Just how deep Roberto De Zerbi dares to wade into his footballing principles during a seven-game scrap to keep Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League remains to be seen – the Italian could be forgiven if he deems that a job to consider further down the line. Maybe one of the summer.
The here and now will be dominated by factors that have tested the patience of others recently in charge of Spurs. Like, who isn’t injured? And, exactly how fit are they? Can they last 90 for minutes? Are there any subs?
Yet within that, De Zerbi is a coach who burns with passion to do things his way. ‘My idea is very simple,’ he told me when we met at an Italian restaurant in Brighton, in November 2022, his first newspaper interview, two months after his arrival in Sussex.
‘I love to try to win the game with the ball. I love when my team keep the ball, try to lead the game and my players show their quality. I love the winger who tries to beat his man, one to one.
‘I love those players who live between the lines. I love the centre back who tries to command the play. Because I want to enjoy it. I work for a big part of the day and if I don’t enjoy it, it’s very hard.’
Those who played under Ange Postecoglou might detect similar tactical patterns. De Zerbi likes to have technical players in all areas, likes a back four and in possession likes to split the centre halves and play out. This involves the goalkeeper, which is interesting and we will get to.
How closely will Roberto De Zerbi stick to his principles at Spurs?
He was beloved for a time at Brighton, and led them into Europe for the first time in their history
Players are expected to move the ball quickly, which demands good decisions made under pressure, which very few at Spurs have proved able to do, especially this season. Up front, De Zerbi likes variety, pace and individual flair, overloads in wide areas and a strong and mobile centre forward who can carry the team with his back to goal and get on the end of things.
It is easy to imagine him warming to Cristian Romero, Pedro Porro and Archie Gray. He will be keen to have Mohammed Kudus and Rodrigo Bentancur on the way back from injuries this month.
Kudus, who almost joined De Zerbi’s Brighton from Ajax in 2023 when he ended up at West Ham, and Xavi Simons have the individual flair to suit De Zerbi’s fluid style. They can beat opponents and thread passes.
Dominic Solanke could adapt to be his sort of centre forward but there are options in this position and over the next seven games he will be looking simply for any striker who can score him goals. Pape Matar Sarr and Joao Palhinha are more effective without the ball but have been vital to Spurs this season, and the new boss will know he cannot afford to discard them.
The rest of this season is about binding the team together. There will have to be an element of compromise from De Zerbi, even if compromise is not usually his strength. Djed Spence’s habit of switching off and Mathys Tel’s occasional reluctance to track back will be among the things sent to test the volatile Italian on the touchline.
It will be interesting to see where he deploys Micky van de Ven. Igor Tudor was criticised for playing the Dutchman at left back, but it is the position he plays for his country, and De Zerbi made good use of central defender Levi Colwill at left back in the latter part of his first season at Brighton.
His arrival at the Amex Stadium, however, was a step into a very different situation to the mess greeting him at Spurs. At Brighton, De Zerbi inherited a talented, skilfully assembled squad with a neat balance of youth and experience. The team had been well coached under Graham Potter, and he came in and made them more tactically aggressive and dynamic.
Lewis Dunk was a fixture and a leader at the back. Moises Caicedo, Pascal Gross and Alexis Mac Allister in midfield. Kaoru Mitoma, then in his first Premier League season, dazzling on the left wing in combination with the attacking instincts of Pervis Estupinan or the solidity of on-loan teenager Colwill at left back.
Igor Tudor was criticised for playing Micky van de Ven (right) at left back, but that is where the Dutchman plays for his country and De Zerbi may prefer the solidity he offers
At Brighton, De Zerbi inherited a talented, skilfully assembled squad with a balance of youth and experience – including stars Leandro Trossard, Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister
Antonin Kinsky (centre) was hooked after two bad errors with the ball at his feet against Atletico Madrid – will De Zerbi stand for that?
There were some exceptional players. Leandro Trossard, who scored a hat-trick at Liverpool in De Zerbi’s first Premier League game, joined Arsenal in January. Evan Ferguson burst through and De Zerbi helped Danny Welbeck spark the best form of his career.
In goal, De Zerbi promoted Jason Steele at the expense of Robert Sanchez, having figured out he was calmer on the ball with better vision and more likely to pick the right passes. Steele responded and excelled, scouring footage of De Zerbi’s goalkeepers at Shakhtar Donetsk and Sassuolo.
Then 32, Steele produced a late career flourish. He signed a new contract last year and joined England’s squad for the friendlies against Uruguay and Japan to evaluate his potential to join Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad as a training-only goalkeeper.
Spurs have, to put it mildly, had trouble with their goalkeepers. Guglielmo Vicario, who is now recovering from hernia surgery, has often struggled playing out. Antonin Kinsky, brought in by Tudor to replace Vicario against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, was brutally hooked within 17 minutes having made two costly errors with the ball at his feet.
Maybe this is one of the changes that can wait, but Jack Stern, a goalkeeping coach who worked closely with Steele and left Brighton last summer, is tipped to join De Zerbi’s backroom team at Spurs.
The potentially short-term nature of the job will have an impact on the coaching staff. Bruno Saltor, another with Brighton pedigree who left the Amex with Potter when De Zerbi came in, is holding the fort at Spurs and will be there to lean on. Italian Marcello Quinto, who worked with him at Brighton and Marseille, could also join his Spurs staff.
