A watan Nuwamba na shekarar 2023, Roberto de Zerbi ya tattara 'yan wasan Brighton & Hove Albion a dakin suya Amsterdam Arena kafin gasar UEFA Europa League da Ajax. Ya tunatar da su cewa fiye da masu goyon baya 7,000 sun yi tafiya zuwa Netherlands — fiye da 3,000 a cikin filin wasa kawai, da dubbai da yawa suna cike da birnin.

Ga babban jami'in kulob din da ya yi aiki a Brighton kusan shekaru uku, wannan lokaci ya burge shi sosai. "Sarakunan kwallon kafa na Turai," ya ce game da fuskantar Ajax. "Daga inda muka fito, don kasancewa a wannan yanayi. Ya kasance lokaci na mamakin kai." Brighton sun yi nasara da 2-0, wanda ya kasance kololuwar kamfen dinta ta farko a Turai.

Gwagwarmaya don rayuwa

Wannan dare na ban mamaki a Amsterdam ya tsaya a karo da abin da Brighton ya fuskanta 'yan shekaru kaɗan da suka wuce. A shekarar 1995, shugaba Bill Archer ya sayar da Goldstone Ground — gidan kulob din tun 1902 — ba tare da shirya wata madadin filin wasa ba kuma ba tare da tuntuba da magoya bayan ba. Wannan yanke shawara, wadda ake tuƙawa ta basussukan da ke ƙaruwa, ta jefa kulob din cikin matsala mai tsanani.

Brighton ya bar Goldstone a ƙarshe a shekarar 1997, bayan kakar ƙarshe da cike ta da zanga-zanga. A wasan gida na ƙarshe na kakar 1995-96, dubban magoya bayan da fushi suka buge filin wasa, suka karya manyan sanda biyu a cikin hayaniyar. Kulob din sannan ya yi wasa nesa da kilomita 110 a Gillingham har tsawon shekaru biyu kafin ya koma Brighton a 1999 don yin amfani da Withdean Stadium — wani filin tseren gujiya mai kujeru 6,000 kawai.

A shekarar 1997, kulob din ya kasance mintuna 27 kawai daga faɗuwa daga Football League gaba ɗaya. Tsohon daraktan gudanarwa na Football Association David Davies, tsohon shugaba Dick Knight, da Mataimakin Firayim Minista na lokacin John Prescott — wanda ya soke ƙin yarda da buƙatar gina sabon filin wasa a Falmer — sun kasance daga cikin waɗanda gudummuwarsu ta tabbatar da cewa ta yi tasiri a cikin kiyaye Brighton.

Magoya bayan da ya ki mika wuya

Magoya bayan kuma mai fafutuka Paul Samrah ya ƙididdige Agusta 2007 — lokacin da a ƙarshe aka samu izinin gina sabon filin wasa — a matsayin mafi ƙaunarsa a matsayinsa na magoya bayan Brighton. "Bayan shekaru na kamfen, rana da daren da na shafe ina fafutukar neman canjin mulki sannan don filin wasa, lokacin da na ji cewa an ba mu izinin gini — mun ci nasara a yaƙinmu," ya ce.

Samrah ya rayu cikin mafi duhu zamanin. "Bayan wasan ƙarshe na FA Cup a 1983, an sayar da 'yan wasa, babu saka hannun jari, Goldstone yana rushewa kuma taron masu kallo ya ragu," ya tuna. "Babu ci gaba, babu jagoranci, babu alkibla. Muna yawo ne kawai ba tare da jagorar ba."

Wasan ƙarshe na FA Cup na 1983 da kansa ya samar da ɗaya daga cikin mafi ciwon lokuta a kwallon kafa na Ingila, lokacin da Gordon Smith ya tarar da kansa shi kaɗai a gaban ragar ƙarshen tsayin lokaci mai ƙari — kafin mai tsaron raga na Manchester United Gary Bailey ya kare buɗinsa. United sun ci nasara a wasan sake-taka.

Tony Bloom da zamanin zamani

Brighton na yau ba shi yi kama da kulob ɗin a waɗannan shekarun wahala. Wannan sauyi ya fito ne da farko daga aikin shugaba Tony Bloom, wani ɗan kasuwa ɗan garin Brighton wanda ya gina dukiyarsa a cikin kuɗaɗe da caca mai dogara da bayanan ƙididdigewa. Bloom, wanda yake da shekaru 56, ya zama shugaba a 2009 kuma ya jagoranci matsuguni zuwa American Express Stadium da kuma hawan kulob din daga League One zuwa gasa ta Premier League akai-akai.

A kakar da ta gabata, Brighton sun samu matsakaicin fiye da masu kallo 31,000 a kowace wasa. Sun doke Manchester United a Old Trafford a biyar daga ziyarar shida na ƙarshe, kuma yanzu suna shiga wasan huɗu na kakarsu ta goma a jere a Premier League. A wannan kakar, sun kuma fara tafiyarsu ta biyu ta Turai, suna buɗe kamfen ɗinsu na UEFA Conference League a birnin Norway na Tromso.

Daraktan wasanni Mike Cave ya taƙaita girman wannan canji. "Duk wanda ya shiga Brighton a yau idan aka kwatanta da ko shekaru 15 da suka wuce ba zai yi tsammani cewa wannan kulob ɗin kwallon kafa guda ɗaya ba ne," ya gaya wa BBC Sport. "Kulob din ya yi tafiya mai ban mamaki."

Gode-gode na Bloom ga magoya bayan

A cikin shirin wasan gida da Arsenal — wanda ya faɗi kusa da cika shekaru 125 na kulob din — Bloom ya yi wa magoya bayan da suka ki barin kulob ɗin ya mutu godiya ta musamman. "Abin da ya sa wannan kulob ɗin kwallon kafa ya tsira shi ne ƙarfin hali na magoya bayansa. Tattara kuɗi da tulu. Zanga-zangar. Ƙin yarda da cewa Albion ya kare," ya rubuta. "Wannan ranar tunawa ta kasance ta waɗannan magoya bayan kamar yadda take ta kowa. A sauƙaƙe, ba tare da su ba, da ba za mu kasance a nan a yau ba."

An kafa Brighton & Hove Albion a shekarar 1901. Shekaru ɗari da ashirin da biyar bayan haka, ba su taɓa zama masu ƙarfi fiye da yanzu ba.