Dick Advocaat to lead Belgium

In an absolutely stunning move, Dick Advocaat has resigned from Zenit Saint Petersburg and will now manage the Belgian national team. While the sixty-two year old leader had recently noted the in the media that, "Zenit will by my last club. I will be 62 by the end of the year, so it is time to change my life a little bit", it is certainly a surprise for the clubs loyal supporters.

Mr. Advocaat leaves Saint Petersburg after three years of loyal service that includes the winning the Rosgosstrakh Russian Football Championship, the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

Lokomotiv Moskva holds Zenit to draw

While the start of the campaign has been well below expectations Lokomotiv Moskva rose to the occasion as they held Zenit Saint Petersburg to a 1-1 draw in front of their ardent home supporters. Dick Advocaat's side had been the consensus top team in Russia in the early start of the season but they met their match on Sunday as Lokomotiv were stubborn defending and rarely offered clear scoring opportunities.

After an scoreless opening half, Zenit was looking frustrated and inable to break through the final third. Finally two minutes before the hour mark, following a foul on Konstatin Zurianov, the Russian internationals free-kick into the box was headed in by a soaring Kim Dong-Jin to give Zenit the one goal advantage. However any thoughts of returning to Petrovski with three points was squashed as twelve minutes later former of Dynamo Kyiv-man Rodolfo, got on the end of a corner that had been flicked on and sent it to the back of the net. Despite playing a man-down the final eleven minutes with Marko Baša was red-carded Lokolmotiv was bulldog tough in defending andthe match ended in a draw.

Zenit welcome Khimki to Petrovski next Saturday whilst Lokomotiv travels to face Kuban Krasnodar.

Zenit secures European spot

With a final match-day 3-1 victory over Spartak Moscow at Luzhniki Stadium, defending league and UEFA Cup Champions secured the final European spot. Dick Advocaat's men had their backs against the fall and facing a tough nemesis in Spartak they needed to lift-up their play for a victory. Their responsive was swift, cutting and decisive as Myaso was overwhelmed and only five minutes into the match Russian international Pavel Pogrebniak scored to give Zenit the lead. The defending champions looked never in-doubt and only fourteen minutes later ex-Dinamo man Danni plundered Spartak for another goal to double the margin. Michael Laudrup's side, who stumbled horribly in the final three matches with only a single point, were on the ropes and with four minutes to the break Danni delivered the knockout punch. While Spartak drew one back with Aleksandr Pavlenko two minutes after the re-start, they could not break through Viacheslav Malafeev goal again and the match concluded with Zenit triumphant 3-1.

It was a challenging year for Zenit, a victim of their own success but in the end like a great champion they came through. Through the mettle of their great leader, Dick Advocaat, they gutted out the tough wins, worked through the fog of controversy and got the tough job done. Unquestionably for the loyal Zenit supporters, it will be a different lineup next campaign and I suspect as Andrei Arshavin walked off in the final stages of the match it will be his final for Zenit in league-play. However the core of the club is intact and great fighting spirit remains.

Dick Advocaat stays

Zenit Saint Petersburg supporters can feel secure with the clubs direction as the club announced that Dick Advocaat has signed an extension to keep him with the club through the end of 2009. Since joining Zenit in the summer of 2006, he has marshaled unprecedented success for the club and one of the most sought-after coaches in the world.

this time Andrei Arshavin will go

Following the Euro 2008 Andrei Arshavin became one of the hottest names in the sport with numerous clubs seeking his services. During the summer transfer market, terms with clubs were never reached and although many media outlets noted blame on Zenit management typically via Andrei's own comments or his agents, in-truth it was because all suggested deals involved a deferred payment structure that was laced with bonuses.

With the Russian season nearly completed and the January transfer window ahead, the winds of change are upon us with Mr. Arshavin once again expressing his displeasure with life in beautiful Saint Petersburg. Via Russian media outlet, Sport Express he noted:

"A professional cannot be reluctant to play if he enters the field," said Andrei. "I do my best in Zenit. But four months before I told the Chairman of the club that I don’t want to stay in the team. And then I used to repeat it continually. Unfortunately my words were either missed or underestimated."

"The problem boils down to the following: whether Zenit sets a real price. If that happens I will leave. If not – I will be listed in Zenit but only on paper. Next year I don’t want and won’t play here."

"That is not an ultimatum but a typical reaction on the situation. I was always thinking that it is possible to come to an agreement and leave smoothly. But now I have much less hope. A conflict seems necessary but bless me I wanted it least of all."

"I have not seen a single game of Tottenham to tell the truth. But after every match day of the English Premier League everybody in the team who watched the games is teasing me even Advocaat. That is why I don’t really need to watch Tottenham as I get the full report of their play. After my unsuccessful transfer to that English club absolutely all Zenit is interested in Tottenham."

"I can say nothing about Tottenham’s and especially Pavlyuchenko’s performance, as I am not in the team. But Roman started to score that is good."

"I am not satisfied playing in Zenit and I think my teammates do not enjoy the game either as they see my condition."

"Generally speaking I have been suffering for four months and the team is in torment with me. The Champions League is of course a kind of an impetus but that is only six games."

"At the moment I am a part of the team and it is important for me that the team gets as high the place in the Russian championship as possible. I repeat that if I enter the field I do everything I can at that moment. If I did not want to play I would say it."

"The management of the club does not know about my decision yet, but they will learn about it after this interview."

"The peak of my mood was on Euro and the dip on September 2, when the transfer window closed. Now my mood is somewhere in the hole. Of course I have some joys but mostly go with the current."

"I think that with some luck we can get into to the Champions League play-offs and without it we can even miss out the UEFA Cup. Everything depends on every match: both ours and of Real. Football is very unpredictable and anything can happen. Let’s wait a bit and everything will be settled soon."

In a simple reply Dick Advocaat, reiterated that any player who wishes to leave, should be allowed to. With the state of Zenit's season along with the clubs decision to maximize value for a player at the height of his career, this time he is unlikely to be at the club next year.