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The battle for the title in the Premier League has been almost decided since Sunday evening. Title contenders Arsenal have just lost their home game 0-3 to Brighton, Manchester City need another win to clinch the title again. While the defeat means the Gunners are out, it’s just another coup in a hugely successful season for Brighton.
The Seagulls – a tribute to the seagulls ubiquitous in the coastal southern England town – have been operating with top-notch strategy and highly structured since their Premier League promotion in 2017. Nothing shakes the club from the English seaside resort, as it turned out at the start of the current season. After a strong start to the season and fourth after seven games, the great Chelsea came along and brought coach Graham Potter along for a fee of £21 million.
The great coaching talent De Zerbi
But Brighton seemed prepared and soon signed Italian strategist Roberto De Zerbi (43) as his successor. A coach who previously coached Shakhtar Donetsk and mid-tier clubs in Italy. In England he was a complete stranger. Star player Adam Lallana (35) didn’t even know him when he was signed, and English TV studios said he didn’t know the British way of playing.
But De Zerbi lied to them. He plays football where every connoisseur clicks his tongue. With a lot of possession, he really tries to break up his opponents. When they play a high back pressure, Brighton tries to avoid the opponents with as many direct passes as possible. A football that demands enormous quality and tranquility from every player.
Guardiola’s praise
“The Zerbi will have a huge influence in England,” ManCity coach Pep Guardiola (52) praised his opponent after City’s duel with Brighton. The South of England lost 3-1 but had more ball possession than the star ensemble of the leader. And especially against Guardiola, the possession coach par excellence. Just hitting the ball forward is a gamble for De Zerbi. “And since I don’t like to bet, I prefer to train a team that plays carefully from behind,” he once told “Bobo TV”.
The result of this is movements that are sometimes extremely beautiful to watch and high possession percentages. But most importantly, football is successful. With four games to go, Brighton are sixth in the standings one game short of their rivals and are battling for a spot in Europe. Top clubs Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea all lost to Brighton.
The world champion in its own ranks
And the Seagulls do all this in a league brimming with trade and huge sums of money, with no billion-dollar investors and most importantly, no superstars. The best player in the selection is Alexis Mac Allister (24) and he was the center of attention at the 2022 World Cup. With Argentina he became world champion, at Brighton he is the midfield strategist, De Zerbis rocks in the surf. In the summer he could leave the club and wash 80 million into the treasury. Liverpool and other top clubs would be interested.
It wouldn’t be the first time Brighton has sold players at high prices after generating €113 million in transfer income last summer. Millions smartly reinvested and now paying off: if Brighton win the rest of their games, they will play in Europe for the first time in the club’s history next season. And leave behind some of the giant multi-million dollar clubs.
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Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
