Kazakhstan national team defender and Zenit player Nuraly Alip stated in an interview with "RIA Novosti" that he does not feel pressure in the year of the club's centenary, despite the fact that the team has ended the first half of the Russian football championship in second place, as reported by Sports.kz.
In May, Zenit will celebrate its centenary. In the Russian Premier League (RPL), the St. Petersburg club currently holds second place in the standings, having earned 39 points from 18 matches. They are only behind Krasnodar, which leads the "blue-white-blue" team based on additional criteria.
“I believe we will gain momentum, and everything will turn out well for us. The club's centenary does not put any pressure on us—our goals are always high. There is no special pressure,” Alip commented while discussing the team's standings after the first half of the Russian championship.
Zenit will play its first official match on March 1 at home against Moscow's CSKA as part of the 19th round of the RPL.