The rumours about potential candidates for Barcelona’s open managerial vacancy are endless, but one coach in particular has been frequently mentioned: Roberto De Zerbi.
One of Europe’s most promising managers, the young Italian has excelled at both Sassuolo and Brighton & Hove Albion. In addition to Barcelona, he has also been connected to Bayern Munich and Liverpool, two other teams looking for a new manager this summer.
Pep Guardiola, the legendary Barça player, suggested De Zerbi to Joan Laporta, the president of Barça, and he does seem like a good contender to succeed Xavi Hernández when he leaves the position at the end.
Although Paul Barber, the CEO of Brighton, wants to maintain De Zerbi, he acknowledges that a manager of Roberto’s calibre is highly desirable to larger teams and will respect De Zerbi’s decision to depart should a compelling offer arise.
“We don’t want to lose him, he is an outstanding coach, probably one of the best in the world already, and that is going to make him attractive.
“I think Roberto loves Brighton, he loves the club, the people, the infrastructure that we have, and there is this sense that the work he is doing is good for him as well as for us.
“That still means at some point in the future he may choose to take that skill base that he has elsewhere — we understand that.”
That does offer at least some hope that Barça could get their man if De Zerbi is indeed their choice, but we still don’t know what the Blaugrana’s favorite name is. The plot thickens..
