Spalletti teased Semak and is confident that everything will be fine with his former club. Soccer.ru doubts it, because Zenit has hardly changed.

Test matches - for coaches

Luciano jokingly called Sergei Bogdanovich “the best coach in the world” and admitted that everything would be fine at Zenit. The team won four victories at the training camp, and in the fifth match they had a shootout with beautiful goals against Inter. Moreover, they could have even won if they had reacted competently to Hernani’s brilliant strike. Or if the referee would not have given a controversial penalty against Lunev.

All these results are not a reason to over-praise. For years we have to repeat this idea, because sparrings need to be assessed as if you were not fans or spectators, but part of the coaching staff. It is important to compare a player's readiness now with how he usually plays at his peak. Evaluate tactics - Semak insists that even in the shootout with Inter there was enough food for analytical reflection.

It is useful to understand that they will improve physically; there cannot be full concentration and full contact in martial arts in such games - people are saving their legs for the season. Finally, do not overestimate the result in freight trains, since only the season will judge. Wins, draws or defeats – it doesn’t matter. It is important to look deeper and wider. And if you do this, then it’s clear that Semak’s team has enough disadvantages.

Who will play in the starting lineup?

The problem with Semak "Zenith" is that at best it is Lucescu's Zenit, at worst - you know whose. Lunev, Anyukov, Mak, Noboa, Ernani, Neto, Shatov, Dzyuba and Ivanovich played for Mircea. And in the end nothing worked out for them. Then Mancini came and brought on the Argentines - again, everyone takes the field at Semak.

Everyone at the training camp is a contender for the starting team, except for Kerzhakov and Lodygin, because Lunev is the main goalkeeper. But it is not yet clear what the basis of Zenit will be, because they tested different options with Genoa and Inter, and the result with five goals conceded showed that there is no well-established team, although there are no new faces either, because there are no transfers.

The probable composition of Zenit at the start of the season (4-4-2): Lunev - Anyukov, Ivanovich, Mevlya, Nabiullin - Mak, Paredes, Noboa, Shatov - Dzyuba, Driussi.

Do they want to use Semak?

No money was given, execution was not allowed. It was as if they reminded the coach that Semak came because no one agreed more strongly, and Mancini turned out to be a temporary figure, like Lucescu. But Sergei Bogdanovich cannot agree to be “convenient.”

As soon as Semak becomes a wedding general, put an end to talk about the favorite’s return to powerful play and confident victories, at least in the RPL. After all, it is obvious that they hid behind Sergei Bogdanovich and his reputation. There was an idea to hide behind the Lawyer, but they decided not to torture the old man. The season will be bloodthirsty.

What weaknesses are visible at the training camp?

We take into account that these are friendly matches and look at the structure of the game rather than at the specific decisions of individual players. What's wrong with team play?

1. Lunev does not lead the defense. It was a problem before, because Andrey is an excellent goalkeeper, but a loner. The defense is detached from the goalkeeper, which leads to blunders, because Kerzhakov and Lodygin also do not order Mevla, Neto and Ivanovich. Lun, as his teammates call him, also disappoints with his approach to penalties. Andrei and Dziuba play out series in training, and the forward makes saves more often, and even with Inter he guessed, and Icardi scored.

2. The defense is still a mess. Mistakes on a Spartak scale. The reason here is partly that the lineup is constantly being shuffled, because even without Criscito, Zhirkov and Mammana there are two sets of defenders. Semak asks to play compactly - they are too pressed into the penalty area. If Mevlya doesn’t fry, then he corrects other people’s gross mistakes, because Neto has returned in every sense. Nabiullin is still terrible in defense. Anyukov constantly fails to keep up. There is no fusion of experience and youth, and no bright accent, which was Criscito, no.

3. Zenit needs a destroyer. It’s a huge problem - not one of those who took to the field at the training camp was convinced of the role of Cerberus, not even Kranevitter. Partly because there is no player of a specific position - a pure defensive midfielder, partly due to the lack of a game concept. Ozdoev is one task, Noboa is another, Paredes is a third, and so on until Hernani. Opponents often shoot from a distance and occupy the spaces between the lines. Even Genoa players were given seconds to make decisions and beautiful passes from the spot in the style of Kroos or De Bruyne.

4. Playmaker is also missing. Who is the leader of this team? If Dziuba stands like a pillar in front or puts pressure, there is not enough movement for leadership. And Paredes is exactly the same as he was last season. Kokorin is not ready to play yet, although he is training, but Alexander is also not the new Hulk or Danny. The leaders who were there during the championship years - remember Zyryanov, Shirokov or Arshavin - are missing. There are few subtle solutions when we talk about combination play. Of the last six goals, not a single one was a team goal.

5. Semak puts on a primitive game. Maybe in the future Sergei Bogdanovich will delight you with original ideas, but he started with the basics. “Zenith” is as simple as two kopecks, which is dangerous for a team that breaks “buses”. It is not clear how the crisis of positional attacks will be overcome. They put pressure diligently, but didn’t see any team goals. If you call Zenit nothing a week before the start of the season, it will be a statement, not an insult. Of course, this is a momentary assessment, you need to watch official matches, but coach Semak is not original - a fact. However, there is a good reason.

Is there a “team of losers” on the field?

Lucescu complained that they took away Garay, Witsel and Hulk, and did not give money for strong players. Partly right. Mancini was given money and brought it, but not the right amount. Now let’s clear Semaka. Zenit will start the season as the old team of Lucescu-Mancini with the changes of the new coach and without Criscito. At the same time, they are again the favorites of the RPL. For the third year in a row, many Soccer.ru readers are betting on the team from St. Petersburg in the championship poll!

The richest club, now humiliated by fifth place, wants to take revenge. But what can Sergei Bogdanovich do that can make Smolnikov, Neta, Hernani, Shatov, Driussi and Paredes have a fabulous stable season, and Zenit become a team without conflicts and a team without obvious flaws? How can you make your opponents afraid of them without changing your application?

It is obvious that Semak agreed to start the season with the people of Lucescu and Mancini and only then make changes. In theory it could work. After all, what unites Sergei Bogdanovich’s charges? The previous coaches did not squeeze the maximum out of them. On the other hand, Zenit is taking a big risk - giving the right to revenge to players with an impressive history of failures.

They left Ivanovic as the central figure in the defense, although Bano fails to cope and shifts the responsibility to Mevlya. They didn’t find a replacement for Crishito, on the left are Chernov and Nabiullin, both are weaker than Smolnikov on the right, although Igor himself is not ideal. They returned old Anyukov. They didn't add a disruptor to the scheme, relying on Paredes and Noboa. They have no alternative for the tired Dzyuba ahead. Zabolotny is the same as it was in the spring, but Kokorin is not ready.

Zenit's attack is so far worse than Ufa's. Naked improvisation and long-range strikes against Genoa and Inter. With such a set of not just unresolved, but not even so far unsolvable problems, the traditional favorite can lose many points. And then panic buying in winter will not save the season. By refusing to buy anything, Sergei Bogdanovich acted like a human being.

But those who hired him are inactive. They didn't give money for the highest class players. They were not allowed to clear the application. How independent is the new coach? At the same time, in St. Petersburg they are waiting for a new dessert from what was lying around in the refrigerator. It’s a paradox, but the danger is precisely that the start may go wrong. Where was Lucescu's Zenit after 12 matches? At first, he shared the lead. Have you forgotten where Mancini’s Zenit was after 13 rounds? That's right - first.

Can you believe that the players taken not under Sergei Bogdanovich, but under Mircea and Roberto, will play better without them at the end of the season? This is not Ufa, Gancharenko has no baggage, perestroika is more complicated. Zenit objectively has a lot of unresolved tactical, personnel and other problems, so... And if the good coach Semak makes mistakes, the team will perform even more primitively than in previous seasons.

There is nowhere to go lower in the table, but there are still few grounds for a qualitative breakthrough. “Zenit” Semak is betting on motivation and revenge, they have a remake of “Suicide Squad”. They enter the season without signings, after the loss of Criscito and the return of those who failed in total for three seasons, losing the championship to CSKA, Spartak and Lokomotiv.

The specialist’s agreement with the blue-white-sky blues is for two years with the possibility of extension for another year.

In 2005, Semak left the army team, accepting an offer from PSG. In the same year he was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports. From Paris, Sergei Bogdanovich first went to Moscow, where he also quickly became one of the leaders, and then moved to Rubin Kazan, with which he won the first championship title in the club’s history.

In 2007, having surpassed the bar of 100 goals scored in the Russian championships, he entered the Club of 100 Russian scorers of the Sport Express newspaper and the Grigory Fedotov Club.

In 2008, he returned to the national team, where he became captain of the team that won bronze medals at the European Championship. Member of the Igor Netto Club (for players who have played more than 50 matches for the Russian national team).

Semak played for Zenit from August 2010 to June 2013. Over three seasons, he played 72 matches with the team, scored 13 goals and provided 7 assists.

In June 2013, he accepted Luciano Spalletti's offer to join the blue-white-blue coaching staff as assistant coach. On March 11, 2014, he was appointed acting head coach of Zenit. Under his leadership, the team played two matches: the blue-white-blues lost to CSKA with a minimal score (0:1), and then beat Borussia Dortmund (2:1) away.

On March 20, 2014, Semak joined the coaching staff of Andre Villas-Boas. In September 2015, he led Zenit for six matches of the Russian Championship due to the Portuguese’s disqualification. After leaving, Villas-Boas continued to work on Mircea Lucescu's coaching staff.

In August 2014, he joined the coaching staff of the Russian national team, where he worked together with Fabio Capello and, after the Italian left, with Leonid Slutsky.

On December 30, 2016, he was appointed to the post of head coach of Ufa. The team finished the 2017/18 season in sixth place, which was the best result in its history and allowed it to qualify for the UEFA Europa League for the first time.

Football club "Zenith" congratulates Sergei Semak on his return to St. Petersburg and wishes him good luck as the head coach of the blue-white-blues!

About the appointment Sergei Semak the head coach of Zenit became known a few days ago. A meeting of the new blue-white-blue coach with fans was planned in advance at the club’s base in Udelny Park. On the day the contract was signed, however, it was moved to the Petrovsky Stadium. Because of this, journalists had to rush around the city for half a day, frantically trying to catch Sergei Bogdanovich. We weren’t able to get into the closed meeting with fans, but we managed to talk to Semak after it. After talking with fans, he spent a few minutes with journalists.

- Sergei Bogdanovich, congratulations on your appointment. How was the meeting with the fans?
- Initially, the meeting with fans was planned at the base in Udelny Park, then it was moved to the Petrovsky stadium. The guys asked, I drove up for five minutes, no problems.

- How did the fans receive you?
- If they came to the meeting, it means they accepted my appointment normally. I appreciate their attention. But I understand perfectly well that I am at the very beginning of my journey. There is a lot of work ahead.

- What was the conversation about?
- There are no secrets, what they talked about. General phrases about what fans would like to see did not relate to a deep tactical understanding of football.

– Did you easily agree to Zenit’s offer?
– It’s never easy, any decision is difficult. Of course, for me this is a step forward in my work. The risk is always present, it is never small when it comes to the work of a head coach. There are many additional complications. If you take on something, you should try to do it to the maximum.

- Do you have any idea who will join your coaching staff?
- It’s too early to talk about this. A lot of information in the press was not true. The appointment took place very quickly, with an element of surprise. In the near future we will decide about the coaching staff, training camps and everything else.

“Everyone is hugging and kissing Semak now. He returned home"

Zenit President Sergei Fursenko on the appointment of Sergei Semak as head coach.

- Is Alexander Nizelik on the list of candidates being considered?
- Naturally he comes in.

- And Alexander Kerzhakov?
- No. I didn’t talk to Sasha about this and didn’t hear anything about it from the managers.

- You first came to negotiations in St. Petersburg about two weeks ago. What happened during this time?
- You know very well that the position of the Zenit management was voiced that I am one of the candidates for the post of head coach of the club. Then there was a meeting, but it was not specific. Last night everything went in a different direction.

Many players will return to Zenit from loan, including Artyom Dzyuba and Oleg Shatov. Do you have any idea about their future?
- Very soon you will find out everything. I have all the information on the players: who is and where they are. Zenit had many players on loan. Very soon you will find out which of them will go to the training camp and which will not.

- When do you plan to have your first training session?
- As planned: on June 15 - a medical examination, and on the 17th - departure for the first training camp.

- There is talk that Denisov will return to Zenit. This is true?
- I can’t say anything about possible transfers. It takes time to work, to weigh everything properly. - a top football player, any coach likes his game.

What goals were set by management in terms of results - the Champions League and first place or building a new team?
- The tasks will be announced before the season. Of course, our team must fight for the championship and constantly play in the Champions League.

Was there a conversation about the athletic department? Will Vyacheslav Malafeev and Oreste Cinquini stay? Will there be a new athletic director?
“There was a conversation about everything, but it takes time to analyze everything before making decisions.”

- We understand that you can’t say anything about the players now, but there is one player who...
- Messi? - Semak asked with a smile.

No, Danny said that he was ready to return to Zenit and devote several more years to it. Are you considering his candidacy?
- We are considering all quality players who can strengthen Zenit.

The best is Fonseca, but they will choose Semak: who will become the new coach of Zenit

We will move towards the right result and identify the best and strongest specialist,” R-Sport quotes Malafeev as saying.

And after the victory over the Khabarovsk team, the club’s management from the banks of the Neva, through the mouth of its millionth fan Ivan Zamankov, named all five candidates - in addition to Semak and Sarri, they were Paulo Fonseca (Shakhtar), Marcelo Gallardo (River Plate) and Jorge Sampaoli (Argentina national team) ).

Voting among users of the social network VKontakte unexpectedly became a way to “determine the best and strongest.” Everyone can vote there. Regardless of club preferences.

Later, the press secretary of the St. Petersburg club, Anton Makarenko, announced that the list would be reviewed by the board of directors and, most likely, reduced.

SERGEY SEMAK, 42 YEARS OLD

Citizenship: Russia
Team:"Ufa"
Debut*: 03/01/17, “Ufa” - “Anzhi” (1:0) - Russian Cup
Achievement: 6th place in the RFPL in the 2017/18 season

PROS

The most likely candidate, in whose services the St. Petersburg leadership has been interested since the moment everything became completely clear with Mancini. On Monday, May 14, he visited the Gazprom office.

Even as a football player, Semak showed himself to be a very smart player, who gained his strength not through technique and talent, but through hard work and intelligence. Therefore, he was always loved by fans, no matter where he played. The only team on his resume so far, Ufa, appears the same way - modest, but efficient and tactically well-trained. This is exactly what the current Zenit lacks - daily painstaking work for the benefit of the team, without the accompanying noise and regular self-PR.

In addition, Semak is not a stranger to Zenit - since 2010, not a single blue-white-blue championship has been achieved without his participation. In 2010 and 2012, he won RFPL gold on the football field, and in 2015 - from the coaching bench, where he helped Andre Villas-Boas.

). An SE columnist tells how the situation could develop.

Sergey EGOROV

The meeting of the board of directors of the St. Petersburg club did not officially have the task of choosing a new head coach. According to my information, the main item on the agenda was: “Strategy for the development of the club.” Zenit management prepared it, but in the end it was decided to finalize the document.

It is clear that the strategy also contained a sports component - perhaps it was also about the fact that special attention needs to be paid to home-grown football players, taking into account a) the remaining limit, albeit in the future for the next two years; b) UEFA rules for such players in the application for European competitions; c) the problem with the lack of locals at Zenit, which is sometimes felt in the mood of the public.

Sergey SEMAK. Photo Vyacheslav EVDOKIMOV/FC Zenit

After reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League, PAULO FONSECA attended a press conference dressed as Zorro. What else will surprise the Shakhtar coach? Photo by REUTERS

FONSECA

A very strange story has developed with. According to my information, the Dutchman was indeed a candidate, but even before the meeting of the board of directors the topic was removed from the agenda.