Roberto de Zerbi has a high star in the world of football. Declared a genius at Brighton, when he lifted the club to the best position in the top division ever with 6th place in the Premier League, qualification for games in Europe for the first time and an FA Cup semi-final. At Marseille, the Italian started with second place in Ligue 1 in 2024-25, a historic win over Paris Saint-Germain and a high win percentage. Now it’s all about Tottenham, and De Zerbi has given the players a clear message about the prerequisites to be able to wear the Tottenham shirt.
When Thomas Frank took over the reins at Tottenham in the summer of 2025, the Dane had a clearly defined task: get the club to assert itself in the Premier League again. Ange Postecoglou had, as he promised, led the club to a historic Europa League title, but 17th place in the Premier League was hard to swallow for the big club. Along with the miserable results in the league, the strong criticism came against Frank, who did not make the Spurs players “give everything for the club”. New coach, Roberto de Zerbi, does not start the season with players without full dedication.
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Spurs supporters have complained for the past two seasons about the efforts of individual players, players who do not seem to be interested in wearing the Tottenham shirt. This season, De Zerbi promises these players will not be in the squad.
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“I was very clear from the start of my time at Tottenham. I said: ‘Who doesn’t want to stay at Tottenham? If you’re not happy, not proud to be here, then you have to leave the club,” De Zerbi begins, according to BBC Sport.
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“I want players who are proud and happy to be here, and who go out on the pitch at Tottenham’s stadium with great motivation. Because in modern football – and you saw that in the World Cup – motivation is often what makes the difference. Motivation is about being happy to be part of the team, he says, the Tottenham coach concludes.
Like music to the ears of the Spurs supporters!
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When this is in addition to the signing of Premier League stars Andy Robertson (Liverpool), Marcos Senesi (Bournemouth), Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle) and Mateus Fernandes (West Ham), then this promises to be a season on a good, good distance from the relegation battle the club has found itself in the last two seasons.
