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Zenit put faith in Pogrebnyak
By Dina Yuryeva
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Pavel Pogrebnyak will lead the line for Zenit
(¿Getty Images)
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Pavel Pogrebnyak may have fallen out of favour with
Russia coach Guus Hiddink but he is very much en vogue with club side
FC Zenit St. Petersburg after his strike earned a narrow lead to take
into the second leg of their UEFA Cup Round of 32 tie against Villarreal
CF.
Third choice
Pogrebnyak is largely considered third-choice striker at the Petrovsky
Stadium, but with Alejandro Dominguez and Fatih Tekke both prone to injury,
the 24-year-old has had plenty of opportunity to impress over the past
six months - and how he has taken it. In 36 outings since moving to St
Petersburg a year ago, Pogrebnyak has scored at an average of a goal a
game, including eight in his last ten outings.
EURO doubt
"It was a successful year for me," said the former FC Tom Tomsk
starlet. "It was an obvious step forward from last year: I became
a Russian champion and I topped Zenit's scoring charts. Winning the league
title can only be compared to the day my son was born. And on top of all
that, Russia made it to the European Championship." Pogrebnyak's
own participation in UEFA EURO 2008T is in doubt, however, after he was
omitted from Hiddink's training squad in early February.
Milestone strike
He bounced back with a goal against Villarreal last week, Zenit's 100th
in UEFA club competition and his fifth since their UEFA cup campaign began
in the second qualifying round in August. "To be honest it was a
bit unclear what happened. The ball went one way, the keeper went the
other, so there was a bit of luck about it," he said, qualifying
it by adding that "it's only the strongest who get lucky".
Spartak youth
Pogrebnyak has certainly needed strength of character since emerging from
the FC Spartak Moskva academy in 2002. Oleg Romantsev was then at the
helm but it was a turbulent time at the club, with coaches coming and
going and Pogrebnyak was unable to establish himself there. He was shipped
out on loan three times before joining FC Tom Tomsk in 2006, and after
making his international debut in August that year, he moved to Zenit
where his career has taken off.
Focus
A championship winners' medal in his debut campaign and a UEFA Cup triumph
could yet follow, though Pogrebnyak is not looking any further than the
meeting with Villarreal in Spain. "Had Nihat [Kahveci] scored early
on it could all have been very different. It's good that we won, but we
cannot look beyond the second leg."
UEFA.com,
21 February 2008
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