FULL PRESS CONFERENCE (Broadcast and Embargoed Section): Roberto De Zerbi: Tottenham v Brighton

[0:00] Last week you said you were relying and counting on Koudas, then an injury. [0:05] Then you said, counting on Romero, injury looks like out for the season. [0:10] How annoying and disappointed are you with that news? [0:13] Romero, I'm really sorry for him, for his injury. [0:19] Romero, first of all, loves Tottenham. [0:22] And the people have to know he's suffering for this injury. [0:27] He's suffering because he can't play anymore for us in this season. [0:34] But he's a great captain for us and for Tottenham as well. [0:40] But we have to be anyway positive. [0:45] We have Radu Dragosin and Kevin Danson. [0:49] They are able to play, play well, to give us quality with the ball [0:56] and to be strong in defence's face. [1:03] So we can win anyway and we want to win anyway. [1:08] Another week of training under yourself, your methods, your philosophy. [1:11] Have you been pleased with the reaction from the players, impressed with some of the players? [1:15] How has it been this week? [1:16] I have to get to know my players better and better. [1:21] Every week is much better. [1:25] Anyway, we have no time. [1:28] We have no time to lose. [1:30] We have no time to understand the problems we have spent this season. [1:37] We have to be focused just on the next game. [1:45] Transfer confidence to... [1:47] I can bring myself, I can bring my philosophy of football, [1:58] but also I'm working to create the good atmosphere, [2:06] the good relationship with the players. [2:08] I think in this moment, especially for Tottenham in this season, [2:13] but in this moment of football, the qualities of the players are important, [2:18] but the spirit, the relationship between the players, [2:22] the love the players put for their club are more important, for sure. [2:31] Spirit and relationships. [2:32] And you took them out for dinner, I hear? [2:35] Yes, I don't know if we win the game for dinner. [2:39] I know we hit very well. [2:42] The food was amazing. [2:46] And if we win, I'm ready to pay every week one dinner. [2:57] Thank you very much. [3:00] Hi, Roberta. [3:01] Just talking about that dinner, [3:03] did you see an uplift in the spirits of your players after that dinner? [3:07] What did you make of how they reacted to going out [3:10] and just having some time away from the training pitches? [3:13] I believe in the people. [3:15] I believe in the human relationship. [3:18] I believe in the spirit. [3:19] I believe in the soul of the players. [3:24] Before to speak about tactical disposition, style of play, [3:30] defensive play with the ball, without the ball, set pieces, [3:33] or things are important. [3:39] But first of all, I work with people with their problem. [3:48] There are a lot of players and we have to build or rebuild or find [3:53] in these last weeks, the best relationship we can find. [4:03] And I want to see on the pitch players help their teammates [4:08] and push everybody for one target and to achieve our big, big target for us. [4:16] Because if we don't achieve our target, everyone loses something in their career. [4:22] Do you have any players coming back for this game tomorrow? [4:26] I mean, how is Vicario doing? [4:28] We saw Bentancourt was in training in Madison. [4:30] Anyone due to come back? [4:32] Bentancourt is available to play. [4:35] I don't know if he starts the game or not. [4:38] Bissouma is available 100% more than Sunderland game. [4:46] And Vicario no. [4:47] Vicario is another top guy. [4:50] I'm looking forward to work with him. [4:53] Anyway, Kinski played very well in Sunderland. [4:59] But Vicario is another important player for us. [5:03] Big experience, big character, personality. [5:07] And we are waiting for him. [5:12] And obviously tomorrow you'll come up against your former side, Brighton. [5:15] Fabian Herzler was speaking about you this morning. [5:17] He was full of praise for what you did at the club. [5:20] But he said when he took the job on, [5:22] he didn't want to make too many changes because of the work that you had done. [5:25] He just made small adjustments. [5:27] I just wonder what you think of the work that he has done at the club [5:30] and the way they play. [5:31] Fabian is a great coach. [5:43] He's doing very well. [5:46] I love Brighton. [5:48] I love my former players. [5:51] I'm grateful with Tony Bloom, with Paul Barber, [5:57] with all players, all people working in this club. [6:04] There are a lot of very, very good players. [6:13] But Fabian is working very well. [6:18] And he's credit for what they are doing. [6:25] Hi, Roberto. [6:26] With Christian out, who will be your captain for tomorrow and the next six games? [6:33] But listen, I have to decide. [6:36] I didn't decide yet because I have had other more important problems to find a solution. [6:48] But I would like all players to feel to be a captain, especially in this moment. [6:55] It's not important if you play in the first 11, [6:58] if you play 30 minutes or 90 minutes or you can't play. [7:01] Anyway, we have to feel everyone the responsibility of this situation. [7:08] And we can't cry. [7:12] Otherwise, we have to push and to be stronger to come out of this situation [7:18] because we are able to do that. [7:20] It's felt like Tottenham's lacked leaders and characters this season. [7:24] But James Madison is one of them. [7:26] He was training this week. [7:28] How likely is it that he can play some part during these final six games? [7:33] Yes, but there are a lot of different types of to be a leader. [7:39] A leader who's talk inside of the dressing room. [7:44] The leader with the ball. [7:45] The leader in the tough moment. [7:48] The leader because he's helped the teammate. [7:57] I think to be a stronger team, we need many, many leaders. [8:07] For sure, Madison is different. [8:11] Madison is a top player on the pitch with the ball, [8:16] but also as a personality, as a character, as a mentality on the pitch. [8:30] I would like to reach this level for Miki Van de Ven. [8:35] For example, Betancourt is a leader. [8:39] Palinha is another leader. [8:41] I would like to push with Solanqui because Solanqui is one of the best strikers in Premier League. [8:51] And I want him stronger as a personality, as a character on the pitch. [8:59] But also Xavi Simos is very young, but he's a leader with the ball because he has personality. [9:06] He has the right character to receive the ball when the ball is hot. [9:12] Because it's not so easy playing this moment for us. [9:16] But we need players with personality and character. [9:19] Otherwise, they don't play with me. [9:21] With Madison, when do you think he will be able to play some minutes? [9:27] I don't know. [9:29] I don't know yet. [9:31] I don't want to push too much because we lost Kudus in this way. [9:41] I used to wait for the players when they are totally available to play and to restart the training. [9:51] Because it's better to lose one game more than to take a risk for another new injury. [9:58] I'll finish this section with David, please. [10:01] Ciao, Roberto. [10:02] The situation in the table is even worse than when you started last week. [10:07] How much is that part of what you're trying to build in terms of mentality? [10:14] Listen, the situation before to start, because two days before the Sunderland game, [10:22] West Ham won with Wolverhampton. [10:26] And from that moment was very tough for me. [10:31] But I'm positive, I'm ready to fight. [10:34] I believe we keep the Premier League. [10:40] I believe in my words, what I said the last week was the focus is to win one game. [10:48] I don't know if tomorrow we are able to win. [10:51] I hope. [10:52] I hope. [10:53] And I think we have the quality enough to win a game. [10:58] But anyway, we have to be stronger because the qualities of the player are bigger than the whole difficult we are spending in this moment. [11:14] Do you think this might be a situation in which you just need to win one game and then everything can change, [11:19] can unblock mentality, personality, all the talent that this team has? [11:22] Yes, I think it's crucial to win a game, not just for the table. [11:28] OK, one part for the table, for sure. [11:32] But because we have to feel again what is nice to win a game and what they can do. [11:47] Because I have no doubt about the qualities of the players. [11:54] When I watch the list of the squad, Urbi, Suma, Palinia, Xavi Simons, Colom Wani, Richarlison, Mickey Van de Ven, and I'm lucky for that. [12:10] OK, now is a tough moment. [12:12] To achieve the great target, you have to pass through the difficult time. [12:22] There are maybe too many difficult times. [12:28] Last question for me. [12:33] When you reflect on your time with Brighton, how much did the time help you evolve in your career? [12:40] No, Brighton is a special place for me, like Marseille. [12:44] Because Marseille is finishing in a different way. [12:49] But anyway, Brighton and Marseille for me are very close as emotions, as memories. [12:56] It was a magic place for me. [12:59] It was a magic atmosphere with the players, relationship with the players. [13:04] They are a lot of my children, because the relationship is so close. [13:13] Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross, Jason Steele, Webster, Weltman, Louis Dunk. [13:23] A lot, a lot of great memories, but I want to win tomorrow for sure. [13:30] The last time we saw you... [13:41] It was a good day, huh? [13:42] It was a good day. [13:43] A good, a good, a good scene. [13:46] A good scene, a good... [13:48] Yes, because we have to show, we have blood, no water inside. [13:52] Well, I was going to ask, one, but also, in this situation, we see Varie, Roberto, with [14:05] his players, you not be calmer, you can't sort of be as angry as sometimes you can be. [14:16] Calmer, visto, vedremo un rogoso stavolta. [14:24] No, I can't change myself. [14:26] I think you have to be clever, smart, you have to understand the situation. [14:35] When you need, there is a situation you need to put myself, my character, my personality, [14:44] what I think about the football. [14:46] Football, for me, is not a sport, it's not a work, it's something more. [14:50] And I put myself, and I want to bring to the players my character to transfer the confidence [15:00] to show their qualities. [15:03] But we are fighting for something more important than a simple job. [15:18] We are working in Tottenham. [15:20] Tottenham is a big, big club. [15:22] We have a big responsibility. [15:25] We have to know that. [15:26] We have to be calm, with the right focus. [15:33] But anyway, we have to push, to put the right spirit, the right attitude, and the balls. [15:43] And when I tell you like this, not to fight or to punch the opponent, not to play with the [15:55] ball, to call the ball, to receive the ball, to play and to make one-to-one or to make pass-through, [16:01] to be good in build-up, to be focused with a big attention in the defensive space, but with [16:11] courage, with pride, with the most important value. [16:18] Because you have to show the value now, not just the quality. [16:23] And you are able to show your qualities more, you bring something for yourself. [16:31] It's clear. [16:47] Two injuries players, Crystal Palace, yesterday. [16:49] Listen, I am not used to thinking to many, many other problems. [17:13] We are full of problems, but we are able to win tomorrow, for sure. [17:20] And the focus is to win tomorrow. [17:24] And then we go to see the Crystal Palace games, and all other results. [17:32] We have to, we can't lose time thinking other teams, if we are not able to win a game since [17:40] 2000, 2000, 2025. [17:45] Listen, for the polemic, the next time, I don't know, I don't know, Kudos for this season is [18:16] gone. [18:19] We have to play for him, first of all, because he's a good guy, very important for us. [18:29] But we lose time if we speak about the path. [18:34] We have to be, we have to be focused just on this moment, and tomorrow. [18:41] The players, the club, the people inside, and our fans, seems to me nothing change. [19:43] Maybe it's better, it's a passion more for me. [19:49] I think he can start with us, with the group, from Monday, Monday, Tuesday. [20:10] You know why? [20:11] Sorry. [20:13] Because maybe someone of you can make a different opinion about the players. [20:19] No. [20:20] They say, if I say, if I say, the players are good people, because it's like this. [20:27] Maybe they are playing not so good, because we are in a bad position of the table. [20:36] But as a people, I can say, because I know better than you. [20:41] All are good people. [20:42] Yeah. [20:43] Yeah. [20:58] No. [20:59] I think it's not that the key. [21:01] The key is to show what they can do. [21:06] It's a situation because they have not so much confidence in themselves. [21:13] They are not able to show all their qualities. [21:17] Just it. [21:18] No. [21:19] Because they are too nice. [21:20] Because Romero is not too nice. [21:24] Betancourt, Palinia are not too nice. [21:27] Richarlison, Solanke, they fight on the pitch. [21:31] No. [21:32] They have to show what they are as a player, first of all. [21:38] What I can ask them is to be more close between them. [21:45] No. [21:47] On the pitch to help, to consider your teammate as a brother inside of the pitch. [21:52] Because if you consider your teammate as a brother, you go to help him. [21:58] If he is wrong, you hug him, you kiss him. [22:03] And I think we need it to go here. [22:23] Because he has a big personality on the pitch. [22:27] And I want he to play with his personality. [22:38] I don't want to change nothing of my players. [22:45] Especially in this part, in personality. [22:52] He can be important for us in this moment. [22:58] I don't know, 30 minutes, 20 minutes. [23:02] But I have this opinion about him. [23:22] I don't know. [23:27] He has to score. [23:28] He has to make assistance. [23:29] To run without the ball. [23:31] Talking with him in time. [23:44] Because I was a player. [23:46] I played in their position. [23:48] And I know before he came with me. [23:53] What he can think. [23:57] And what he needs. [24:00] As a confidence. [24:01] As a... [24:05] I know whether he can make some mistakes, no? [24:09] But right now, we need the... [24:12] The quality from him. [24:16] The two different situations. [24:46] We are working. [24:49] But we are not working in the details. [24:52] What we did in Brighton. [24:55] Because Brighton was September, October. [24:58] Was a different situation. [25:01] And now we are at the end of the season. [25:04] We are working to give a good organization. [25:12] And I think, especially in the first half. [25:15] In Sunderland, we played a good first half. [25:19] With order. [25:21] Every one of my players knew what they had to do on the pitch. [25:28] With the ball, without the ball. [25:29] But in build-up, we are working just in two simple things. [25:35] Because we have no time. [25:37] It's not the most important part to work. [25:45] And then I want to help the player to play in confidence. [25:51] In a comfortable zone. [25:54] Not to put in their head too many instructions or ideas. [26:01] Yeah, yeah. [26:09] For sure. [26:10] But with my style anyway. [26:14] And my style is also the number of attackers. [26:21] With players in a midfield position. [26:28] I think they don't need to improve as a player now. [26:35] To achieve our target, we don't need to become better with the ball. [26:40] We become better without the ball. [26:42] To achieve our target, we have to be stronger in our head. [26:47] As a character. [26:49] As a relationship between the players. [26:53] To believe in ourselves. [26:58] To believe in our club. [27:00] To be happy to have this short task. [27:07] To be happy and proud to work in this big club. [27:14] Just it is enough. [27:32] Yes, but I didn't know that the fans wanted to make a game this part. [27:38] I'm very sensitive with the players, with the fans. [27:44] What they want to do is... [27:48] I consider the fans in every team I've been as a player. [27:52] Like a player. [27:54] But I didn't know. [27:56] And for the next time. [27:58] If the people ask me to change the plan. [28:05] No problem for me. [28:08] Like Brighton. [28:23] I organized the day of the game at home. [28:29] Like we... [28:30] Hours before the game. [28:36] Make a meeting 45-40 minutes. [28:43] Lunch. [28:46] Nothing more. [28:52] And I don't want to put pressure of the players with my plan. [29:00] But what the fans wanted to do is good for us. [29:07] Is something more. [29:08] Thank you. [29:13] Thank you. [29:14] flock. [29:15] Native. [29:16] At. [29:17] Take a while. [29:20] To go into... [29:27] Yeah.. [29:29] No. [29:30] Oh [29:31] Yeah... [29:32] Yeah. [29:33] Anyway, that's... [29:34] Before you went to the game.