Here’s every word Tottenham Hotspur’s new manager had to say in his first interview after signing a five-year contract at the club.
Roberto De Zerbi has spoken for the first time as Tottenham head coach and apologized for his comments on Mason Greenwood which caused sections of the Spurs fanbase to unite against his selection.
The Italian signed a five-year deal with the north London club this week to become their fourth manager in the last nine months, replacing Igor Tudor, who replaced Thomas Frank, who also came in last summer for Ange Postecoglou. De Zerbi’s appointment sparked a backlash from some fans due to his comments about former Manchester United player Greenwood during his time at Marseille.
Supporters groups Women of the Lane, Proud Lilywhites and Spurs Reach have all released statements about the prospect of De Zerbi coming through the ‘No to De Zerbi’ campaign and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust have also made their views on the 46-year-old clear.
It came from him when he described his former Marseille striker Greenwood as a “good guy” who paid a “heavy price” and added: “It hurts me about what happened in his life, because I know someone who is completely different from the one described.”
Former Manchester United striker Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one count of control and pressure and assault causing bodily harm on charges involving young women after images and videos were posted online. The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges in February 2023 due to “a combination of the removal of key witnesses” and due to “no realistic prospect of a conviction”.
Here’s the full transcript with every word De Zerbi said in his Spurs interview on Thursday.
How does it feel to be a new coach?
I am very happy and proud to be here. I consider Tottenham one of the most important clubs in the world, so I’m very happy. I have a big responsibility, but it’s a big challenge for me, and I’m looking forward to starting and working with the players and winning more games.
I watched a lot of sports, especially in the past. I know the players well. I love football, so I watch many, many games a week. I know everything. I know it’s a difficult moment for Tottenham, but I know it’s a difficult moment. It’s a difficult moment for everyone at Tottenham. I think we have the right qualities from this moment.
I believe in the players. I think we have to remember who we are and who the players are, because we have great players and we have to work on their confidence and qualities. They have to show who they are and what they play well.
In the future….
I think we just have to focus on the Sunderland game. I don’t want to talk about the schedule or the Brighton game or the Wolverhampton game. Game by game, we have to prepare the players to win the game and focus only on the game.
We have to play with courage. We have to play with the qualities of the players, because if I accept this challenge, it is because I have a lot of faith in the players and the style of Tottenham’s football history is a clear way to play.
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Fans….
The fans in the last seven games, especially in this moment, are important. We should be together. They must stay close to the players, help the players and the players show the right attitude, the right attitude to restore the satisfaction of the fans and what they want to see on the field. Because after this part of the season, I think we can be great next time.
There are fans who have concerns about the comments you made while coaching Marseille, is there anything you would like to tell them?
I would like to answer your question in Italian because I want to be clear.
(Translated) I have never wanted to trivialize the issue of violence against women or violence against anyone in general. In my life, I have always represented the vulnerable (people from underrecognized communities / protected characteristics), the weaker ones, I have fought and taken action to be on the side of the most vulnerable.
Those of you who know me well, you will know that I am not the type of person who is dedicated to winning more games or winning more titles. I’m sorry if I offended anyone with this – I have a daughter and I care deeply about these things, and always have. I hope that as time goes on people will get to know me better and they will understand that at that time I did not intend to take a position at that time.
What can you tell us about your football philosophy?
I think this is not the right time to talk about my football philosophy. I’m here now at the end of the season because we have to win games. In football, the style of play and the style of tactics are important. It makes sense and I would like to help the player to achieve a good idea that we can show.
I have signed a five-year contract because for me it is a big challenge and I will be the coach of Tottenham next season, no matter what.
I like to keep the ball, I like possession, I like to create chances to score. But at the same time, I like to have 11 players when we don’t have the ball, because in this football season, we have to attack with 11 players, and the goalkeeper. We have to defend with 11 players when the ball is not ours.
I think that at this moment, we don’t have time to work too much on other principles, but we have to know what we have to do on the field. We have to have good organization on the field, with the ball, without the ball. We have to think about the qualities of the players.
We are lucky, I am lucky because I have great players with great talent and my job is to help the players show their talents.
For the love of football…
Many times, I have said that football is my life and my life is football, but it is true because football is my job. I respect football because football has given me everything. And for me, it’s not a real job, it’s a passion. If I stay at home, I watch football. If I work, I watch football and nothing changes. Stay at home or become a coach.
For me, Tottenham, especially at this moment, is probably the most important challenge in my career. I am ready to start this challenge and I want to work on my qualities, on my desire, on my vision of football and on my skills.
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