Clubs are digging around De Zerbi
The coaching world is at the feet of a title lightweight
April 2, 2024, 11:39 a.m
FC Bayern needs a new coach, as do Liverpool FC and FC Barcelona. Probably also Chelsea FC and Manchester United. They court the best in their profession – and especially one who has not yet won a major title. Roberto De Zerbi is the man of the hour.
One thing Roberto De Zerbi cannot do is claim major titles as a player or as a coach. Twice Romanian champion and once cup winner with CFR Cluj – his record as a professional footballer is manageable. As a coach, there are hardly any more merits: Ukrainian Super Cup winner with Shakhtar Donetsk and cup winner of the third-tier Serie C in Italy with Foggia Calcio. Not more.
And yet De Zerbi is the one football Europe is talking about. Will the Italian go to FC Bayern as the successor to the highly decorated Thomas Tuchel, who failed in Munich? Will he move to Liverpool FC and take over from Reds favorite Jürgen Klopp at Anfield? Or at FC Barcelona or – who knows – perhaps at Chelsea or Manchester United, as the British Daily Mail recently speculated.
After Xabi Alonso’s commitment to Bayer Leverkusen, Roberto De Zerbi has become something of a royal figure even beyond this (championship) season. Some of Europe’s largest and most traditional clubs definitely need to fill the position of head coach this summer. Also FC Barcelona – should club icon Xavi Hernández not decide to withdraw from the announced retirement.
At least they still have a bit of time to think about it when it comes to arch-rivals Real Madrid; star coach Carlo Ancelotti has extended his contract until the end of June 2026. However, a coaching castling of considerable proportions this summer could remove potential candidates from the Royals’ offer for the time being. Good planning is everything.
Klopp has “so much respect” for De Zerbi
De Zerbi is in a pretty comfortable situation, his contract is valid until mid-2026, he is only 44 years old and in demand. Even if not only well-known clubs are currently looking, but also coaches like Zinédine Zidane and José Mourinho are freely on the market and have sometimes been linked to Bayern Munich by experts or others.
“I told him that he should just keep turning the football world upside down,” Klopp recently reported on the BBC about the warm embrace after Liverpool’s 2-1 win over De Zerbi’s Brighton & Hove Albion. “I’ll watch it from a distance. I have so much respect for what he does.” After nine years at Liverpool, Klopp is taking a break. It should be back on the market in just over a year at the latest.
De Zerbi took over Brighton in September 2022 and led the team into international competition in sixth place – one place behind Liverpool. In the Europa League, Brighton & Hove Albion not only survived the group phase, but also moved into the knockout round with four wins from six games ahead of Olympique Marseille and Ajax Amsterdam as well as AEK Athens. De Zerbi only failed there this season at AS Roma.
De Zerbi is playing for time at Brighton
The team, which has had to cope with notable departures such as that of Argentine world champion Alexis Mac Allister last summer and compensate for a large number of injuries, is currently in ninth place in the Premier League with the renewed option of going to the international ranks. “In order to work in Brighton next year, I don’t need to extend for another year or two. That doesn’t change anything,” De Zerbi said at the weekend. “At the moment we have ended the talks about the contract, but not because I have already decided to leave, no, no.”
De Zerbi, who didn’t make his breakthrough as a teenager at AC Milan, but even played twice in the Champions League against Bayern with Cluj in 2010 (and lost both games), will want to see what opportunities the club can give him. With such interested parties, no wonder. The former midfielder prefers attacking and possession-based football as a coach. “His teams play wonderful football,” praised Manchester United legend Roy Keane. But the Irish football icon also expressed concerns: “When I look at his CV, there are question marks about whether he is ready for the next step.”