The season in Brighton was constantly disrupted due to injuries. Photo: Reuters/Dylan Martinez
Brighton's first European campaign is never going to be an easy story, given the demands it will inevitably place on Roberto De Zerbi's team. However, the Italian still had big plans for the season and carries with him a sense of disappointment that Brighton were unable to build on their performance from last year.
“Before the season I thought we could compete differently,” De Zerbi said at the weekend after his side lost 3-0 to Fulham. “But now I’m wasting my time if I talk about it. I'm disappointed, but it doesn't matter now.»
This week De Zerbi returns to Italy, his home country, for an important event in Brighton's history: the knockout match against Roma in the Europa League. It's another pinch-yourself moment for Brighton fans. For De Zerbi, it is an opportunity to maintain hope that this campaign can be another campaign of significant improvement.
After 27 games of the Premier League season, Brighton are ninth in the table. This is by no means a bad position for a club of this stature and history, but for someone as ambitious as De Zerbi it is below expectations. De Zerby wanted more.
Compared to last year, the extent of Brighton's stagnation is obvious. They started 2023 with a streak of just one loss in 15 matches. In 2024, they lost four of 11 matches.
Particularly frustrating for Brighton and their head coach is the fact that they have been constantly hampered by injuries this season. Brighton are no strangers to balancing Premier League football with European commitments and the task has been made much more difficult by the absence of so many key players.
Kaoru Mitoma, Solly March, Ansu Fati, Julio Enciso, Joao Pedro, Danny Welbeck, Simon Adingra, Jack Hinshelwood, James Milner, Joel Veltman, Adam Webster, Tariq Lamptey and Pervis Estupinan have suffered serious injuries at various points this season. Brighton have 26 senior players and half of them have long-term injuries.
The absence of Mitoma, March and Enciso in attack prevents Brighton from attacking like De Zerbi. wants. The Italian has had to change aggressively to protect his players and compensate for all these injuries, and he is currently doing so at record speed. >The absence of Kaoru Mitoma (right) is a major blow for Brighton. Photo: Getty Images/James Gill
So far Brighton have made 103 changes to their starting XI in the Premier League this season — at least 28 more than any other team. That's an average of 3.81 substitutions per game, the highest of any team in Premier League history. In contrast, De Zerbi made the seventh most changes to his team last season.
Has De Zerbi's reputation suffered due to Brighton's relegation this season? Probably not, given the style of football he has imposed on the south coast and the glowing things his players and rival coaches speak of him. Pep Guardiola recently called the Italian «one of the most influential managers of the last 20 years».
But with vacancies opening up at Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Barcelona (and possibly others) this summer ), it would be fair to ask if he is as attractive a candidate as he was a few months ago. Especially considering how expensive it would be to remove him from Brighton. Telegraph Sport reported this week that compensation costs would exceed £12 million.
To be clear, De Zerbi is still considered one of them. the brightest and most promising people in Europe. The same can be said for Brighton as a club, even if this season has been more uneven than planned. The trip to Rome is a chance for both coach and club to remind the rest of the football world that they are still on the rise.
Свежие комментарии