'We were forced to sell the mat factory' - Roberto De Zerbi opens up on 'very difficult years' for his family and explains why 'football has never been just fun' for Marseille coach

De Zerbi’s journey to Marseille is deeply personal. Between 1992 and 1994, during an economic crisis at home, his family was forced to sell their mat factory, plunging them into very difficult years. For De Zerbi, football became more than a game, it was a means to support his family.

"It's the first time I've talked about it: there was a specific moment in my life when I started playing football to support my family. I moved from the youth club to Lumezzane and then to AC Milan, between 1992 and 1994, coinciding with the economic crisis at home: we were forced to sell the mat factory and we went through some very difficult years," De Zerbi said in an interview with Corriere della Sera. "At that point, I wasn't joking anymore. After leaving the Primavera, the day after signing my first five-year contract with AC Milan, I was at the branch signing the mortgage to buy my parents a house. For me, football has never been just fun."

It was this intense, formative experience that has driven his philosophy as a coach. The hardships, he says, gave him both motivation and perspective, shaping a man who sees football as a form of social redemption.

De Zerbi says coaching is inseparable from life’s lessons. He recalls spending long stretches away from his own family while playing in Romania and coaching, missing crucial moments in his children’s lives. This fuels his approach in Marseille: he seeks connection and affection with players, believing that respect and understanding off the pitch create an explosive, productive dynamic on it.

Asked about his idea to take his squad away on a retreat and make them go on runs at 5 a.m, he said: "It was probably the best thing I've done, the one closest to me as a person: I listened and understood the discontent of the boys, who weren't performing at home. I did something powerful, to help them get to know each other. And then I held three meetings: in one, we brought out the negative feelings we had at the Velodrome; the next day, each player shared the values they identified with, we wrote them down and hung them up; then we showed a video about the fans at the Velodrome, to help them understand who they were dealing with."

De Zerbi’s methods reflect both discipline and empathy. Drawing lessons from his AC Milan youth days under legends like Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi, he values ethics, hard work, and mutual respect.

"The AC Milan youth academy was a school. [Paolo] Maldini, [Franco] Baresi, [Mauro] Tassotti, and all those great players taught me the ethics of football, the value of training, the importance of training harder after a win, respect within a group, starting with the schedule. I feel like a son of Milanello, of the real AC Milan," De Zerbi said.

He further explained how his coaching philosophy prioritises the player: "I've already proven many times that I don't coach for myself, quite the opposite. I love strong players and want them. And I believe the player matters more than the coach when it comes to results. I was a number 10: I could never take away the player's value. I'm not a moral teacher, but I want to convey who I am: as a man, before being a coach. And it's normal to seek mutual understanding, even off the pitch."

De Zerbi's methods appear to be working amid Marseille's strong start to the season. They sit second in Ligue 1 and just a point behind Paris Saint-Germain and recovered from their Champions League defeat against Real Madrid by overpowering Ajax 4-0 in their second game of the tournament.