Roberto De Zerbi wants Tottenham to look like Ange Postecoglou’s team again, and he says the first test comes away to Sunderland on Sunday. Tottenham have seven games to stop what would be their first relegation in 49 years, and De Zerbi said he is trying to strip the job back to simple ideas while he works with less than two weeks to prepare.
“I want to keep the ball,” De Zerbi said, adding that he wants to see again “the Tottenham I watched with Postecoglou” and “the Spurs I watched with Postecoglou.” He said he has spent the build-up in individual meetings with players and on the training pitch, trying to transfer only “two or three, not too many ideas” before Sunday’s match. De Zerbi also said he is committed to the club long term after signing a contract through 2031, with no break clause if Tottenham are relegated.
The size of the task is clear. Tottenham are 17th in the Premier League and have lost seven of their past nine games, a run that has left the club staring at a season they did not expect to be fighting. Postecoglou won Tottenham’s first trophy in 17 years last season, but he was dismissed after the club finished 17th, and De Zerbi is now being asked to restore the fast, attacking edge that made that side so watchable.
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De Zerbi said he left Marseille because of a different view of football, and he has faced criticism before for short managerial stays at Brighton and Marseille. Before he signed, several fan groups opposed his appointment because of his past comments about Mason Greenwood, a backdrop that makes the job more combustible before a ball is even kicked.
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Even so, De Zerbi pointed to a pair of recent results as evidence that the squad can respond, citing the 1-1 draw at Liverpool and the 3-2 Champions League win against Atlético Madrid. “We have to show this for 90 minutes and we have to believe in ourselves,” he said. “The most important part in football is the mental part.” For Tottenham, Sunday is not just the start of a new manager’s project. It is the start of a seven-game fight to prove the club can still play, and survive, at the level De Zerbi says he wants to reach.
