For a moment, it seemed Roberto De Zerbi had made a mistake in his press conference after this thunderous afternoon at the Amex. Then, as he continued, all became clear – as did just what this opportunity at the Amex means to him and his staff. With reference to his time at Shakhtar Donetsk, which was cut short by war,
Roberto De Zerbi said: “Today I am very happy for myself, for my staff because we have been through eight really tough months. I had already a team, a great team that Putin decided to take away from me. In this moment I have found another team. I have to be thankful with the players of Brighton, with the club, how they have welcomed me and how I have felt straight away since the first moment that they trust me. To find again a family, an atmosphere that is letting you feel like part of the environment, it’s something very nice and I have to be very thankful to Brighton.”
There’s some perspective for you. But what happens on the pitch, and off it, at your football club still matters. The most important of the unimportant things, as they say. On Saturday, eight weeks (minus one day) later, Albion turned a page.
