According to statistics, more than half of the inhabitants of modern St. Petersburg are sick of the Zenit team in St. Petersburg, and more than 4/5 of the population consider it a symbol of the city. However, only those who are familiar with history know that the appearance of a football club is connected with the name of “leader of all nations”. The team was organized at the Leningrad Metal Plant (named after Stalin) in 1925, but only after eleven years it was given the official name - “Stalinets”. A few years later, in 1940, the players and the trainer of the factory team became part of the disbanded Zenit club, which already played in the USSR championship. Four years later, the “Zenith” won a major victory, winning the USSR Cup (and ahead of all the Moscow teams).
Each team has symbols, colors and nicknames. For example, Moscow “Spartak” is called “meat”, because at the dawn of his career, the club played at a meat factory. The Saturn team from the Moscow Region thematically "calls names" "aliens." "CSKA" (Moscow) has the nickname "horses", because at the location of the club’s stadium, a hippodrome was once located.
Why are Zenit called homeless? There are several options for the origin of this nickname. It is believed that it appeared in the 70-80 years, when fans of the club practiced the so-called "electrification". It consisted in the fact that the fans went to cheer for their club in Moscow on electric trains. The move was accompanied by alcoholic libations and brawls.
In addition, after the trip there was no opportunity to wash, so St. Petersburg came to the match in, to put it mildly, unpresentable form. For the richer Moscow fans who traveled by plane, this situation seemed wild, which is why Zenit is called "homeless" in the capital's circles. In addition, fans travel with electric trains today with the same constancy. And many years ago, these trips also had their positive aspects - guitar songs that were performed by Grebenshchikov, Choi and other celebrities in the companies.
There is another version of why the “Zenith” is called the “homeless”. The situation was such that until the mid-80s, the team, beloved by the townspeople, was not particularly successful, "hanging out" on the verge of relegation from the division. Therefore, the club began to be considered not "having a solid residence permit."
In some Leningrad (St. Petersburg) families, it is customary not to miss a single game of the Zenit team, whose fans are sometimes several generations. Among the fans, two women are known who came to the game at the age of more than 100 years. These are C. Savitskaya and R. Donde, who attended the matches in 2011, but by now, unfortunately, have already passed away.
Many apartments keep old calendars, posters, newspaper clippings and, of course, know why Zenit is called "homeless" and ... "bags". This is due to the fact that in 1984 the team received the “gold” of the USSR championship, after which plastic bags were issued indicating the champion title “Zenith”. Leningraders proudly traveled around the country with these works of light industry, which caused gloating and contributed to the acquisition of the nickname.
The Zenit team, whose fans do not always behave themselves (like fans of other clubs), is often subjected to large disciplinary action. For example, in March 2013, she was credited with a technical defeat, a fine of more than 1 million rubles was imposed, and two matches without spectators were prescribed for the firecrackers thrown by the fans at the goalkeeper of the opposing team. The latter received damage to the organs of hearing and a chemical burn of the eyes.