Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi has named Pep Guardiola, Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou, Lazio’s Maurizio Sarri, Bologna’s Thiago Motta and Fiorentina’s Vincenzo Italiano as the current coaches he looks to for inspiration.
De Zerbi sat down for a feature interview with Italian outlet Cronache di Spogliatoio published on Thursday afternoon, during which he also explained that he doesn’t yet feel like a Premier League coach, despite having around 70 matches under his belt in England.
He went on to joke that even his own mother would not have trusted him with a professional squad at the beginning of his coaching career.
“In reality, I still don’t think I’m a Premier League coach, despite almost 70 games here,” De Zerbi said in his interview.
“I started from Serie D, I did all the possible training, I didn’t start as part of anybody’s staff or as anyone’s assistant. Not even my mother would have given me a team to lead at the beginning.
Every now and then, De Zerbi finds himself having to pinch himself that he is in fact in charge of a successful Premier League side.
“I’ve done so much training that every once in a while I stop and think: ‘sh**, I’m in the Premier League, I’m in the Europa League’.
He also explained which coaches he tends to look at for inspiration.
“It’s difficult for me to see myself as a role model for other coaches, I always look to the coaches that I like, like Postecoglou, Guardiola, Sarri, Motta or Italiano.”