь" выкупила трансфер Евгения Старикова".
^ ^a ^b "Ivica Križanac is leaving Zenit".
^ ^a ^b "Пополнение в "Томи"". Archived from the original on 2011-01-22.
^ ^a ^b ""Чезена" арендовала у "Зенита" Розину". championat.ru. 2011-01-29. Archived from the original on 2011-02-01. Retrieved 2011-01-29.
^ ^a ^b "Kornilenko arrives from Zenit". Blackpool F.C. 2011-01-31. Archived from the original on February 4, 2011.
^ "Dubai cup. 2-й тур. "Зенит" крупно обыграл "Спарту", "Жилина" разгромила "Шахтер"". sports.ru.
^ "Dubai cup. 3-й тур. "Зенит" обыграл "Персеполис", "Аль-Хилаль" обыграл "Жилину"". sports.ru.
^ "Dubai Cup. Финал. "Зенит" уступил "Аль-Хилалю" в серии пенальти, "Жилина" стала третьей". sports.ru. 2011-01-26.
^ ""Зенит" взял в аренду игрока молодёжной сборной Чили".
^ Все подробности трагической смерти жены Вячеслава Малафеева Марины (ФОТО И ВИДЕО С МЕСТА АВАРИИ) (in Russian). sovsport.ru. 2011-03-17. Archived from the original on 2011-12-28. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
^ "Anzhi's Roberto Carlos Racially Abused During Zenit St Petersburg Clash – Report". goal.com. 2011-03-22.
^ "Anzhi's Roberto Carlos Demands Action After Racism Row".
^ "Zenit St. Petersburg fined €7,400 for racial abuse against Roberto Carlos".
^ "Сергей Фурсенко: "Зениту" грозит поражение и штраф в 200 тысяч"". Sport Express. 10 April 2011.
^ "Лучано Спаллетти: "Мы показали хороший футбол"". FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. 10 April 2011.
^ "Дисциплинарный регламент РФС". Russian Football Union. Retrieved 10 April 2011.^{[dead link]}
^ ""Зениту" присуждено поражение". Sport Express. 13 April 2011.
^ "Информационное сообщение НП "РФПЛ"". Russian Premier League. Archived from the original on April 16, 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
^ "Danny signs contract extension with Zenit St Petersburg".
^ "Zenit St Petersburg striker Danko Lazovic tasered by police after league match". goal.com.
^ "Official: Zenit St Petersburg sign Domenico Criscito from Genoa". Retrieved 7 May 2013.

[table_hth_LOK0.16858660484133-23] Spartak Moscow ahead of Lokomotiv Moscow on head-to-head points; Lokomotiv Moscow–Spartak Moscow 0–2, Spartak Moscow–Lokomotiv Moscow 3–0.

[table_note_res_ELGS0.4198220108728-24] Rubin have won the 2011–12 Russian Cup and thus have qualified for the group stage of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.

[Sosnin-1] "Sosnin and Khokhlov are going to FC Krylya Sovetov".

[Starikov-2] ""Томь" выкупила трансфер Евгения Старикова".

[Krizanac_released-3] "Ivica Križanac is leaving Zenit".

[Kanunnikov_loan-4] "Пополнение в "Томи"". Archived from the original on 2011-01-22.

[Rosina_loan-5] ""Чезена" арендовала у "Зенита" Розину". championat.ru. 2011-01-29. Archived from the original on 2011-02-01. Retrieved 2011-01-29.

[Kornilenko_loan-6] "Kornilenko arrives from Zenit". Blackpool F.C. 2011-01-31. Archived from the original on February 4, 2011.

[7] "Dubai cup. 2-й тур. "Зенит" крупно обыграл "Спарту", "Жилина" разгромила "Шахтер"". sports.ru.

[8] "Dubai cup. 3-й тур. "Зенит" обыграл "Персеполис", "Аль-Хилаль" обыграл "Жилину"". sports.ru.

[9] "Dubai Cup. Финал. "Зенит" уступил "Аль-Хилалю" в серии пенальти, "Жилина" стала третьей". sports.ru. 2011-01-26.

[10] ""Зенит" взял в аренду игрока молодёжной сборной Чили".

[11] Все подробности трагической смерти жены Вячеслава Малафеева Марины (ФОТО И ВИДЕО С МЕСТА АВАРИИ) (in Russian). sovsport.ru. 2011-03-17. Archived from the original on 2011-12-28. Retrieved 7 May 2013.

[12] "Anzhi's Roberto Carlos Racially Abused During Zenit St Petersburg Clash – Report". goal.com. 2011-03-22.

[13] "Anzhi's Roberto Carlos Demands Action After Racism Row".

[14] "Zenit St. Petersburg fined €7,400 for racial abuse against Roberto Carlos".

[15] "Сергей Фурсенко: "Зениту" грозит поражение и штраф в 200 тысяч"". Sport Express. 10 April 2011.

[16] "Лучано Спаллетти: "Мы показали хороший футбол"". FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. 10 April 2011.

[17] "Дисциплинарный регламент РФС". Russian Football Union. Retrieved 10 April 2011.^{[dead link]}

[18] ""Зениту" присуждено поражение". Sport Express. 13 April 2011.

[19] "Информационное сообщение НП "РФПЛ"". Russian Premier League. Archived from the original on April 16, 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.

[20] "Danny signs contract extension with Zenit St Petersburg".

[21] "Zenit St Petersburg striker Danko Lazovic tasered by police after league match". goal.com.

[22] "Official: Zenit St Petersburg sign Domenico Criscito from Genoa". Retrieved 7 May 2013.

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