“Zenit” is doing the right thing, holding serious games with foreign teams” — Moor

After a long break, the blue-white-sky team returned to the field.

In May, Zenit won the Russian Football Championship for the fourth time in a row, and by the end of the month, the team went on vacation. The players had a little more than a month to rest, and on June 30, the team began preparing for the new season.

The first training camp took place in Austria. There, Zenit held three sparring matches, in which they lost twice (1:2 to Tobol and 0:1 to Dynamo Zagreb) and tied once (1:1 with Austria). After returning to St. Petersburg, the team played another friendly match - on July 16, they beat Astana 9:0.

On July 22, Zenit flew to Spain for the second training camp. There, the team played three more sparring matches, in which they won twice (2:1 over Malaga and 3:0 over Andorra) and tied once (1:1 with Villarreal).

According to Sergei Semak, Zenit needs to play matches with such rivals in order to prepare well for the new season.

“It is clear that the physical condition of the players is still far from optimal, but the guys are working, trying, and giving their best. We have already held several sparring matches, and I can say that the team is gradually gaining form,” said Semak.

“These matches are very important for us, as they allow us to identify our strengths and weaknesses. We see what we need to work on, and we are gradually eliminating our shortcomings,” the coach added.

Zenit will complete the training camp in Spain on July 31. On August 1, the team will return to St. Petersburg, and on August 6, they will play their first official match of the new season - the Russian Super Cup match against Lokomotiv Moscow.