Fursenko was appointed to the post by unanimous decision of the members of the club’s board of directors, Zenit said in a statement. Changes are made to the organizational structure of the club – instead of the position of the general director in the club, a sole executive body is introduced in the person of the chairman of the board of the club and the president, which will be occupied by Sergei Fursenko. The changes are being introduced “with the aim of achieving high sports results and improving the functioning of the club,” according to the statement of FC Zenit. Until the completion of corporate procedures, Fursenko will perform the functions of the general director of the club.
The order on the appointment of a new head of the club was signed by Alexander Dyukov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of FC Zenit JSC.
Fursenko will replace Maxim Mitrofanov, who has been the general director of Zenit since 2007.
Sergei Fursenko was born on March 11, 1954 in Leningrad. Graduated from the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute. From 2003 to 2008, he was General Director of Lentransgaz, a subsidiary of PJSC Gazprom. At the end of 2005, Sergei Fursenko was appointed chairman of the board of directors of Zenit, and in January 2006 he became president of the club and held this position until 2008. From January 2010 to June 2012, he served as president of the RFU. During the presidency of Fursenko in 2007, Zenit became the champion of Russia for the first time.
Maxim Mitrofanov became the general director of Zenit on January 1, 2007. Under him, Zenit became the champion of Russia four times (2007, 2010, 2012, 2015) and in 2008 won the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. Also under Mitrofanov, Zenit made one of the largest transfers in Russian football – the transfer of the Brazilian player Hulk (Givanildo Vieira de Sousa) from Zenit to Shanghai SIPG FC. The nominal value of the contract with the Chinese was 55.8 million euros, plus a bonus part for the successful performances of the Hulk as part of the Chinese team, and Zenith estimated the net profit from this deal at about 45 million euros, taking into account depreciation. Hulk and Belgian footballer Axel Witsel were bought by Zenit in 2012 for 80 million euros.
The representative of “Gazprom” has not yet responded to the request of “Vedomosti”. We have not yet been able to contact Maxim Mitrofanov and Sergei Fursenko.
The main shareholder of Zenit is Gazprombank, the general sponsor of the club is Gazprom. According to SPARK-Interfax, FC Zenit’s revenue for 2015 was RUB 9.9 billion, and its profit was RUB 229 million. The club’s budget is 150-170 million euros, said Mitrofanov in an interview with TASS in March 2016.
The last season was unsuccessful for Zenit, both in terms of results and in terms of the development of players, the blame for this could be blamed not only on the coach, but also on Mitrofanov, says Dmitry Navosha, general director of sports.ru. He treats Fursenko’s appointment with “deep skepticism.” Although Fursenko had successes in Zenit, but then he had a serious failure in the RFU, he led the federation to debts and eventually had to leave, says Navosha. According to him, Fursenko’s appointment is “a search for a solution in the past,” which is not the best strategy for the club. Navosha is sure that Zenit’s coach will also change soon. The current Zenit coach Mircea Lucescu came to Zenit in May 2016.
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