In the last year, Brighton has become a sensation in the Premier League, especially since being handled by Roberto De Zerbi. Together with this Italian coach, they were able to develop rapidly. The team that previously only finished in the middle of the Premier League, slowly began to transform into a dark horse, even qualifying for the Europa League for the first time in the club’s history.
In terms of play, the team from the south coast of England was also successful in presenting a new color. Compared to dark horse teams in general, which tend to play simply and pragmatically. Surprisingly, they actually dared to display a frontal attacking style of play.
At first glance, the former Sassuolo coach’s approach is similar to Marcelo Bielsa’s high-pressing approach at Leeds United, because they both dare to play frontally at a high tempo, even though their team doesn’t have the luxury of players.
However, De Zerbi’s approach (later known as “Zerbismo”) has a simpler focus: each player must perform as best as possible in their respective positions (either as individuals or as a team) and dare to attack the opposing team all out.
This is clearly different from Bielsa’s or “Bielsista” approach, which tends to be more complex. Understandably, apart from demanding that his team play frontally, the Argentinian coach also usually encourages his players to play at a high tempo, and to be able to play in several different positions, so that the team can attack and defend simultaneously.
Thanks to this focal point, the performance of “Zerbismo” seems more stable, and even tends to improve compared to “Bielsista”, which tends to run out of gas more quickly and decline, especially after being able to read the opponent or experiencing player injury problems.
If we trace it further, it turns out that a sensation like “Zerbismo” in the Premier League has already existed before in Italy, namely when Zdenek Zeman’s attacking football blossomed in Foggia, during the golden age of the Italian League, specifically in the 1989-1994 period. Just like De Zerbi, Zeman has also been successful in implementing attacking football at Foggia, a small club which currently plays in the third tier of the Italian League.
The difference is, this coach from the Czech Republic took a team from the third caste to Serie A during his stint there, before establishing a reputation as a famous coach and a “cult hero” in the Italian League. Even though they only finished in mid-table, Foggia at that time was able to appear competitive, and launched Giuseppe Signori, who would later become one of the legendary strikers of the Italian League. Interestingly, this is also where the term “Zemanlandia” emerged, and has become the characteristic of Zdenek Zeman, a figure who spent most of his coaching career in Italy, having coached Lecce, Lazio, AS Roma and Napoli, among others.
Like De Zerbi at Brighton, Zeman also relies a lot on attacking football, relying on two wings. The root of the inspiration is more or less the same: Total Football. The difference is, De Zerbi was heavily inspired by Pep Guardiola, who was a direct student of Johan Cruyff, the great grandfather of Total Football, while Zeman was inspired by the basic 4-3-3 formation playing system in the style of Total Football, which later became his favorite formation.
However, the coach who was born in 1947 usually applies a complex system like Bielsa, so that his team often runs out of gas at the end of the competition. In 2009, the term “Zemanlandia” itself was immortalized as the title of a sports documentary by director Giuseppe Sansoma (Italy). This film specifically discusses Zeman’s work in creating a sensation in Foggia.
If De Zerbi can consistently create a similar sensation at Brighton, it is not impossible that “Zerbismo” will become the Premier League version of “Zemanlandia”, and will also be immortalized into a film. Uniquely, even though it tends to be more stable, “Zerbismo” apparently still has a glaring weakness, just like “Zemanlandia”, namely that the team often falls mentally if they concede a goal first.
Here, a damaged initial plan can become even more damaged, because the attempted attack backfires. Instead of scoring goals, they conceded more goals. In the 2023-2024 Premier League season, this weakness was quite visible when Brighton lost 1-3 to West Ham and 1-6 to Aston Villa. In these two matches, the Seagull was only able to respond after conceding 3 goals. For the rest, they were helpless in the face of the opponent’s disciplined and effective performance.
With the competition still a long way to go, there is still a chance to improve this weakness, but since The Seagulls are also still playing in the Europa League, we still have to see whether “Zerbismo” will make the team suffer. However, with what he has achieved so far, including his appearance in the FA Cup semi-finals last season, it feels like De Zerbi is already on his way to becoming a “cult hero” in the Premier League.
If everything goes smoothly and ends well, it won’t take long to see the Italiano land in a big team. Interestingly, we are both invited to see from these two figures with the initials Z that playing beautifully doesn’t always bring trophies, but it can almost always leave a positive impression, especially for teams that at first glance look ordinary.
ASL
