The right Man for the job
Roberto makes flying start to life in Russia with Zenit
ST PETERSBURG: He’s no longer at Manchester City, but sky blue and Roberto Mancini seem a winning combination.
After just four games of the new Russian football season, Mancini’s Zenit St Petersburg are already considered the title favourites.
A 5- 1 beating of defending Russian champions Spartak Moscow on Sunday showed why: An incisive attacking style, well-integrated new signings, and renewed motivation. All of those factors were lacking last season when Zenit missed out on Champions League qualification under Mancini’s predecessor as manager, Mircea Lucescu.
Zenit lead the league, with surprise package Lokomotiv Moscow. Spartak are down in 10th.
Mancini, who led City to the English title in 2012, was modest about how he’s managed the fast start in Russia. “There’s no secret,” Mancini said through a translator.
“It was a tough game against a serious team and we managed to win by playing well.”
Mancini was appointed in June, attracted to Russia from a second stint at Inter Milan. Zenit failed to reach the Champions League for a second straight season and fired Lucescu after one season in charge.
So far, the greatest surprise of Mancini’s tenure has been the revival of striker Alexander Kokorin.
Once considered a key player for Russia for their home World Cup, he went into a slump last year and became better known for his hard-partying image than his work on the field.
After scoring just five times in 27 league games under Lucescu, Kokorin has three goals from four under Mancini.
It also helps that Zenit returned to their usual big-spending ways after a year of belt-tightening.
Sebastian Driussi, a 21-year-old new arrival from Argentina’s River Plate, delivered a defence-splitting pass for Kokorin’s opening goal against Spartak, then set up another for fellow newcomer Daler Kuzyaev.
Two more new Argentines will also be key to a title bid: Former AS Roma midfielder Leandro Paredes and ex- Lyon defender Emanuel Mammana.
Even if everything is going well for Zenit on the pitch, their home stadium is causing some stress.
The new US$700mil ( RM3bil) arena has a roof, but that wasn’t closed for the Spartak game, causing warm-ups to be interrupted by a freak hailstorm. There were then water leaks through the roof. Also, there were clashes between police and visiting Spartak fans. — AP