DE CRAZIEST OF THEM ALL!
Mentored by Guardiola and Bielsa, Brighton boss De Zerbi says his pursuit of perfection is the ‘road to insanity’
ROBERTO DE ZERBI believes plenty of topclass coaches are a bit crazy and claimed: “I think I might be one of the craziest.”
The Brighton boss has been mentored by Marcelo Bielsa and Pep Guardiola – and shares their obsession with football. But the Italian has shown there is method in his madness with wins in his last three games – including against Chelsea and at Arsenal – after taking over from Graham Potter in September.
“Now it’s already my team but I follow perfection and perfection doesn’t exist,” said De Zerbi ahead of tomorrow’s visit
ROBERTO DE ZERBI is a man of clear principles on and off the pitch who openly admits to his mistakes.
The engaging Italian claims his footballing philosophy is very simple.
“Coaches are all thieves but we have to have one new idea,” said the new Brighton boss.
“Mine? I love to try to win the game with the ball. I want to enjoy it.”
But his refusal to take the job at Bologna, his vocal opposition to the European Super League and his time in Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk have shown he also lives to strict guidelines away from football.
“I don’t want to be a teacher of life but I have four or five rules in my style of life,” he said.
“And I don’t want to compromise these rules.”
Before De Zerbi accepted the job at the Amex Stadium in September, he was approached by Bologna. The Serie A side had caused outrage by sacking coach Sinisa Mihajlovic while the 53-year-old was battling leukaemia for the second time in three years.
De Zerbi, 43, did not know Mihajlovic personally but politely declined – and was publicly thanked by the Serb’s wife Arianna.
“One of my most important principles is before the coach, there is a man, there is a person,” he explained.
“I really care about being correct with everyone. In my life, I can look everyone in the eye and be correct and honest with them. I always want to be honest, to be clear.”
It is the same with the European breakaway league which De Zerbi opposed in April 2021 just before taking his Sassuolo team to Milan – and threatened not to play in protest – before winning 1-2 at the San Siro. “I didn’t like how it came about – it arrived in the night,” said De Zerbi.
“I was a fan of Brescia and I remember well what fans do to watch the games, the sacrifices that they make.
“We have the possibility to win against Manchester City. It is 80 percent we can lose but the dream is to win. I want this dream. This is football. When Leicester won the Premier League, that was the best of football. The possibility to win the Champions League for Shakhtar is there.
“If you close these dreams for the small teams, you can close football for me. You are in football to have an iPhone, without passion.”
Last November De Zerbi took his Shakhtar team to Real Madrid. In February, he refused to leave Kiev after the Russian invasion until all his players and staff were evacuated. “The problem wasn’t me or my staff,” he recalled.
“The problem was my Brazilian players couldn’t leave with their families and children. That was my problem.”
De Zerbi now asks his Brighton players to show “courage” to survive and prosper in the Premier League.
“I found a big team, with players ready to play against these monster teams,” he said.
But the Italian has the courage to admit his mistakes.
“I don’t want people to think that I am a superhero,” he said. “I am human, I can make mistakes in the dressing room.
“The person who makes the most mistakes is the coach. When I make mistakes, I say sorry.” Dressed in black in a central Brighton Italian restaurant, De Zerbi is a colourful character.
No wonder the Brighton players have quickly taken his warm style. So to finish, tell us about a mistake.
“Today, yesterday, which one?” he laughed. “OK, the last one.” It happened in the dressing room at Arsenal on Wednesday (left, Tariq Lamptey celebrating) with his assistant and translator Enrico Venturelli.
“I wanted to explain how I wanted my player to take a position, to stay strong and I took Rico and I pushed Rico and ‘Boff ’ he fell over,” De Zerbi laughed. “He was not ready for that.
“That was the lesson over. A player was in tears of laughter.”