It is an exciting time to be a Brighton & Hove Albion fan. With the club on track for their highest ever finish and a place in Europe up for grabs, there is also the added bonus of a trip to Wembley later this month to face Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals. The Seagulls have been a force to be reckoned with at the top level, and their commitment to data analysis has unearthed some talented players and a manager who is getting the best out of them.
Roberto de Zerbi took over from Graham Potter as head coach in September, and his belief in bold, possession-based attacking football has been rewarded. Former Tottenham midfielder Sandro, who played under De Zerbi during a spell at Benevento, says: “He’s a manager who wants to have the ball all the time. He’s very intelligent and very particular, and he helps players and gives them the details they need to hurt the opponent.”
When De Zerbi took over at Benevento, they were already doomed to relegation but he inspired his players to keep fighting until the end. Sandro says: “He’s a very open guy with a big heart. My relationship with him was amazing. He was so open when he spoke with me. The first thing I saw was a manager who was very hungry for success. He’s so passionate about the game.”
At Sassuolo, De Zerbi transformed the club’s outlook and challenged for Europe with an adventurous, high-energy style of play. Filip Djuricic, who followed De Zerbi from Benevento to Sassuolo, says: “It was really fun to play in his team. He looks at football in a different way. He showed Italy how to play a different type of football. We weren’t afraid of anyone.”
Djuricic adds that he and De Zerbi shared a mutual respect that outlasted any of their brief disputes. He says: “We had a really close relationship. I look at him like my second father. We argued a lot of times but, the day after, when we came to training, everything would be normal. He tried to look at the situation from both sides.”
De Zerbi is always searching for solutions and wants to help players learn and develop rather than just resorting to the transfer market. Sandro says: “I’ve played for a lot of clubs and some of my coaches were great players like Marco van Basten, Ronald Koeman and Sinisa Mihajlovic, but I never had fun like I did with Roberto. He properly put his ideas in our minds.”
Djuricic adds: “He likes to talk openly about situations. I found myself making a mistake, I apologised and we worked it out. He showed us that we could play against big teams and that gave us a lot of confidence.”
Sandro believes that De Zerbi is destined for great things: “We didn’t have pressure because the team was already down, but I said: ‘If he can do this with a team that doesn’t have anything to play for, can you imagine when he has guys who are playing for something?’ Seeing him now, in the Premier League, I’m so proud. It’s a pleasure to have a manager like him. He improved the players a lot. I believe he’s going to be one of the best very soon.”