Arriving at the first break of the season, with seven days played in Italy, Germany and England and eight in France (one day was suspended in the Premier due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II), it is mandatory to highlight those teams that are performing well for above their possibilities and, above all, the expectations with which they started. These are so far the four biggest surprises in the major European leagues.
Brighton:
Since the arrival of Graham Potter in 2019, Brighton have only grown. An interesting transfer policy and a coach with a clear commitment to associative football were the ingredients of a cocktail that allowed the team from the south coast of England to stay in the Premier for two years. In his third campaign he had a great start and achieved a creditable ninth place. This season things could not have started better. On the first matchday they won at Old Trafford and, since then, they have added prestigious victories against Leeds and West Ham and only one defeat. On the last day played, the ‘seagulls’ shone at their best, thrashing Leicester 5-2. They were fourth in the standings, in the Champions League position. After the game, however, a bucket of cold water fell on the team, as it was confirmed that Graham Potter had decided to accept the offer from Chelsea, who had just sacked Tomas Tuchel. To replace him, the Brighton board have hired Roberto de Zerbi, one of the most exciting young managers. His Sassuolo of two seasons ago was one of the most attractive teams on the continent and, despite his disappointing spell at Shakhtar Donetsk, he arrives in England wanting to vindicate himself. Good luck has allied itself with Brighton, since to the day suspended due to the death of the queen, the suspension of their next match and the national team break have been added, which has given De Zerbi valuable time to get to know to your staff and start implementing your ideas.
Udinese
In 2012, Udinese qualified for the Champions League, led by their phenomenal striker Antonio di Natale. From then on, the team began a journey through the desert that was accentuated with the withdrawal of Toto. For several seasons, he achieved salvation in a tight way and in recent years he has been installed in mediocrity in the middle of the table. Everything seems to have changed this season with the arrival of Andrea Sottil as coach after his good work at Ascoli in Serie B. The team has started the season like a shot and right now is third in the standings, just one point behind Napoli and the Atalanta. Two players are largely responsible for the success of the Udine team. The first is Beto, a Portuguese striker who arrived in Italy last season and has already scored four goals. The second is an old acquaintance of Spanish football, Gerard Deulofeu, who faces his third campaign at Udinese. In the previous one he already shone at a high level, with fourteen goals, and he has started this new season in the same state of form. Despite the fact that in the first two games they only added one point, Udinese is the most fit team in Italy, with five wins in a row, two of them highly prestigious as they thrashed Roma 4-0 and beat Inter by 3-1.
Freiburg:
Although the great revelation of the Bundesliga is Union Berlin, brand new leader of the competition, Freiburg’s performances also deserve to be taken into account. This is a special club in Germany. From 1991 to 2007, it was managed by Volker Finke (no one has lasted that long managing the same club in the Bundesliga) and it was in those years that he earned the nickname Breisgau-Brasilianer (the Brazilians from Breisgau) for the beauty of his football. . In 2012, Christian Streich arrived at the club and he still remains as coach despite the fact that they came down in category. That is why Freiburg is special, a club that is faithful to its employees and that understands that, in football, as in life, everything takes time. The years have proved their board right, since in recent campaigns the team has progressively improved. Last season was the highlight, when the team finished in sixth position, qualifying for the Europa League, after having had the Champions League in hand for much of the year. In addition, they reached the Cup final, although they lost it dramatically on penalties against Leipzig. This campaign continues at the same level. He is third and even had options to become leader, but two draws in the last two games frustrated the possibility of seeing himself at the top.
Lorient:
After eleven consecutive seasons in Ligue 1, Lorient were relegated to the second division in 2017. It took three seasons for them to return to the elite and they did so with a bit of luck. The team was leading the Ligue 2 table at the time the championship was suspended due to the coronavirus, but only four points separated them from fifth place. In any case, the controversial decision of the French federation not to finish the competitions caused the automatic promotion of Lorient. After two years in which they have suffered to maintain the category, this season, les merlus, (the hake), a nickname by which the team is known and which they carry on their own shield, are having a great time. Their coach is Régis le Bris, a former French player, with no previous coaching experience, but who is doing a fantastic job with a squad with limited resources. Lorient have reached this break in third position with 19 points, in places to access the Champions League, something they have not achieved in their entire history. In a team that has several homegrown players, the star is Terem Moffi, a Nigerian striker who had been at a good level for two seasons but is now consecrating himself. With six goals in eight games, only Neymar and Mbappé surpass him in the scoring table.
