Former AS Roma sporting director Gianluca Petrachi admits he’s delighted for Roberto de Zerbi and his impact with Brighton.
The Seagulls manager is being celebrated today in England and in homeland Italy after pulling off a second victory over Liverpool in a matter of weeks.
Sunday’s 2-1 win at Falmer stadium dumped the holders out of the FA Cup and came just weeks after De Zerbi had masterminded a 3-0 win in the Premier League over Jurgen Klopp‘s Reds.
For Petrachi, De Zerbi’s impact has come as no surprise. He has in the past made attempts to sign the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donestk coach and says the ease of his adjustment to the demands of the Premier League comes from his versatile approach.
“Personally I like very much De Zerbi and he really knows what I think about him,” Petrachi told Tribalfootball.com.
“He has had until now a good career and he represents not the typical philosophy of Italian football.”
Petrachi says the aggressive approach of Brighton since De Zerbi succeeded Graham Potter is simply the way he has always setup his teams: “He likes to play from the back, to play an attractive football and De Zerbi always wants that his team plays a direct style of football.”
Meanwhile, on what he seeks in hiring a coach, Petrachi admits the qualities of Sinisa Mihajlovic, who passed away in December, is always front of mind.
He continued: “Sometimes I would like to mix the characteristics of one coach with another coach. For example the desire to fight until the end, to never give up and try always to win are the qualities of Mihajlovic as a coach. I was crazy about these characteristics of Sinisa, he had a great courage and I appreciated him very much.
“From a technical point of view, I would say the name of (Giampiero) Ventura, while he wasn’t young he was a modern coach, and he had some ideas regarding football that were avant-garde. Another coach was (Walter) Mazzari, who with us (at Torin) did very well.”
As for a coach he believes still has it in him to take his career to the next level, Petrachi doesn’t hesitate in naming his former Roma appointment Paulo Fonseca – now in charge of Lille.
He adds. “Another one was Fonseca, and about him I think that if he would have the half of the character of Mihajlovic he would be one of the best coaches in the World.
“I have actually told him this directly. If he would improve more in this aspect he can achieve great results.”
