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By Denis Pinchuk
ST PETERSBURG, Russia, May 15 (Russia) - Fans swarmed the streets of St Petersburg on Thursday after Zenit won the UEFA Cup final but not everyone in this Venice of the North is in love with the team.
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, who own the team, is tussling with locals over its plans to build a 400-metre skyscraper in the city's architecturally historic centre.
Opponents say the glass and steel tower, nicknamed Gazoskrob (Gasscraper), will ruin the city's low-rise skyline of canals and Baroque palaces.
Project backers say it is part of a much-needed renewal and will breathe new life into a largely-derelict corner of the city.
St Petersburg is Russia's former imperial capital and still seen by many as the country's cultural heart.
Tens of thousands of fans gave no rest to those for whom football is unimportant, honking horns and launching fireworks after the team's 2-0 victory over Rangers of Scotland in the English city of Manchester on Wednesday night.
Within 10 minutes of the final whistle this canal-lined city of museums, opera houses and orchestras turned into an outdoor carnival, with fans waving flags, chanting songs and dancing despite the cold Baltic air.
"I've never seen such a happy crowd. People who don't even know each other are hugging and kissing," said Zenit fan Konstantin Gorozhanko from his white BMW X5 decorated in Russian with the words 'The Cup Is Ours'.
In subzero cold unusual for mid-May, two young women stripped to their undergarments and invited passers-by to pose with them for photographs on Nevsky Prospect, St Petersburg's main street.
ZENIT CHAMPIONS
Residents who had to rise early on Thursday morning were horrified to find the smashed remnants of the previous night's celebrations outside their homes and offices.
"Gazprom's money did its work! And the whole of Nevsky Prospect stinks like a pigsty this morning," one critic named Serezhka wrote on a popular St Petersburg Internet forum.
"People are walking on broken glass, the sidewalk stinks of beer (and other liquids much worse)... Zenit are the champions, of course, but the fans are chavs and pigs," wrote another named Botsman.
Bar and restaurant owners said beer consumption was up two-fold during the match, and patrons sat on floors and window ledges to watch the match on television.
Police said the night went off without serious incidents, although they had to close Nevsky to through traffic after fans swarmed the prospect.
