Roberto De Zerbi and the War in Ukraine

The Albion have appointed their fair share of characters with interesting back stories as managers in the past. None though has arrived having been in a warzone six months earlier – and initially refusing to leave – as new Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi was in Ukraine.

De Zerbi was halfway through his first season in charge of Shakhtar Donetsk, a Ukrainian Super Cup in the bag and sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League when Vladimir Putin launched the Russian invasion of the country.

Shakhtar had been first impacted by Putin’s megalomania as long ago as 2014, when Russia occupied the Donbas region. Since then, they have lived a nomadic existence calling three different Ukrainian cities home.

Between 2014 and 2016, Shakhtar played in Lviv. They moved onto Kharkiv between 2017 and 2020. By the time De Zerbi arrived in May 2021, Shakhtar were playing home games in Kyiv.

Putin’s illegal war brought bloodshed to the capital. As Russian forces headed towards Kyiv, so hundreds of thousands of people began fleeing west in attempt to get out of the country.

With commercial flights grounded almost immediately, it fell upon UEFA and individual football associations to evacuate their players from Ukraine. A difficult task given all the uncertainty and chaos ensuing.

When the invasion began, De Zerbi and his Shakhtar squad were taken to a Kyiv hotel with a bomb shelter. Whilst there, Roberto De Zerbi and his coaching staff were amongst the first to be offered an exit from Ukraine, back to his native Italy.

De Zerbi said no. He would not leave the country until all his international players, their partners and children were all safely evacuated first.

Staying in an active warzone in a city under bombardment is leadership on a different level. And it makes a mockery of those pundits who wonder whether De Zerbi can cope with the pressure of the English Premier League.

If he was okay staying in Kyiv under the threat of being bombed, then he is probably going to be okay with a Tuesday night trip to Nottingham Forest.

Within the hotel, most players slept in the bomb shelter. De Zerbi though spent his time switching between bunker and a hotel room.

Speaking to Italian radio station Radio 105, De Zerbi said: “I slept in the room to understand what was happening outside the hotel, when I heard a roar would go into the bunker. Then I would go back to my room after a few hours.”

For three days, De Zerbi and his coaching team sheltered in the hotel. Three days spent hoping that the building would not be hit by Russian artillery. Three days hoping that the Russian army did not break into Kyiv.

“I am here to do sport and I could not turn my back on the fans,” De Zerbi told Sportitalia on the first day of the war. “There are 13 Brazilian players here and my staff. We could have returned home, but we preferred to wait. Last night we woke up to the noise of explosions.”

“There are no heroes here, but our job puts us in front of responsibilities. We were supposed to play on Saturday, so I could not run away.”

De Zerbi was given a second opportunity to escape once some of his players began to be evacuated to Romania via coach and train. Again, he said no. He was not going anywhere until every last one was safe outside of Ukraine.

After two-and-a-half days in the hotel, Shakhtar’s Brazilian contingent and their terrified families were the last to be moved on.

A few hours later and Roberto De Zerbi and his coaching staff received a call saying they too could now be evacuated from Ukraine. They took it, starting their own arduous journey back to Italy.

They walked to a nearby station in Kyiv, risking running into Russian saboteurs. After an hour wait, they boarded a nine-hour train to Lviv.

Two bus journeys later making slow progress through snow and De Zerbi and co reached the Hungarian border, some 20 hours after leaving Kyiv.

It took another hour to get into Hungary, followed by another three hours on a bus to Budapest. From there, the Shakhtar coaching team boarded a flight to Milan Bergamo Airport.

De Zerbi’s first act upon landing in Italy was to deliver a message to the people of Ukraine via Sky Italia: “We are at home, we are happy because we returned to our families, but we won’t be really happy until the people of Ukraine are free.”

“We are really sorry for the people of Ukraine, who are giving a huge lesson to Western countries in terms of pride, dignity and sense of belonging.”

Shakhtar’s Ukrainian players had remained behind, ready to defend their country from the invaders. “I think about the players,” De Zerbi later said.

“The Brazilians were safe but the Ukrainians were in their houses, ready to fight. The Ukrainians surprised everyone with their resistance. The Russians underestimated the spirit of these people.”

De Zerbi’s Shakhtar story was not quite at an end. Players and manager were reunited for the Global Tour for Peace, playing friendlies in Greece, Turkey, Poland and Croatia throughout April.

We know that when Tony Bloom appoints managers, he looks for good personalities as well as talented football coaches. In Roberto De Zerbi, Brighton have found themselves one of the best if his actions in Ukraine are anything to go by.

There is more evidence to back up his character. De Zerbi has been in demand since becoming a free agent. Juventus fans seem particularly peeved that the Old Lady did not sack Massimiliano Allegri and replace him with De Zerbi whilst they had the chance.

Bologna were one side whose interest was concrete. They offered De Zerbi the chance to succeed Sinisa Mihajlovic, who was fighting leukaemia for the second time in three years.

“I’d like to, but I can’t do it after Sinisa. Money can’t buy everything,” De Zerbi reportedly told Bologna when turning the job down due to not wanting to replace Mihajlovic in the circumstances.

Brighton are getting a class act as their 36th manager.