In his first season at the helm of Atlético de San Luis following André Jardine’s departure, Gustavo Leal proved he was ready to work as head coach. When talking about his style of play, the Brazilian suggested that he identifies with Roberto De Zerbi’s work.
While the Premier League boasts great managers such as Pep Guardiola or Jürgen Klopp, it was the Brighton boss who drew praise from Leal. “For me, what he achieves with Brighton today, which is not the team with the biggest budget in the league, the results he achieves with his team, that is something that also catches my attention. Not only coaches who are champions but coaches who can take their teams beyond the expectations of common sense. Especially De Zerbi. And because I see that our playing ideas are similar, especially in building up under pressure,” Leal told ESPN.
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Leal’s opinion on Fernando Diniz
In addition to his view on English football, Leal referred to Fernando Diniz, who is currently in charge of both Brazil and Fluminense: “The first time we met, I was working in the Fluminense U-20s, and it was just when Diniz was hired. But, unbelievably, it was a moment when we had less contact, and we ended up having more contact later, over these years. And the last CBF license we did while both were without a club, and I think that’s where the biggest interactions happened. And today, Diniz is a friend I speak with frequently, someone I committed to not going more than a year without having a face-to-face meeting with because the last time we had lunch that must have lasted almost three hours.”
“He is someone who serves as inspiration to me in many aspects, the way he sees things, the career he had, the obstacles he faced in his career, both as a player and a coach, made him the personality he is now, the way he sees many other things. Diniz is someone you often enter a conversation with having absolute certainty about certain topics and leave with your head full of doubts. But that enriches you because it makes you reflect, it makes you question. So, in reality, today, Diniz is someone I admire in many different aspects, and one of the main ones is what he can draw out of the players,” Leal added.
