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Roberto De Zerbi *OFFICIAL*

Yiddo said:
Do we know if he uses youth players?
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Yes — Roberto De Zerbi is widely regarded as a coach who trusts and develops young players, but with an important nuance:
he doesn’t play youth just because they’re young — he plays them if they fit his tactical system and show technical intelligence.

Key Traits of His Approach​

  • System-first philosophy: Players must be comfortable in possession, press-resistant, and tactically aware
  • Willing to take risks: He’ll give young players big responsibilities early
  • Improvement-focused: Many young players significantly develop under him
  • No bias toward age: If you’re good enough, you play — regardless of experience

Examples from His Clubs​

Sassulou​

  • Helped develop:
    • Manuel Locatelli (became a top midfielder)
    • Gianluca Scamacca
    • Davide Frattesi
  • Sassuolo became known for developing young Italian talent under him


Ukraine​


  • Continued tradition of using young Brazilian and Ukrainian players
  • Improved players tactically in a possession-heavy system despite difficult circumstances


Brighton​


  • This is where it became most obvious:
    • Evan Ferguson — trusted as a teenage striker
    • Julio Enciso — given key attacking roles
    • Moisés Caicedo — developed into elite midfielder
  • Brighton under De Zerbi became one of the best clubs in Europe for developing young talent

Bottom Line​

De Zerbi is absolutely known for playing youth players, but:
  • He’s not a “youth-for-the-sake-of-youth” manager
  • He’s a developmental tactician — young players thrive because his system accelerates their growth
 
Gazza Dazzla said:
Been hearing talk from some fans not keen on De Zerbi of his Brighton team getting “found out” in his 2nd season, but I don’t think that tells the story, he lost Caicedo, McAllister and Sanchez from the team he took to 6th place, then Trossard the next Jan. That’s going to impact your team!
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And the fact there was some unrest which led to him leaving.
 
Gazza Dazzla said:
Been hearing talk from some fans not keen on De Zerbi of his Brighton team getting “found out” in his 2nd season, but I don’t think that tells the story, he lost Caicedo, McAllister and Sanchez from the team he took to 6th place, then Trossard the next Jan. That’s going to impact your team!
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Ah the good old 'Getting found out' tag that gets thrown at almost every manager at some point. Goes hand in hand with the 'Doesn't turn up in big games' line that gets thrown at countless top players. Pinch of salt required....
 
DaveT316 said:
I think he’s been a truly awful addition to the VFTL. Constantly miserable and only seeing the worst in things. I preferred the gooner Eccleshare compared to him.
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100%, terrible. Flip flops in his opinions, depends on the time of the month, funnily enough he always says things in hindsight all well after the fact. most of the time he doesn't actually have an opinion, he just sits on the fence without saying a great deal. For a head journalist, I expected much, much more.
 
Gazza Dazzla said:
Been hearing talk from some fans not keen on De Zerbi of his Brighton team getting “found out” in his 2nd season, but I don’t think that tells the story, he lost Caicedo, McAllister and Sanchez from the team he took to 6th place, then Trossard the next Jan. That’s going to impact your team!
Click to expand...

I think that comes down to modern football and people having zero patience in and out the club. Not many managers keep the message coming through and move forward past year 2/3 these days
 
Re: Chris Cowlin
Like the bloke, was greatful for the stadium updates and have stuck with him since.
Has some good guests on his chats.
Like most people he can be annoying but give credit where it's due, to follow this club through thin and thin for years all over the world takes some doing.
 
yiddo37 said:
Re: Chris Cowlin
Like the bloke, was greatful for the stadium updates and have stuck with him since.
Has some good guests on his chats.
Like most people he can be annoying but give credit where it's due, to follow this club through thin and thin for years all over the world takes some doing.
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I think fair play for monetising the channel and making it way in was that he can follow spurs home and away. Got a very premium seat out of it. Just needs to be less of a boring wet sock and he needs to get in line for his hair style which give RDZ a run for his money.
 
Mikey10 said:
Interesting comments on Levy, in amongst the De Zerbi stuff:

www.theguardian.com

Spurs gamble on creative but combative De Zerbi conjuring up an escape plan

With seven games to save their status, Tottenham’s owners have taken risk on a gifted coach who favours tough love
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
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Thought this was the most interesting part of the article as it relates to our struggles this season, haven’t seen it mentioned really in the press until today:

“Though there is research to show that managers make negligible difference to performance – the key metrics of success are how much you spend on your players and therefore the quality of your squad – data also has blind spots. The emotional unity of a squad and its alignment with the personality of the manager is vital and can make a significant difference. Yet it is almost impossible to measure and requires a human rather than a data-led judgment to decide whether this manager is the right fit. “Just because you can’t measure it doesn’t mean it isn’t real,” said one football data analyst.”

Lange may well have been one of the early proponents of a data led approach. But swinging so far in that direction is what has gotten us in this mess. My hope is that RDZ gets into the heads of the players as well as being a modern, data driven manger that can fit with the structure of the club.
 
Gazza Dazzla said:
Been hearing talk from some fans not keen on De Zerbi of his Brighton team getting “found out” in his 2nd season, but I don’t think that tells the story, he lost Caicedo, McAllister and Sanchez from the team he took to 6th place, then Trossard the next Jan. That’s going to impact your team!
Click to expand...
Add in the extra European games and an injury crisis that season.

But yeah, his second season performances are a concern. Let’s hope he’s matured in that regard and understands the need to keep evolving like Pep.
 
yiddo37 said:
Re: Chris Cowlin
Like the bloke, was greatful for the stadium updates and have stuck with him since.
Has some good guests on his chats.
Like most people he can be annoying but give credit where it's due, to follow this club through thin and thin for years all over the world takes some doing.
Click to expand...
It’s his job now
He makes money on clicks
 
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