Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena has revealed that he has recently become a disciple of Brighton and Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi, citing the Italian’s possession and attacking-based philosophy. The former Pirates coach also revealed that he is making Sundowns players watch Brighton matches as a result.
De Zerbi, who replaced Graham Potter at the Seagulls in September last year, made his name at Sassuolo but earned more respect at Shakhtar Donetsk for his possession identity and was seen as an ideal replacement for Potter, who also instilled attacking philosophy at Brighton.
Mokwena says he has been learning and trying to implement De Zerbi’s concept of opening up the opposition by focusing on centre-backs, at Sundowns. “De Zerbi calls the structure the “S”. I personally I’ve been spending a lot of time, sleepless nights studying the style of play,” Mokwena told reporters in a press conference.
“You see it in the build-up, the centre-backs don’t pass until the press is triggered because when you trigger the press, there’s space behind that gets opened. I don’t want to go too much into it because it’s not my concept, it’s De Zerbi’s intellectual content but for sure I can tell you that I’m spending a lot of time watching him,” he said.
Kaizer Chiefs have a tough task ahead of them in the form of runaway DStv Premiership leaders Mamelodi Sundowns. Coach Arthur Zwane says his charges are ready for the Brazilians. DStv403 pic.twitter.com/JaZ27xSlN6
— eNCA (@eNCA) January 19, 2023
The Brazilians extended their lead at the top of the table to 14 points after edging SuperSport United 1-0 in the Tshwane derby but Mokwena went on to say that they still have a lot of room for improvement.
“We have a lot of work to do. People are praising, saying you’re playing well, you’re on top of the log, you’re 13 points ahead, you’re playing PlayStation football, you’re this, you’re this,” he continued.
“We’re training, we’re showing video clips, we’re spending a lot time and sleepless nights. People say ‘Ah, the quality’ of course we win because of the quality of our players but I can also tell you we work extremely hard,” he added.
