Zenit St. Petersburg fires coach Dick Advocaat following poor results in Russian league

Zenit St. Petersburg fires coach Dick Advocaat

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia —Zenit St. Petersburg fired coach Dick Advocaat on Monday following a 2-0 home loss to rival team Tom in the Russian soccer league on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, after Advocaat’s decision to take over the Belgium national team, Zenit’s results have notably gone down,” the club said in a statement published on its Web site. “The club’s leadership and fans are not satisfied with the place Zenit holds in the Russian championships.”

Anatoly Davydov, the club’s youth team manager, was appointed interim coach.

Zenit is currently seventh in the 16-team Russian league with 24 points after 17 games, 10 points behind leader Rubin Kazan.

Dutch-born Advocaat led Zenit to its first Russian league title in 2007 and won the UEFA Cup a year later.

In June, Advocaat, who took over Zenit in 2006, announced that he would not extend his contract with the club at the end of the season and would take over Belgium’s national team.

Advocaat has previously coached the national teams of the Netherlands, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, as well as PSV Eindhoven and Scottish League champion Rangers.