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Roberto de Zerbi prepared for a new frontier, with Brighton about to take their first steps into Europe by promising to cherish past ordeals, depths plumbed and scars acquired on the journey so far.
‘We can’t forget where we started and who we were,’ vowed De Zerbi, who is only a year in the role but it didn’t take him long to grasp the ethos of the club. ‘We can’t lose our DNA. If we think we are better, we make a big, big mistake.’
Where Brighton came from is no secret, although worth recalling as they break more fresh ground, because it is only 25 years since their very existence was in serious peril and only half as long since they were still homeless, rattling around in an athletics stadium before crowds of a few thousand.
Gradually, the identity was repaired. Initially by Dick Knight, who led the rescue operation, and then Tony Bloom, who has taken on another transformation, into a swish modern training complex, the Amex Stadium and the Premier League. Now Europe.
Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi is preparing the club for their first ever European outing
The Seagulls have been flying high under the Italian as they prepare for a new frontier
‘He will be proud,’ said De Zerbi, when asked how the chairman might feel when his team stride out against Greek champions AEK Athens on Thursday and Group B fixtures against former European champions Ajax and Marseille.
‘But he will want to compete. The same as the players, the coaches and the fans. It will be a different day with different emotions but we have to keep our eye on the ball, keep our style and our attitude.
‘We want to get used to playing in this competition. It can help us reach a different level. To get better we have to think of this as a normal game.
‘We have the quality to compete in the Europa League. We deserve to be here. We worked every day to play in this competition and now we want to compete in our way. We want to win, play in our style and show our quality.
‘We are improving, not a big-big team yet but we are a good team and we believe in ourselves.
‘But we know we are Brighton. We know our level but we have the ambition to become better in every game and every competition.’
It has become Brighton’s ethos. Remember the past but move forward with confidence – and what confidence after beating Manchester United for the fourth time in a row.
‘One of the best performances in my time,’ said De Zerbi of Saturday’s 3-1 win at Old Trafford.
Brighton players, including Japan star Kaoru Mitoma (centre right) train ahead of AEK Athens
Brighton were on the brink of extinction 25 years ago – now they are gunning for European glory
‘But I repeat what I said to the players on Sunday morning, the game in Manchester is finished. We reach this moment in the best way but we have to forget.’
Pascal Gross has been at the club a little longer. Signed from Ingolstadt in 2017 after their promotion the top flight.
He scored Brighton’s first Premier League goal and they have been good for each other. This season, at the age of 32, he won his first Germany caps.
‘I never thought when I came here we could go so far,’ said Gross, handing credit to De Zerbi for the latest phase of development.
‘It’s incredible the way we grow, especially the last year.
‘The belief has changed. Last year there was a time, maybe 10 games to go, where we weren’t sure if we could really reach the top six but he told us we can and we started to believe that we can because the performance showed us that we deserve to be there.
‘We really started to believe we could achieve something big. We are really lucky but we’re not happy, we’re hungry.
‘We want to become better every day in training then in the game we want to prove it. That is the secret, to keep hungry.’
