Michael Edwards is set to watch a practicable Liverpool manager in action this weekend. Everyone remembers their first day out to Anfield, and Roberto De Zerbi is no exception.
Even with all the money in the Premier League these days, that historic pronouncing still holds true. Just ask Brighton’s boss, De Zerbi.
Just days after he took over from Graham Potter at Brighton in October 2022, De Zerbi observed himself on the sidelines at Anfield for his first taste of being a Premier League manager. It wasn’t a awful introduction.Not many human beings at Anfield — whether they had been Liverpool or Brighton fans — knew a good deal about De Zerbi’s managerial career. It had only taken him outside Italy as soon as in nine years earlier than he joined Brighton.
But by the time the final whistle blew at Anfield, all and sundry had seen De Zerbi’s team. They’d performed brilliantly, ending the game with a draw in a interesting suit with six goals. And they’d even had Liverpool close to their first league defeat at Anfield in over 500 days.
De Zerbi made quite an affect in that first Premier League game. He shortly showed he was a proficient tactician who may want to one day control one of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ as his popularity endured to grow.
Almost a year and a half later, the Italian is now one of the top alternatives by bookies to take over from Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool. He’s up there with Sporting CP’s Rúben Amorim and of course Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso.
That’s why this weekend’s game at Anfield is so important. Not simply for Brighton and their hopes of playing in Europe, however also for De Zerbi. It’s like he’s quietly trying out for the soon-to-be open job at Anfield.If Brighton can beat Liverpool at Anfield — something no group has performed due to the fact February 2023 — it would be a huge deal. It ought to show Michael Edwards, who’s just commenced working for Liverpool’s owners in Merseyside, that De Zerbi is more than simply a identify in the gossip columns.
Even though De Zerbi has only managed 60 Premier League games, he’s shown he deserves to be talked about. And those talks will manifest between Edwards, Liverpool’s new sporting director Richard Hughes, and proprietors John Henry and Tom Werner returned in Boston.
After signing a four-year contract with Brighton, De Zerbi impressed many people, such as Manchester City’s supervisor Pep Guardiola. In May 2023, Guardiola said, “I assume Roberto is one of the most influential managers in the final 20 years,” and added, “There is no group enjoying the way they play — unique. I had the feeling he would have an have an effect on and it would be wonderful however I did not count on them to do it in this brief area of time.”
Guardiola also praised the team’s style: “Twenty or 25 chances, they monopolize the ball in a way it hasn’t been for a lengthy time, a keeper like a retaining midfielder, if you do not play at a excessive stage he can do anything he wishes towards you.”
He endured to admire Brighton’s success and approach, saying, “They deserve the success, and are a team I strive to examine from. [They are like a] Michelin celebrity restaurant, unique. “In Catalonia, the first-rate cook changed the cuisine, and Brighton are taking part in with some thing specific and it’s an terrific challenge.”
If Klopp says similar things after this weekend’s game, it will exhibit that De Zerbi is doing clearly well. But this time, each person at Anfield is aware of all about this sensible Italian train already
