Roberto De Zerbi has admitted he is hoping to get one over Gennaro Gattuso and help Brighton revive their Europa League campaign against Marseille.
The two Italians have a fiery history that dates back to their first meeting in the Serie C playoff final in 2016 when De Zerbi was managing Foggia and Gattuso was in charge of Pisa. The 2006 World Cup winner was struck by an object thrown from the stands and then clashed with De Zerbi, who felt he was making the most of the incident to waste time.
But while there was mutual respect in the buildup to their reunion at the Stade Vélodrome on Thursday night, the Brighton manager could not resist a dig at his rival.
“There was nothing,” he said of the incident in 2016. “We both have passion – we live this work with our character. I have big respect for him, although I wouldn’t say he is a friend. He worked very well in Pisa, Milan and Naples as well. We are very close in terms of character and passion. But I think tomorrow will be better than in 2016.”
De Zerbi, who confirmed that defender Pervis Estupiñán could be out for a month after sustaining a muscle injury, admitted he has had “four difficult days” since the 6-1 hammering at Aston Villa at the weekend. But having turned down the opportunity to manage Marseille himself in the past, the 44-year-old is expecting a strong response from his side after three defeats in their past four matches.
“We are not used to playing so many games in a week and we have had to change many players game by game. We have to adapt,” he said. “The defeats were not because of the changes I made. I believe in my players and I believe in my squad. We have to fight better. But I think the Villa Park game will be very important for us – I know very well the quality of the people inside of the dressing room and I think we will react in the best way.”
Brighton have warned about 3,000 travelling supporters to “expect a hostile environment” in Marseille and told them they risk being fined by French police if they visit the Old Port area. Their captain Lewis Dunk – who was badly missed in the defeat to AEK Athens on Brighton’s Europa League debut – is also prepared for a difficult night on the pitch but admitted he will feel “humungous pride” when he leads the team out.
“We’re expecting a hostile environment but there’s hostile environments in England,” he said. “Obviously we don’t have much European experience in the squad but we’re coming here to win – it doesn’t matter what is going on around the pitch.”
