Brighton's Roberto de Zerbi on devastating 4-0 defeat to AS Roma in UEFA Europa League last 16 first leg
Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy
Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Good evening. Hi Roberto.
00:03 I was curious to know what you said before and after the game against Daniele De Rossi.
00:08 We saw it and you played a great game.
00:13 You were a bit unlucky in the episodes but Roma won it with their quality.
00:16 Do you want to know what I said to Daniele?
00:19 I said the only positive thing about the game was that I lost to a friend.
00:24 I thought I was going to lose to someone who was in a bad mood like that.
00:27 We lost to a stronger team than us.
00:36 You talk about numbers, about the system, the three, the four.
00:45 There's one thing you don't know because you're not a footballer but I'll say it with respect.
00:51 The way you play these games. Roma have become stronger in recent years.
01:00 I'm Italian and I watch the games and I remember the players who were on the pitch today.
01:07 I've seen them in the years I've spent here in Italy.
01:13 They were already strong in terms of football but now they're mentally strong.
01:18 They're used to playing these games.
01:23 I don't want to say that the second goal has changed anything.
01:28 It's changed the way a small team that has reached a historic goal has been playing.
01:35 They're trying to stay on their toes with so many problems.
01:41 Today is the day I want my players to do better.
01:48 None of them have played more than 20% of their potential.
02:01 We might have lost the same way, with the same result, but I don't know.
02:11 It would have been different.
02:14 I think this day teaches the club from the president.
02:19 He was the first to face this competition and he'll improve in the future.
02:26 He'll organise everything a team needs to do better.
02:31 He'll help me manage the period from January to March.
02:36 If I can play a round of 16, I'll do that.
02:41 He'll help me manage the months from January to February.
02:46 Especially if you play in England, with games one after the other.
02:51 He'll help the players. I think all my players will come out of this with regrets.
03:00 When you have regrets, they're something that improves you.
03:06 The next time you play, you know what to expect.
03:10 This is the game, from my point of view.
03:13 You can talk about chances, what we did wrong or what we created.
03:17 We deservedly lost to a strong team.
03:21 They're very strong on the pitch, but if I say they're strong on the pitch, I don't mean them.
03:30 I would like to know what you told Daniele De Rossi before and after the game.
03:39 You want to know what I told him right now, before walking into the press conference?
03:44 I told him that the only positive of this game is that I lost against a friend.
03:50 Can you imagine what it would have been like to lose against someone I can't stand?
03:56 The truth is we lost against a stronger team than us.
03:59 It's not only a matter of statistics, chances, systems.
04:03 You are not football players. I'm saying this with respect.
04:07 Roma players are used to playing this kind of match.
04:12 That's why they were stronger.
04:14 I am Italian. I know these players. They used to play a few years back.
04:17 They were already good players.
04:19 They have now become even stronger players, but from a mental standpoint.
04:25 Today, it was not the second goal that made the difference.
04:28 I could say this, but the truth is that we were not used to playing these games at this level.
04:33 We achieved a historic result, and now we are trying to hold on.
04:39 Today is the day that I love the most my players,
04:43 because not a single one of them played above 25% of his potential.
04:50 Maybe we would have lost the game by the same scoreline, or maybe not.
04:56 We don't know this, but it would have been different.
04:59 That's important. There's a lesson to learn from this game for the president,
05:05 because in the future, I will be able to improve the team for myself,
05:09 because maybe I will handle better the period going from January to March, especially February,
05:15 and especially in England with such a busy schedule, and also for the players,
05:19 because today they walked away with many regrets.
05:23 When you have regrets, the next time you know what you can expect,
05:26 and you can improve, and you want to do better.
05:30 That's my analysis of the game.
05:32 We deservedly lost against a better team, better also mentally,
05:37 because if I say from a technical standpoint, I'm not finding out anything.
05:41 Hi, Roberto.
05:43 Yesterday you talked about inexperience in playing these kinds of games.
05:47 I'm wondering if you were aware of that in the second half,
05:50 when the team didn't understand that there was a return match,
05:56 so it was better to avoid taking risks at a certain point in the game.
06:00 From a tactical standpoint,
06:02 you had a difficult time in the low position, where you had to play with five men.
06:07 But you weren't able to go quickly, as you often do, from the other side.
06:13 Is that because Roma's defence could be more relaxed on that kind of ball,
06:20 or because you misinterpreted the game and simply weren't able to do it?
06:25 In your opinion, have we found any teams in England that played with five men,
06:30 or like Roma did, even physically?
06:33 We won 3-0 against Arsenal at home last season,
06:37 against Liverpool 3-0, against United 3-1.
06:41 The problem is not the tactical aspect.
06:43 You can reduce it to the tactical aspect.
06:47 The truth is that this is a team that, in Marseille,
06:50 was under 2-0 in the first 20 minutes,
06:53 then they picked up the game.
06:55 We won against them at Athens.
06:57 If you go and look at my statements after the game,
07:01 I said that we didn't deserve to win at Athens.
07:04 It's difficult to manage this level.
07:08 Our level has never been this high in these competitions,
07:14 in these stadiums, in this round of 16.
07:17 I came out of the dressing room as I usually do.
07:21 In the dressing room, we go from pass to check, pass to check.
07:26 I had already understood everything.
07:28 I went back to the dressing room and before I came out,
07:31 I spoke for five minutes before the game started,
07:37 and I understood this aspect.
07:39 It's not something that I fall from the clouds.
07:45 It's a normal thing that's part of football.
07:49 Yes, coach.
07:51 You referred to a lack of experience
07:53 because there's still a second leg.
07:55 Maybe in the second half, you could have taken fewer risks.
08:00 But tactically speaking, what was the problem
08:02 for your team to build up from the back
08:05 against the five Roma players?
08:07 How come you were not able to get past that pressure line tonight?
08:12 Do you think that in England,
08:15 we never found such a system of five against five
08:18 in that area of the pitch?
08:21 Because last year in the Premier League,
08:24 we won 3-0 away to Arsenal, we won 3-0 against Liverpool,
08:27 we won 3-1 against Manchester United.
08:30 The problem was not a tactical one.
08:32 Against Marseille, we were down by two goals after a few minutes.
08:35 Then we ended up drawing the game.
08:37 Against the High Cup Items, we won away,
08:40 but I said in the post-match interviews
08:43 that we did not deserve to win.
08:45 The truth is that we struggled at this level,
08:48 in this kind of stadium, at these stages of the competition.
08:52 Already in the warm-up, I was outside
08:54 watching the passing and control drill,
08:57 and I already understood everything.
08:59 That's why before walking onto the pitch,
09:02 I spoke for five minutes to the players, stressing this.
09:05 But that's normal.
09:11 Coach, tactically, when you play, you defend man-to-man.
09:14 You don't hear me well?
09:16 No, I didn't hear you.
09:18 I said, when you defend man-to-man,
09:20 as Mr Raterossi said before,
09:22 it becomes important to work with the keeper.
09:25 You are the masters at this.
09:27 Today, this inexperience, this weight of the context,
09:30 has also weighed on Steele,
09:32 regardless of whether he made a few mistakes.
09:35 Yes, yes.
09:37 It has weighed on him, on all my bigs.
09:42 On all my bigs.
09:45 Because Jason Steele is not used to playing in these games.
09:54 Because Luis Dank is not used to playing in these games.
09:57 Because the situation of the second goal,
10:01 the one against Roma, Lukaku's goal,
10:04 Dank, I saw him make these saves in the Premier League,
10:10 against the attackers of the Premier League,
10:12 Isaac from Newcastle,
10:14 Haaland also, playing man-to-man like that.
10:18 He was in advantage.
10:21 This has probably weighed on the weight of the game,
10:26 the inexperience of playing in these games,
10:28 has weighed on Steele, on Dank, on Pascal Gross, on Bill Gilmore.
10:33 It has weighed on a lot of players.
10:37 When teams defend one against one,
10:40 it's very important, also, that Rossi said this,
10:42 to play with the goalkeeper.
10:44 Do you think that the psychological burden of this game
10:47 affected also your goalkeeper, besides some mistakes?
10:51 Yes, I think so, yes.
10:53 It affected him, it affected all my best players.
10:56 Because Steele is not used to playing games at this level.
10:59 Dank is not used to playing at this level.
11:02 The second goal, the one against Roma,
11:04 when he was closing down Lukaku,
11:07 I've seen him defending and closing down
11:10 against Premier League strikers,
11:12 such as Isaac of Newcastle, the very same Haaland.
11:16 Gross is not used to playing at this level.
11:19 He did not perform at his level.
11:21 Gilmore as well.
11:22 But that was the burden of the game
11:24 that affected their performances.
11:29 Roberto, you've had three very difficult results away from home.
11:37 How do you lift your players for Nottingham Forest on Sunday
11:42 and then the second leg on next Thursday?
11:46 [Italian]
12:07 [Italian]
12:32 [Italian]
12:48 [Italian]
13:01 [Italian]
13:04 [Italian]
13:06 Well, Brighton players are used to bounce back
13:16 even after bad defeats such as this one.
13:23 But it's true that over the past few games
13:25 we created many chances, but we did not score many goals.
13:28 The last goal we scored was by dunk,
13:31 1.95 against Everton, and that's a fact.
13:35 I believe that in Premier League
13:38 we can still try to fight and qualify
13:41 for next year's European football.
13:43 Of course, it's difficult when you have a lean squad
13:46 with 13, 15 players playing every three days,
13:49 especially if they are not used.
13:52 And that explains why we also had so many injured players lately.
13:58 [Italian]
14:14 [Italian]
14:28 [Italian]
14:41 [Italian]
14:48 [Italian]
15:04 [Italian]
15:15 Well, everyone in the changing room was very sorry,
15:23 was disappointed because they all know
15:26 that we didn't deliver tonight.
15:29 Speaking about dunk, you know,
15:31 Roberto has been an example for this team.
15:35 Against Fulham I took him out the last 20 minutes
15:38 because from a physical standpoint
15:40 it's hard for him to play every three days.
15:44 But from a leadership character and example standpoint
15:48 I have zero doubts about him.
15:50 Hi, Roberto. Thank you for your time.
15:55 I was just wondering if you could express
15:57 maybe a bit of sympathy to Brighton fans
16:00 because some have had a bit of a tough time out here
16:03 in terms of there were reportedly missiles thrown at them
16:06 during the game and there was reports
16:08 that two fans were stabbed on Wednesday night.
16:11 I just wondered if you could express some sympathy towards them.
16:15 [Italian]
16:32 [Italian]
16:40 [Italian]
16:48 [Italian]
16:55 [Italian]
17:01 [Italian]
17:08 [Italian]
17:16 [Italian]
17:28 Yes, the news about the two English fans that were stabbed
17:35 is very sad news.
17:38 First of all because they are our fans
17:40 and it makes a special pain to me
17:43 because it happened in my country.
17:45 So it hurts and it's painful, very painful.
17:51 Our fans, we always try to make them proud of us.
17:57 And if we are playing in this stadium
17:59 it's because so far we did and we are still doing a good job.
18:04 It's hard to compete at this level
18:06 but we are trying hard and no one can have doubts
18:10 about their dedication and commitment.
18:12 Grazie.
18:16 Ciao.
18:19 [Silence]