BRIGHTON, England -- An hour or so after the open training session has finished, with the rain pouring and seagulls swirling around the blue and white seats, a few of the Brighton & Hove Albion players are still signing autographs. There are a couple of hundred fans left from the 4,000 or so who have flocked to the AMEX Stadium -- Brighton's home ground -- to watch their team practice. It's the Easter break and the lower tier of the west stand is packed with families of all ages.
These are common sights and sounds for a Premier League club with European aims. But for Brighton it's still a little unusual, especially for those who remember when the club was homeless and close to non-league obscurity 26 years ago.
World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister sits out the session but starts signing autographs 30 minutes before training finishes. "The session today will be about possession," says the stadium announcer. Manager Roberto De Zerbi stands like a coiled spring, itching to get involved, passing on small observations here and there as the players play 11 vs. 9. The fans cheer every pass; Mac Allister occasionally looks over from the sidelines as he signs jersey after jersey.
"I feel the appreciation of the people," Mac Allister later tells ESPN. "Representing Brighton at the World Cup and being a champion representing this club meant a lot because of what the club means to me."
Brighton were only promoted to the top flight in 2017, but as part of their plan of year-on-year steady progression, their story is all down to the plan formulated back in 2009 when Tony Bloom succeeded Dick Knight as the club's owner. With De Zerbi at the helm, the seventh-placed side in the Premier League are preparing to take the next step into Europe. But first it's the FA Cup semifinal against Manchester United (Sunday, 11 a.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+, U.S. only).
After a marathon of autographs, Mac Allister is sitting in one of the rooms in the AMEX looking down on the pitch. Club captain Lewis Dunk is still down there having his photo taken, signing shirts with a few remaining patient supporters. Photos on the walls around the 24-year-old midfielder are reminders of Brighton's storied past and glorious present.
"Everyone feels at home here," Mac Allister says.
Brighton's rise has been remarkable. In 1997 they were on the verge of falling out of the Football League, needing a result against Hereford to stay in the professional pyramid. Under the stewardship of Dick Knight -- now the club's life president -- things stabilised, and in 2009, entrepreneur and betting magnate Tony Bloom came along with funding secured for Brighton's new stadium and purchased 75% of the club. Bloom appointed Paul Barber as CEO in 2012, and from there the modern-day incarnation of Brighton was born.
When Barber came along, they were in League One, but rose to the top tier of English football over the next five years, working off a strategy of outthinking their competitors through clever recruitment, giving opportunity to youngsters, finding value in acquisitions and always having robust plans for when richer clubs invariably come looking for players.
So for every player like club captain Dunk, who's been there since their League One days, you have players like Argentina midfielder Mac Allister and Japan superstar Kaoru Mitoma who were signed for small transfer fees via their remarkable scouting network. Blend in the academy hopefuls breaking through -- like the much-admired striker Evan Ferguson -- some experienced heads like Danny Welbeck and Jason Steele, and you have modern-day Brighton.
"I think it's an amazing group and everyone tries to help each other and that's so important," Mac Allister tells ESPN. "We've got five or so South Americans here and maybe I'm the one helping them speak English or translate. Everyone helps each other and that's why we're a fantastic group and where we are."
Mac Allister's journey wasn't straightforward, but his elevation is attuned to Brighton's DNA. He was signed in 2019 for a transfer fee of just £7 million from Argentinos Juniors. "Alexis's story summarises this club," technical director David Weir told the Sunday Times in March. Weir was sent to Argentina to watch Mac Allister and they did the deal. They loaned Mac Allister back to his old club, and then to Boca Juniors.
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"He didn't hit the ground running [at Brighton]. There was a settling-in period that took time," Weir said. "There was talk of him potentially going on loan again, then slowly but surely he got into the team, played in different positions and became an important player. His journey is symptomatic of our club in all the different facets."
Mac Allister made his breakthrough just before COVID-19 stopped the world, but having his mother in Brighton for those two months while football went into hiatus helped him settle into the area. Three years on and he's a World Cup champion and one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, but ask him where the credit lies and he puts it at Brighton's door.
"Since I came here I felt the support of everyone at the club," he says. "I always try to give my best, and I'm very happy here. This club gave me the opportunity to play in the Premier League, the best league in the world. Everybody knows how much I love this club."
Before Mac Allister spoke to ESPN, he was presented with a bespoke Adidas boot to commemorate his World Cup triumph created by artist Jordan Dawson. It's gold and marked with the Argentine flag. His face lights up. Later on, away from the cameras, he's still looking at the boots, smiling and taking photos to send home.
Those World Cup memories stay with him, like the scenes back in his hometown, La Pampa, where 20,000 fans waited to welcome him at the airport after winning the trophy. But he also holds close the welcome he received at Brighton. When Mac Allister arrived back at the club for his first day post-World Cup, he was greeted by his teammates in the training ground reception. There was a dummy World Cup for him to lift, and a confetti cannon to shower him in blue, white and gold ticker tape.
"I always think about winning trophies," he says. "And now at the club, everybody is thinking like that. In part that's down to Roberto, then we've got fantastic leaders like Lewis Dunk, [midfielder Adam] Lallana, [goalkeeper Jason Steele], they are experienced players who help the young players to keep developing, to keep growing, and they are a huge part of the team."
Midway through Mac Allister's interview, someone knocks on the door. Mitoma had misplaced his phone.
Mitoma, 25, has emerged as one of the league's most clinical wingers this term, with 10 goals in 31 games, hovering on the left of Brighton's attack and then creating havoc by using his remarkable turn of pace and quick feet to beat defenders. His ruthless nature on the field is balanced by his shyness off it. Ask him about his stardom in Japan and he looks a little bashful, but talk about where he can improve his game and he uncrosses his arms and talks in a very focused, matter-of-fact way.
"I'm still trying to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League," Mitoma tells ESPN. "Sure, goals are coming little by little, but I have to grow more and more. I have to become a threat to any opponent, more than ever. I have to improve my ability to do that."
Football journeys aren't linear, but Mitoma has benefited from Brighton's careful management. He was signed in 2021 from Kawasaki Frontale for a bargain £2.5m and sent on a season-long loan to Belgium side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise last term, a team also owned by Bloom. It wasn't a market Brighton were used to operating in, but they saw his potential and he has prospered under De Zerbi.
Just after the training session finished on the field earlier, De Zerbi pulled Mitoma aside for a quick word. De Zerbi revealed the contents of the conversation to a group of schoolchildren who had visited the club for the day to ask their own questions of the manager. One asked about Mitoma and De Zerbi, smiling to Barber alongside him, said he told the player that they have more work to do to improve him this season and next. It was De Zerbi saying: give us one more season before one of your many admirers picks you up.
"The sea is near my house, so I can watch the sea every day. It relaxes me," Mitoma says. "I didn't think I'd be able to start this many games so quickly. Thanks to my teammates, I have played many games and got some goals and assists. I'm playing quite well because Brighton's football suits me well."
When both Mac Allister and Mitoma are asked how and why they've kicked on this season despite the huge turnover of players on and off the field, they all come back with one answer: "It's down to Roberto," Mac Allister says.
On the wall of the AMEX offices is a slogan laid out in lights. It reads: "To be a top-10 club in the Premier League and a top-four club in the WSL." But back in October, the first part of the plan threatened to go off track. Barber's phone rang with Todd Boehly's number flashing up. The new Chelsea owner wanted Potter to replace Thomas Tuchel. A compensation package was sorted to the tune of nearly £21m and Potter left Brighton for Chelsea with five of his backroom staff.
Such an exodus could scuttle a team's season, but the Seagulls had a plan -- just like when they lost first-team players over the past two seasons to Premier League rivals: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Ben White (Arsenal), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea), Neal Maupay (Everton), Yves Bissouma (Tottenham Hotspur) and Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).
"I think Graham leaving was a blow for us as a team because we were in a good spot," Mac Allister says. "We felt it as a team when he left."