The 2022/23 Premier League season has been incredible and perhaps the talking points that come to define it will only be known once the dust has settled. Will we remember Erling Haaland’s many, many goals, a Man City treble, the greatest relegation battle in PL history, the emergence of Newcastle as a major force, Man United’s return to the upper echelons of English football… or something else entirely?
Could it be the season where we think of how clubs like Brighton, Fulham and Brentford have overachieved on small budgets? Will it be remembered as the campaign where teams sacked, replaced, and then sacked again managers? Perhaps it will go down as the year when managers appointed midway through the campaign battled it out for manager of the season. Or maybe, combining several of these elements, 2022/23 will be known as the season where Roberto De Zerbi truly announced his brilliance.
Who is Roberto De Zerbi?
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De Zerbi is the Brighton manager, but we are guessing you knew that already. The club appointed him on 18th September 2022 after Graham Potter moved to Chelsea. Potter had down an outstanding job on the south coast and many felt that the Seagulls would struggle. How wrong they were. Whilst Potter floundered and was soon sacked by the Stamford Bridge hierarchy, the Brighton board showed just how good they were as their man flourished.
As the 2022/23 season approaches its end we do not know where exactly Brighton will finish. They could yet claim a Champions League place though that seems unlikely. But even if they slump to eighth or ninth they have already surpassed their best-ever season in terms of top-flight goals and points. They play an exciting, novel brand of football and are the “second team” of many fans and their young Italian manager has to take much of the credit for that.
De Zerbi Fact File
- Born – Brescia, Italy, 6th June 1979
- Playing Career – Attacking midfielder began at AC Milan but never really made it in Serie A despite signing for Napoli at the age of 28. Ended career with 259 league outings and 53 goals.
- Managerial Career in Italy – Appointed boss of Serie A Palermo aged 37 in 2016 but sacked after less than three months. Managed Benevento to Serie A relegation but played good football on a tiny budget. Move to Sassuolo followed and he guided the small Emilia side to back-to-back eighth-place finishes, helping several unheralded players graduate into the Italian national side.
- Managerial Career Aboard – Moved to Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk in May 2021 and won the Super Cup. Left Ukraine due to the Russian invasion in July 2022 with his side top of the table. Appointed Brighton boss in September and despite losing their best player (Leandro Trossard) in January, looks set to guide them to best-ever season in English football.
- Personal Life – Brighton boss is very private and little is known about his personal life. However, according to the press in Italy, he is married to Elisa and they have two children.
Overall Management Stats
De Zerbi’s current stats (as of 9th May 2023) may not look hugely impressive on paper. However, it should be remembered that aside from his brief stint in Ukraine, where he recorded a win percentage of 67%, he has always been in charge of clubs with far fewer resources than the league average. Brighton, for example, were believed to have the second-lowest wage bill in the Premier League!
| Club | Win Percentage | Won | Drawn | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darfo Boario | 23 | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| Calcio Foggia | 52 | 47 | 25 | 19 |
| Palermo | 8 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Benevento | 21 | 6 | 3 | 20 |
| Sassuolo | 36 | 43 | 36 | 41 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 67 | 20 | 5 | 5 |
| Brighton | 50 | 17 | 8 | 9 |
What Makes De Zerbi Special?
Quite how far this exciting young manager can take Brighton remains to be seen. And just how good he might be at a bigger club is also an unknown at present, although it might not be for too much longer, with the Seagulls sure to face a huge task keeping hold of him. Spurs and Chelsea are just two obvious clubs who are sure to be interested in this progressive coach.
Roberto De Zerbi’s blue and white army. 🇮🇹
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) October 29, 2022
Some things we do know, however, are that De Zerbi’s team invariably dominate the ball. At present, only City have enjoyed more possession than Brighton, with the Seagulls averaging 62.2%, well clear of Liverpool in third at 60.7%. Obviously, at the time of writing, the season is not yet done and he has only been in charge since September but we suspect he has improved this metric since he replaced Potter.
In his final season with Sassuolo, no team had more possession in Serie A, a truly stunning stat given the constraints he was operating with and the players other teams had at their disposal. A year earlier, in 20019/20, only Napoli bettered them. But De Zerbi isn’t just about passing the ball aimlessly at the back. His sides play exciting, attacking football, and commit huge numbers forward whilst spreading the play quickly and exploiting the full width of the pitch.
In possession, it is said that he deploys a 2-4-4 formation, with the full-backs pushing forward, and incredibly this becomes almost a 2-2-6 when the team are in their opponent’s half. They build from the back inviting a press onto their two centre-backs but with plenty of options further forward and extremely confident players they aim to beat this and then exploit the space it leaves.
This and other exciting tactical innovations, plus his great charisma and ability to inspire, are what make De Zerbi so special and exciting. These latter points mean he is excellent at developing players too and this makes him a great choice for any club looking to compete against better-resourced rivals.