Roberto De Zerbi targets ‘Ange-ball’ revival to save Spurs from relegation | Tottenham Hotspur
Roberto De Zerbi intends to deliver again “Ange-ball” as he makes an attempt to forestall Tottenham’s first relegation in 49 years.
De Zerbi has solely seven video games by which to impart his complicated soccer philosophy to his gamers and needs to replicate the rampant, marauding fashion of the previous supervisor Ange Postecoglouwho received Tottenham’s first trophy in 17 years however was dismissed after ending seventeenth within the Premier League final season.
“I want to keep the ball,” De Zerbi mentioned. “I want to see again the Tottenham I watched with Postecoglou because, in my second season in Brighton, there was Postecoglou here with a lot of these players and it was one of the best teams in terms of quality of play. With Pedro Porro, with [Destiny] Udogie, with [Micky] van de Ven, with [Cristian] Romero, and I would like to see it again.”
When De Zerbi arrived at Brighton, the place he grew his popularity for intricate, clever attacking soccer, the defender Lewis Dunk described the early ideas and coaching periods as “baffling”.
This time, with lower than two weeks to work with the squad, he has saved issues easy. He has had “a lot” of particular person conferences with gamers alongside periods on the coaching pitch. The first check of what has been absorbed will probably be away to Sunderland on Sunday.
“I have no time to think about other things, just football,” De Zerbi mentioned. “Just meeting the players, organizing, transferring and finding the best way to transfer my ideas – two or three, not too many ideas – that I want to see on the pitch from Sunday.”
De Zerbi has typically been criticized for brief stays. He spent lower than two years at Brighton and Marseille, and his longest spell was three years at Sassuolo. He mentioned on Friday that he left Marseille owing to “a different view of football”. When he left Brighton he additionally mentioned it was down to a differing imaginative and prescient.
But he insists he’s dedicated to Spurs “for a long time” after signing a contract to 2031which doesn’t embrace a break clause if they’re relegated. He believes he can lead the membership to the highest.
“In my plan for sure there is the idea to stay for a long time, to try to put Tottenham – I’m not speaking about the titles because it’s not the right moment now – but to put Tottenham to stay in the first position in the Premier League, because there are all parts to reach that level.”
Spurs have misplaced seven of their previous 9 video games however De Zerbi has analyzed their current matches and brought encouragement from the 1-1 draw at Liverpool and 3-2 Champions League win towards Atlético Madrid.
“We have to show this for 90 minutes and we have to believe in ourselves,” he mentioned. “The most important part in football is the mental part. You are used to speaking too much about the style of play, the tactical disposition, blah, blah, blah. But in the end, the mental part is crucial in every work, especially in football, especially in this moment in Tottenham.”
De Zerbi was taking questions from the media for the primary time for the reason that backlash to his appointment. Before he had signed a contract to change Igor Tudor, a number of fan teams – together with Proud Lilywhites and Women of the Lane – launched statements opposing the transfer to his previous feedback about Mason Greenwood.
Greenwood was charged in 2022 with tried rape, controlling and coercive conduct and assault occasioning precise bodily hurt. The Crown Prosecution Service discontinued the case in February 2023 after key witnesses withdrew their involvement and “new material came to light.” Greenwood had denied the fees.
While working with the previous Manchester United striker at Marseille, De Zerbi described him as “a good lad” who had “paid in a strong way for what happened”.
“I wasn’t surprised,” he mentioned of the backlash. “I used to be a bit unhappy and sorry it occurred, as a result of I’m sorry if somebody took offense. I have to repeat what I said the other time. This subject could be very shut to me, I’m very delicate about this subject, due to the particular person I’m and since I’ve a daughter.
“And so I must repeat what I said the other time. I have always been against – always – any type of violence, especially against women. But not only violence – even just sexist jokes or other sexist behavior.”
Does he hope followers will settle for his apology? “Yes, also because I’m not going to go back over this topic. I spoke about it in my first interview, I spoke about it today, and it wouldn’t be right to go back over this topic again.”
