Roberto De Zerbi is one of the most talented young coaches in Europe. His attractive, attacking football coaching style has gained thousands of followers. Here you can see how he trained his Brighton to build the game from the back. Brighton, during his time, was one of the most attractive teams to watch in the Premier League, competing with some of the biggest clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, and West Ham.
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Who is Roberto De Zerbi?
Roberto De Zerbi, born 6 June 1979, is an Italian professional coach and former player who is the head coach of the Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion. Before joining Brighton, he managed clubs like Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk, where he further refined his tactical philosophy.
De Zerbi is an admirer of Pep Guardiola and has studied his teams extensively. He analyzed the great Barcelona of 2008 – 2012 and Pep’s Bayern Munich from 2013 – 2016. His influence can be seen in Brighton’s playing style, which emphasizes high ball possession and fluid attacking movements.
Bacary Sagna, the right-back who played under Guardiola at Manchester City before joining De Zerbi’s Benevento in 2017, compared the two coaches’ training sessions:
“Pep and De Zerbi’s training sessions are not so different: they ask for same kind of things,” he said. “I’m sure De Zerbi will join a top club very soon.”
There has been speculation surrounding manager Roberto De Zerbi, who recently took over at Olympique de Marseille. Prior to his move, De Zerbi had been linked with top clubs like Manchester United, with Marseille president Pablo Longoria reportedly showing strong interest in him. With Jurgen Klopp set to leave Liverpool at the end of the season and Mauricio Pochettino facing scrutiny at Chelsea, De Zerbi’s name mentioned as a potential future manager for other elite clubs.
De Zerbi has the same obsession as Guardiola: to dominate and control the game through high ball possession. During his time at Sassuolo, his team had the second-highest possession statistic in Serie A in 2019-20 at about 59.5%. At Brighton, he continued to implement this philosophy, with players like Alexis Mac Allister thriving under his guidance before making a high-profile move to Liverpool.
He usually set up in a 4-3-3, sometimes configured as a 4-2-3-1, with wingers at the heart of his strategy. Ball-playing center-backs and midfielders, along with the goalkeeper’s help, were assigned to attract the press and then play through it at speed. De Zerbi is described by players, and himself, as “a hammer” – constantly hammering away to find improvements, never allowing energy levels to drop.
20 Build-Up Drills in Football is your go-to guide for learning how to play out from the back with confidence and control.
- Build Up Through the Zones
- Progress Through the Lines
- Attack Using Small-Sided Games
- Play Through the Central Channels
- Use a Double Pivot
- Build Up Against Different Defenses
- Inverted Full-Backs and Positional Rotations
- Adapt Your Formation
- Overcome Pressure
Deeper build-up
De Zerbi prefers his teams to use a shorter build-up from the goalkeeper while keeping his two center-backs in close distance. This allows for safer passes among them but also a better reaction in closing the central space when the ball is lost. The double pivot is key to his teams’ deep build-up.
At Brighton, in both static and dynamic build-up, De Zerbi placed the two defensive midfielders in deep positions in an attempt to attract the opposition high up the pitch. His side then looked to play short, further encouraging the opposition to press, before trying to play between the lines or around them using the deep full-backs.
The goalkeeper acted as a third centre-back, a pressing relief, during this build-up, allowing the full-backs to push further forward. The deep position taken up by the double pivot creates space in the centre of the pitch for the centre-forward or number 10 to receive, with the wingers placed high and wide to pin the opposing full-backs.
De Zerbi’s Brighton impressed in high-profile matches, including their FA Cup campaigns, where they showed their ability to compete with traditional giants like Man Utd and Liverpool. His tactical approach has caught the attention of football analysts across Europe, with Xabi Alonso recently praising his influence on modern coaching.
Basic Principles of De Zerbi during the build up
- Deep full backs and defensive midfielders
- Create a 4 – 2 + GK at the back to overcome high pressing
- Use of GK as an extra player
- Use of the 3rd man concept
- If there is a chance play the furthest man and run to support
- Attract pressure to play behind the 1st line of pressure
- Play in one side to attract them and switch play
De Zerbi’s tactical innovations have made Brighton a team admired not only by Albion fans but also by football lovers across Europe, including French people following the Premier League closely. With his name now linked to potential jobs at clubs like Crystal Palace and Marseille, it’s only a matter of time before he takes on another major challenge in European football.
