Zenit is approaching the match of the 13th round of the Russian Football Championship in a not very good mood.
Sergei Semak's wards suffered three defeats in a row in all tournaments for the first time since 2018, lost their leadership in the national championship, and in the Champions League took the last, fourth place in the group.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the media are increasingly talking about the possible resignation of the head coach of the team, as well as discussing possible candidates to replace him.
In general, the claims against Semak can be called quite reasonable.
Zenit has the most expensive roster in the RPL, and is far from the last in the Champions League in terms of this indicator.
According to Transfermarkt, the total value of the players of the St. Petersburg club is estimated at € 180.3 million, which is € 36.1 million more than the market price of the opponents in the group - Club Brugge.
Nevertheless, Philippe Clement's wards have already managed not only to beat the blue-white-blue away, but also to take points from Lazio at home, significantly complicating the task for the Russian team to reach the spring stage of European competition.
At the same time, unsatisfactory results and lack of points in recent matches are far from the only complaint against Semak.
Even during the last season, Zenit was reproached for not the brightest and most colorful football, and this despite the presence of a number of high-class performers in the lineup.
The team acted too straightforwardly, mainly relying on throws on Artem Dziuba, and completely forgot about the combination game.
This was especially noticeable in unsuccessful meetings.
So, during the home match with Ufa in the 21st round, the Petersburgers set a new RPL record, having performed 55 crosses into the penalty area, but they were not able to break the opponent's defense.
As a result, a goalless draw.
But if in the RPL "Zenith" even acted without fiction, but still the first number, in the Champions League everything turned out differently.
In the decisive matches, the blue-white-blue hugged their gates and actually played the retreat, not thinking about counter-actions.
A year ago, it cost them not only a ticket to the playoffs of the tournament, but also a place in the 1/16 finals of the Europa League.
In the final sixth match of the group stage with Benfica, Semak's team forgot about the attack and was punished for it.
The result was a 0: 3 defeat and a huge difference in key statistics.
Thus, the guests had possession of the ball only 39% of the time and inflicted five times fewer shots on goal (3 - 15).
It was after that fiasco that the first rumors spread about the possible resignation of Semak.
The mentor was accused of not the most modern style of the team's game and the inability to compete on equal terms with not the most skilled opponents from Europe.
After all, the same “Benfica” on the eve of last season parted with a number of leading performers and was in the process of restructuring.
Many believed that in a year Semak would be able to learn from his unsuccessful performance in the last Champions League and make progress, but this time the start turned out to be much more unsuccessful.
A year ago, after two matches, Zenit had four points to its credit and was in the lead in its group, but this time it has not yet scored a single one.
Of course, Semak cannot be blamed for all the troubles of the St. Petersburg club.
Many problems of the team are directly related to the work of management, and are also caused by a number of unforeseen circumstances.
For example, the coach is not to blame for the fact that Malcolm, purchased specifically for this tournament, has not yet played in the Champions League, and Wendel, purchased from Sporting, has to be built into the scheme during the season.
Also, he was not responsible for the injury to Serdar Azmun, but the key player Artyom Dziuba was physically and mentally exhausted.
This is due to the tight schedule, as well as the maximum load in the Russian national team, where the striker entered the field not only in two Nations League games with Turkey and Hungary, but also in a friendly match with Sweden.
In those moments when the leaders are not in their best shape, there is practically no one in the team to take over the organization of the game in attack.
Sebastian Driussi is prone to injuries and does not always show his maximum, Daler Kuzyaev missed part of the season and is not in his best shape, and Alexander Erokhin is able to bring maximum benefit only on standards.
At the same time, young Andrei Mostovy and Daniil Krugovoy still lack experience, and Alexei Sutormin has not yet found himself in the team.
The results of Zenit's performance at the start of the Champions League is a combination of a number of factors, but everyone knows very well that in football, the first question is from the coach.
The club's management will not be able to assemble a new squad overnight, so they will more readily agree to change the mentor.
Especially if there are examples before your eyes of how less affluent clubs achieve decent results and look more attractive.
We are talking about Lokomotiv and Spartak.
Marko Nikolic's charges have already impressed everyone with their performance in the Champions League, where they first drew with Salzburg, and then nearly took points from Bayern.
Of course, it is necessary to understand that the Munich residents, if they did not play half-heartedly, were not extremely motivated.
But this does not negate the fact that the red-greens demonstrated not only character, but also a willingness to fight the giants.
As for Domenico Tedesco's team, it has made significant progress in a year and has turned from the middle peasant of the RPL into one of the contenders for the title.
And this is in the absence of expensive transfers, comparable to the transfers of Malcolm (€ 40 million) and Wendell (€ 20.3 million).
It is possible that the successes of the two Moscow teams made Zenit's management remember that in recent years the club has invited exclusively foreign specialists to the position of head coach.
So, since 2002, nine different mentors have worked in St. Petersburg, and only two of them were Russians.
In addition to Semak, the team was led by Anatoly Davydov for about two months.
Therefore, it is hardly surprising that Mauricio Pochettino is named among the possible replacements of the Zenit coach.
Undoubtedly, the arrival of the former Tottenham coach to Zenit is hard to believe.
Pochettino is considered one of the most promising specialists in the world and will certainly wait for an invitation from the grandeur of European football.
Nevertheless, such a development of events cannot be ruled out in advance either.
Earlier, mentors with a name, who were in the prime of their careers, have already come to the northern capital.
Suffice it to recall Luciano Spalletti and Andre Villas-Boas.
The first topped the blue-white-blue after working at Roma, and the second after Chelsea and Tottenham.
In this regard, the upcoming game with Khimki may well be the last for Semak in the RPL as the head coach of Zenit.
After all, even if the Petersburgers manage to prevail over the 14th team of the championship, after three days they will have a key meeting with Lazio in the Champions League.
In the event of another defeat, they will practically lose their chances of leaving the group, and their prospects for taking the third line will become more than vague.
In such a situation, the club's management may well succumb to the impulse and dismiss the specialist, forgetting about the credit of trust.