ROberto De Zerbi cannot do one thing: important titles as a player or as a coach. Two-time Romanian champion and one-time cup winner with CFR Cluj, his record as a professional footballer is manageable. As a coach, there are hardly any merits: winner of the Super Cup with Shakhtar Donetsk and winner of the Serie C Cup in Italy with Foggia Calcio. No more.
And yet, De Zerbi is who football in Europe talks about. Will the Italian go to FC Bayern as successor to the decorated Thomas Tuchel, who failed in Munich? He moves to Liverpool FC and takes over as Reds favorite Jurgen Klopp At Anfield? Or at FC Barcelona or, who knows, maybe at Chelsea FC or Manchester United, as the British “Daily Mail” recently speculated.
Real Madrid also has to plan
Roberto De Zerbi is according to the confession of Xabi Alonso Bayer Leverkusen has become a kind of real figure even beyond this (championship) season. Some of the biggest and most traditional clubs in Europe definitely need to fill the head coach position this summer. FC Barcelona too, in case club icon Xavi Hernández does not decide to withdraw from his announced retirement.
At least they still have some time to think about it with their great rival 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 eliminate to potential candidates. of the Royals' offer for the moment. Good planning is everything.
De Zerbi is in a fairly comfortable situation, his contract is valid until mid-2026, he is only 44 years old and is in great demand. Although currently they are not only looking for well-known clubs, but also coaches like Zinedine Zidane or José Mourinho are freely on the market and have sometimes been linked to Bayern Munich by experts or other people.
“I told him he should continue to turn the world of football upside down,” Klopp recently reported on the BBC of the warm embrace following Liverpool's 2-1 victory over De Zerbi's Brighton & Hove Albion. “I will watch it from a distance. I have a lot of respect for what he does.” Klopp treats himself after nine years. Liverpool first a rest. It should be back on the market in a little over a year at most.
De Zerbi's business card
De Zerbi took charge of Brighton in September 2022 and led the team to international competition in sixth place, one place behind Liverpool. In it Europa League Brighton & Hove Albion not only survived the group stage, but also advanced to the knockout rounds with four wins in six games, ahead of Olympique Marseille and Ajax Amsterdam, as well as AEK Athens. De Zerbi only failed there this season at AS Roma.
The team, which has had to deal 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 position in the standings. first division with the renewed option for international lines.
“To work in Brighton next year I don't need to renew for another year or two. That doesn't change anything,” De Zerbi said over the weekend. “At the moment we have finished conversations about the contract, but not because I have already decided to leave, no, no.”
De Zerbi, who made his breakthrough as a teenager in the AC Milan He didn't make it, but even played twice in the Champions League against Bayern for Cluj in 2010 (and lost both games), he will want to see what opportunities the club can give him. With such interested parties, it is not surprising.
The former midfielder prefers offensive and possession football as a coach. “His teams play wonderful football,” he praised him. Manchester United Legend Roy Keane. But the Irish football icon also expressed his concerns: “When I look at his CV, there are questions about whether he is ready for the next step.”