da premier bet： The Italian is taking football in a new direction and would be even better placed to change the game at the Etihad

da bet sport： It was almost a year ago that Roberto De Zerbi visited the Etihad Stadium for the first time. He arrived already under some pressure after taking two points from his first four matches after replacing Graham Potter, who had been head-hunted by Chelsea for his fabulous record with the Seagulls. De Zerbi had already been criticised by Graeme Souness for having had seven jobs in nine years and no Premier League experience, accusing the Italian of just brushing up on his Brighton knowledge on Google.

His Brighton side fell to another defeat at the hands of Manchester City but after the 3-1 loss to the champions, De Zerbi was given the Pep Guardiola seal of approval.

"The game was one of the toughest we could have faced because they propose a type of game that we are not used to, I would say a few teams are not used to," Guardiola said. "Outstanding the way they [Brighton] play. I’m a big admirer of Roberto and the way they play. We felt it, the players know it, how difficult it was."

Guardiola has a habit of overpraising his opponents after City victories but this time he was not exaggerating one bit and he had seen evidence of what was about to come from this most talented and forward-thinking of coaches. Brighton slaughtered Potter's Chelsea 4-1 in their next game and barely looked back, storming to sixth place in the Premier League and qualifying for Europe for the first time.

De Zerbi's stock has rocketed as a result and it is only a matter of time before he too is head-hunted by a bigger club. And there is every chance that club could be Man City, who may have to find a successor for Guardiola in the next two years as the Catalan's contract expires in 2025.

As De Zerbi prepares to face City on Saturday, GOAL explains why the Italian is the ideal man to take the baton from Guardiola whenever he chooses to step down…

Getty ImagesInspired by Guardiola's Barcelona

De Zerbi would surely love nothing more than following Guardiola at City as the Catalan's work with Barcelona is what convinced him to dive into the world of coaching when he was winding down his career as a journeyman midfielder.

While De Zerbi was playing out his final years with Avellino and then Romanian side Cluj, Guardiola was presiding over spellbinding football with Barcelona, romping to three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues while playing an irresistible style that had barely been seen before.

"I became a coach for Guardiola because I loved his Barcelona," De Zerbi said last May. "I studied him a lot, I didn't copy him but I took when I started to be a coach, before when I finished to be a player. Pep is still number one."

De Zerbi took his first step as a head coach with Palermo in September 2016, just when Guardiola began his stint with City. He only lasted three months in his first job and in his second role with Benevento he inherited a team who had lost every game of the season. De Zerbi made unwanted history as he presided over a 14th consecutive defeat, the worst ever start to a season in Europe's top five leagues for 87 years.

But things soon turned and although he could not avoid relegation he ensured they ended the campaign in dignified fashion with six wins. It was enough to secure him a job with Sassuolo and it was there that De Zerbi really built his reputation, overseeing a thrilling style of play and successive top-eight finishes in Serie A.

AdvertisementGetty Pep adopts De Zerbi's ideas

Brighton, who are the envy of all of Europe when it comes to recruitment, were attracted to the Italian and after one season in charge of the Seagulls everyone, even Souness, was convinced of De Zerbi's qualities as a coach. Still, Guardiola went a step further when he doffed his cap to the Italian ahead of City's visit to Brighton in May, just after they had clinched the Premier League title.

"Pay attention to what I'm going to say. I'm pretty convinced I'm right in what I'm saying, I think Roberto is one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years," Guardiola said

"There is no team playing the way they play, it's unique. I have the feeling when he arrived the impact he would have in the Premier League would be great – I didn’t expect them to do it in this short space of time."

The City coach, in one of the great role reversals, said he was now being influenced by De Zerbi as he was preparing for the FA Cup and Champions League finals. He even likened him to a Michelin starred chef.

"He creates 20 or 25 chances per game, better by far than most opponents, he monopolises the ball in a way it hasn’t been for a long time. One of the teams I try to learn a lot from," he added.

"It is unique, like a Michelin-star restaurant unique. In Catalonia there was El Bulli with Ferran Adria, the best cook for many years and he changed the cuisine. Brighton are playing with something special. The way they move and it’s an incredible challenge to prepare for the two finals."

GettyMore goals than City this season

De Zerbi's Brighton are the only team in the Premier League who can come close to City in certain metrics. Since he took charge of the club in September 2022, the Seagulls have the second-best possession stats with 61.6 percent, only trailing City's 63.8%. They are also only behind City when it comes to making sequences of nine or more passes, with 843 compared to City's 1018 and make the joint-fewest share of long passes in the league.

Brighton have scored 82 goals since De Zerbi took over, only trailing City's 88 and Arsenal's 90. This season, Brighton lead the Premier League's scoring charts with 21 goals from eight matches, four more than City.

And they visit the Etihad at a time when City are at their least creative. They had just four shots in their 1-0 defeat at Arsenal before the international break, their lowest amount in a Premier League game for 13 years. Brighton, meanwhile, had 14 shots in their compelling 2-2 draw with Liverpool.

There is an argument to make that right now De Zerbi is a more exciting coach than Guardiola, albeit less successful. And if he is capable of playing this way with Brighton, just imagine what he could do with the talent and financial might City have.

(C)Getty Images'My work is my passion'

There are further similarities between De Zerbi and Guardiola beyond their style of play and that is in their obsession with the game. When he was coach of Barca, Guardiola once missed his daughter's dance show in order to sit in a small dark room and watch videos of his side's next opponents. The match he was preparing for was not a big Champions League knockout game or a Clasico against Real Madrid. It was against Levante.

De Zerbi, whose wife still lives in Italy and whose daughter is at university in London, lives alone in Sussex and can feed his football habit with no restrictions. When he gets home from a long day's work at Brighton's training ground, he chooses to watch football on TV with his assistant coach.

"Football is a hobby, work, passion, it’s my life," he told the . "The problem is when there aren’t any games. I love to spend my time with my assistant watching the Champions League, and for us it’s an honour playing in the Europa League this season because if you live for football and can play in the middle of the week, it’s an honour, a pleasure. I think I’m really lucky in life because my work is my passion. I’m enjoying working."