Head coach Roberto De Zerbi invites Brighton players to his home to sample his Italian cooking and to find out more about them away from matches and training.
Ansu Fati posted a photo on his Instagram account that shows De Zerbi and some of his backroom staff with the on-loan Barcelona forward and team-mate Pervis Estupinan.
They watched Napoli’s 1-1 draw at home to Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday night.
“I rotate the players who come round for dinner,” De Zerbi said. “We had pasta.”
It is a tactic which De Zerbi revealed he has used before at previous clubs Sassuolo in his homeland and at Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine to get a better understanding of his players.
He told The Athletic: “It’s a habit I started when I was working at Sassuolo, because in all work, in all jobs, if you know better the people that work with you, you can find a better relationship.
“It can help to know the player better on the pitch but also out of the pitch.
“And then the players are like my children. They are young guys. In football we are used to demanding every day, but sometimes it is right to understand if they need something more, something different, and I believe in relationships more than (just) tactical.”
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Fati has made three substitute appearances after ten weeks out with a hamstring injury, while Estupinan is yet to rediscover his best form after a muscle injury restricted the left-back to 12 minutes of action from the end of September to the end of December.
“Ansu is a great guy,” De Zerbi said. “Ansu and Pervis Estupinan have both been to my home this week and he (Fati) knows he has to give something more and we are here to help the young players, especially if these young players have a big talent.
“Pervis is another very good player. Last season he played very well. This season he can play better. I am not happy with his performances. We are playing in a different way, usually with three at the back. But I think he can give more and more.
“My demand for him is to play better, because he is an important player for us. Last season he was crucial, and my expectations from him are bigger than his performances.”
Brighton have been drawn against AS Roma in the last 16 of the Europa League over two legs next month. They host Everton at the Amex Stadium in the Premier League today.
(Instagram photo: (left to right) Andrea Maldera (De Zerbi’s assistant), Fati and Estupinan with leaning over behind them Marcello Quinto (technical coach). De Zerbi has his arm around Agostino Tibaudi and behind them is Vincenzo Teresa (both fitness coaches).
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(Getty Images)
