Is Roberto de Zerbi The Right Man As Liverpool Manager

There are ample teams who, for the next season, are looking for managers. Liverpool, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich are the top three looking for a change, as their managers are scheduled to leave at the end of the current season. So, there is a lot of speculation on who could take charge of these clubs. One man who has been linked with two of these clubs is Roberto de Zerbi. We have already covered how he will fit in as Bayern Munich manager. However, de Zerbi’s style is actually more close to that of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

The German has had a successful tenure at Anfield winning eight trophies which include a Premier League and a Champions League. However, with his tenure coming to an end, Liverpool have made quick moves, appointing Richard Hughes as sporting director and Mark Burchill as chief scout.

Liverpool have a simple aim: make the environment as helpful as possible for the incoming manager. And this is where Roberto de Zerbi seems like a great appointment even though, for now, the club’s main target remains Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso.

So, how will Roberto de Zerbi fit in as Liverpool’s manager?

Roberto de Zerbi Brighton stats 

One easy way to find how Roberto de Zerbi is good for Liverpool is to analyse his Brighton team. The team overview chart from data analytics site xValue shows us some clear similarities between the two teams. For instance, both teams have outperformed the league average on goals conceded, possession, Field Tilt, shots, and goals.

Before we move forward, we must establish that there is a gulf in class between the two sides. The reason for this is keeping this in mind will help us further to understand what amazing job de Zerbi has dons at the Amex.

Anyone who has watched even an iota of football that Liverpool play under Jurgen Klopp knows the basic philosophy of high pressing and dominating spaces. So, what are the metrics that measure high pressing. There are four basic metrics and we will analyse them one by one for both Brighton and Liverpool.

The first metric is undoubtedly the Gegenpressing Intensity Percentage (GPI). Liverpool are top on the metric but de Zerbi’s side Are also the fourth-best in the metric This shows that even Brighton play in a way that tries to allow their opponents as little time on the ball as possible.

Now, we go to the second metric in Field Tilt, a metric that measures how much possession an opponent has in the opposition’s half. This metric is an extension that proves…