Italy is usually well-known for its defensive mindset. The term Catenaccio is closely connected with Calcio and its tradition of defensive discipline and results over style of play. Of course, there are several exceptions such as Arrigo Sacchi, or in the last few years Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri. Those coaches have brought the beautiful game to Italy and have been quite successful with that. Roberto De Zerbi is the next young Italian coach trying to win games by dominating the opponent.
However, De Zerbi is not one of the Sarri school like Marco Giampaolo for instance. While Sarri or Giampaolo use a few concepts of positional play in a less strict way, De Zerbi has fully committed to the philosophy. Nevertheless, De Zerbi was not only influenced by Pep Guardiola but also adapted a few concepts of Maurizio Sarri. In this analysis, I’m going to talk a little bit about the philosophy of De Zerbi and his current issues.
Successful? Not yet
Roberto De Zerbi is like the typical Italian coach. Similar to Sarri or Sacchi he had to work his way up to Serie A. Although he was a professional player, De Zerbi started his career at Darfo Boario.
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