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Alexis Mac Allister crowned Roberto De Zerbi the best manager he has played for over the legendary Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot. Alongside De Zerbi, Mac Allister and Brighton finished sixth place and booked their tickets to European football for the first time ever in 2023. The Argentine joined Liverpool for an initial fee of £35m in the following window, playing under Klopp and now Slot, with the Reds currently top of the Premier League. But speaking of De Zerbi on Gary Lineker’s podcast The Rest Is Football, Mac Allister said: “He’s a crazy guy, he’s Italian. I love him. He’s the best manager I’ve ever had. “The passion he gives for football is special and his tactical side is amazing. He makes you feel good. “Since the first day I met him he was amazing with me and that’s why I said he was the best coach. ” Mac Allister was part of a Brighton team that took the Premier League by storm but his route to regular Premier League football was unconventional. He joined the Seagulls in May 2019 but was loaned back to Boca Juniors until January 2020. Mac Allister made his Seagulls debut under Graham Potter that year and became a mainstay in the starting XI. The 2021/22 season was when Brighton took the league by storm, finishing ninth and beating Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. Following the successful campaign Potter was poached by Chelsea, a team the Englishman would leave later that season due to poor performances. Many wondered how Brighton would continue on the golden path but once again their recruitment team hit gold with De Zerbi, former manager of Champions League side Shakhtar Donetsk. He hit a point tally of 62 which landed Brighton in sixth place and secured a Europa League spot. The crazy Italian was a great man manager who pushed players to their highest level, a skill that attracted big money sales. In 2023 Moises Caicedo departed for Chelsea after a British record breaking fee of £115m was accepted. Robert Sanchez also arrived in West London for a fee of £25m. That summer also marked Mac Allister’s transfer to the Reds, while De Zerbi left Brighton for Marseille at the end of the 2023/24 season. Mac Allister recalled his call with Klopp prior to signing. He added: “Before I signed for Liverpool I had a call with him and since that moment I could feel that we were going to do great things and I really enjoyed my time with him. “He said there was going to be a change in midfield, he wanted me to be part of it and he compared me to players like Gundogan for and that I could be an important player for Liverpool. “That was enough to say I need to go there. I was in the moment where I won a World Cup just six months ago. I wanted to go to a club where I had the opportunity to win trophies and I wanted to go to a club where I could feel important. ” The beginning of his Liverpool career was a rocky one as he was deployed as a six, deeper than his usual box-to-box role, but he soon recovered form and helped Klopp win a Carabao Cup before his departure. Fast forward to the 2024/25 season with Slot, he has returned to his position as an eight and Liverpool sits first in the league and Champions League. © 2024 talk SPORT Limited
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