Brighton story

Garcia leaves Brighton!

After only two weeks in the job Oscar Garcia has sensationally left Brighton & Hove Albion. Earlier this morning Brighton called a surprise press conference; the Spanish coach, speaking to the attending press, cited personal reasons for his abrupt departure. Garcia had his first head coach appointment with Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv FC. Exactly one year later, after leading the club to the national championship after a ten-year drought, he resigned from his post, citing personal reasons. With this in mind his sudden exit from Brighton should not come as a surprise.



Brighton sign Mul

With the league season fast approaching the Brighton hierarchy have wasted no time drafting in a replacement. In what many consider somewhat of a surprise appointment, Brighton have announced Michael Mul as their new head coach. Pressure will be on Mul as he takes the reigns in his first managerial post; with only a one-year contract Mul does not have long to prove his doubters wrong.



Brighton chairman Tony Bloom has announced that Mul will have £750k to spend on new players. Although it shouldn't be considered a 'shoe-string budget', Mul will be operating at a lower level than most in the division. The Championship is a notoriously difficult division to get out of and with many eyeing promotion there is always pressure to splash the cash.

Bridcutt transfer listed!

Barely hours in the job and Mul is already causing waves. With transfer funds somewhat limited, a number of high profile Brighton stars have been transfer listed. Among those facing the exit include ex-Chelsea youth product Liam Bridcutt. Since moving to the South Coast side Bridcutt has established himself as a key player and his likely departure has certainly raised a few eyebrows.



Speaking to press Bridcutt has said whilst he will be sad to leave Brighton he nevertheless understands the manager only has the team's interests at heart.

Damiao to Brighton?

It has been reported that Brighton have made an official approach for Brazilian hitman Leandro Damiao. Sources close to the player suggest a move to the South Coast is something the 24 year-old is seriously considering. Of course, Brighton are not the only one's interested as Monaco, Benfica and Fiorentina have also made inquires as to the striker's availability.



With 2014 being a World Cup year it was widely expected that Damiao would require substantial exposure should he harbor any ambition of making the Brazil squad. Whilst a move to Brighton shouldn't be considered a step backwards, it is hard to see how playing in the second tier of English football will aid him in his World Cup bid. With the transfer upheaval already surrounding the club it has been suggested by some that Mul is merely using this bid to temporarily ease concerns. Only time will tell whether Brighton's interest is concrete.

Brighton sign Russotto

On the same day Michael Mul put pen to paper, flamboyant Italian midfielder Andrea Russotto has signed on. According to reports the 25 year-old has signed for a fee believed to be in the region of £400k.



Most Italian fans should be familiar with the name of Andrea Russotto. As a youngster he was dubbed as “the next Roberto Baggio”, however despite the lavish praise, Russotto ultimately failed to live up to the hype. In 2004, Russotto, already a regular in the national youth teams and a rising star in Lazio’s youth system, was approached by GEA (probably the biggest Italian football agency). The agency basically told Russotto that if he wanted to have an important career, it was in his best interests that he sign with one of their agents. Russotto refused the advances of GEA and to get away from their continuing pressure escaped to Switzerland, where he signed for AC Bellinzona. Starting the 2004/05 season at Bellinzona, the 16 year old Russotto made 9 appearances, scoring 1 goal. That summer Russotto then showed all of his talent at the U-17 World Cup with Italy, prompting many to consider taking the youngster back to the peninsula.



Treviso, who had just been promoted to Serie A, acquired his services on loan but made him play with the Primavera side. Despite this, the 17 year-old Russotto did make his debut in Serie A that season, finishing with 4 appearances. Famed magazine World Soccer even inserted Russotto on the list of the top 50 young players in the world. The following season Treviso extended the loan (although they had been relegated to Serie B) and Russotto finally started to show signs of a potential explosion. He made his Italy U-21 debut at the age of 18 (he has 9 appearances and 2 goals with the U-21’s to date) and racked up 32 appearances and 4 goals that season. Treviso extended his loan for one more year in 2007/08 but even though he played 31 times, scoring 1 goal, Russotto failed to perform at a high level like the previous season and was used mainly as a sub. In the summer of 2008, he finally returned to Bellinzona, but it wasn’t a long stay as Napoli decided to take a chance on him. Napoli saw a potential superstar and decided to take him on loan for the season with the right to buy in June 2009 for 3.8 million euro. However the young fantasista was used sparingly by both Edy Reja and Roberto Donadoni and even though he always did well and showed good things when coming on, he never gained the full trust of either manager.
Ultimately Napoli decided not to exercise the buy-out clause and thus Russotto was sent back to Switzerland once more. In the ensuing years, despite remote interest, nobody took a risk on Russotto and the Italian has since spent his time as something of a journeyman.

It’s mind-boggling that one of Italy’s most talented youngsters ended up plying his trade in the Swiss Super League with few Italian clubs willing to take a chance on him. Had GEA, as promised, stunted Russotto's career? Can this move finally help the Italian reach the heights he was once destined for?

Mul records victory in first friendly outing!

VVV-Venlo 0 - 5 Brighton (14/7/2013)

Albion destroy Dutch opponents in De Koel massacre. LuaLua was in fine-form helping his side record an unlikely 5-0 victory. Brighton had been written off before the game, making this emphatic victory all the more memorable.



Although just a friendly, this game against has certainly gone some way to silence Mul's doubters.

Damiao completes Brighton switch

In a move that is sure to send shock waves across Europe, Leandro Damiao has secured his move to South-Coast outfit Brighton. Fending off stiff opposition, Brighton have completed what must be regarded as the biggest coup in their history. The Brazilian, capped 17 times for his country, has signed for a fee believed to be £2m, rising to £4m after appearances.



In other news, Brighton completed the season-long loan signing of 17 year-old Italian striker Alberto Cerri from Parma. Reports suggest there is an agreed price of £825k should Brighton decide to buy the player at any point during his loan spell.



There were also a few departures from Brighton, most notably Will Buckley who moved to championship rivals Reading for a fee of £3.5m.

Pre-season update

GA Eagles 2 - 4 Brighton (17/7/2013)

David Lopez stars as Brighton edge out Dutch opponents in tight encounter. With Damiao injured there was an opportunity for Alberto Cerri to step-up; the young Italian did not not disappoint as he scored to help his side on their way. Ashley Barnes and Leonardo Ulloa were instrumental coming off the bench to help the Seagulls secure the win.

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