Italian manager Roberto De Zerbi has become one of the most popular up-and-coming managers in recent years, even if his career isn’t exactly starting. That is because his work at Premier League side Brighton made him stand out in England, displaying an attacking football style that has endeared him to a lot of people.
However, the Italian has had a rather fascinating journey long before Brighton. He started as a footballer in AC Milan and had a career with no real standout moments in mainstream football, although he later became a manager. After stints coaching the likes of Foggia, Benevento, and Palermo, De Zerbi would find his first true home as a manager with Sassuolo in 2018, leading the team for three whole seasons.
De Zerbi and Sassuolo would be praised during those years for their cavalier football style and the fact that they managed to overachieve, to the point they lost a Conference League qualification through goal difference to AS Roma in the 2020/21 season. However, this would earn the former AC Milan player the chance to prove himself abroad as Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk’s manager during the 2021/22 campaign.
The time in Ukraine would be quite abrupt because of the war that would erupt with Russia, leading to the campaign left unfinished. De Zerbi would soon leave for Brighton, lasting two seasons there, and become Olympique Marseille’s manager for the 2024/25 season after months of speculation.
All of this has resulted in the recent video that has come out this week of De Zerbi’s team talk after Marseille lost 3-0 last season to Paris Saint Germain on October 27, 2024. This was part of a sixth-episode documentary made by Marseille, with the first installment having come out on July 18th on YouTube, showing the everyday lives of the team.
There, the Italian is talking about how he lost his family to football and how he views the game as “social redemption”, which makes it even more telling that he is saying this to Mason Greenwood, who has a track record of domestic abuse with his own family.
“Let me tell you in front of the chairman that I’ll become a different person. For me, football is social redemption,” De Zerbi said in the first episode of the documentary. “I have lost my family to football, Mason. Do you understand? I’m ready to lose it all. The chairman is a witness.”
🗣️ “I’ve lost my family to football, Mason. Do you understand? I’m ready to lose it all.”
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) July 20, 2025
Roberto De Zerbi to Mason Greenwood after Marseille’s 3-0 loss to PSG last season.
🎥 @OM_Officiel on Youtube. pic.twitter.com/mAQnKjnD94
The reactions to this video have been extremely polarizing, with some praising the manager’s comments for his candid nature, and others feeling that is one step too far. It also makes sense that is the case when considering how team talks between a manager and his group of players tend to be quite emotional and direct, which is something that perhaps a lot of fans are not used to.
Moreover, there is also the fact that De Zerbi has mentioned problems with his own family and how he lost them due to football. His private life has never been shown in any major way throughout his career, so this is probably something that isn’t common knowledge to a lot of people.
However, this makes his comments a lot more telling, in the sense that he has shown to prioritize the game over his own family. This is also pattern with De Zerbi, having cancelled the players’ plans with their families back in April of this year, claiming that if he can’t see his family, they can’t, either.
Be that as it may, there is no denying that De Zerbi has been one of the most sought-after managers in recent times. Olympique Marseille reached a second-place finish during his first season and would hope to compete well at the UEFA Champions League next season.
