Roberto De Zerbi has been announced as Tottenham Hotspur‘s new manager, and the former Marseille and Brighton boss needs to hit the ground running in N17.
It was announced that De Zerbi has penned a long-term contract with Tottenham on Tuesday, locking himself in as Spurs boss for the foreseeable future.
Lilywhites chiefs were known to be targeting a summer appointment for the 46-year-old, but have been able to convince him to take the job now.
And what a job it is, as the Italian has just seven remaining Premier League games to keep Tottenham in the league.
De Zerbi’s previous two clubs have been Marseille and Brighton respectively, but did Tottenham’s new manager enjoy good starts with both of those teams?
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How did Roberto De Zerbi start with Marseille and Brighton?
De Zerbi has reportedly signed a five-year contract as Tottenham’s new manager, showing just how much mutual belief there is that this move will work out.
However, in order for that to do so, De Zerbi will know he must keep Spurs in the Premier League, as even from a financial perspective, Tottenham surely can’t afford to rip his contract up in the summer whatever happens.
Patience will not be afforded to him, not in what remains of this season anyway, as that luxury may only arrive in N17 if he can guide them to safety and begin the rebuild from there.
De Zerbi is renowned for having extremely complex tactics and pressing systems, which requires his players to be real students of the game if they want to get a grip on his requirements straight away.
So, can Spurs fans expect him to get a tune out of this Tottenham team straight away, well, the recent history books suggest he very well could.
Comparing his first 10 league games with both Brighton and Marseille, we can see a significant improvement in his respective sides’ record.
Beginning with Brighton in the 2022-23 season, De Zerbi’s Seagulls claimed just three wins from their opening 10 Premier League games, losing five and drawing two.
Brighton scored 17 goals and conceded 19 in that time too, but when we look across to his first 10 Ligue 1 games with Marseille in the 2024-25 season, we see notably better numbers.
Indeed, his Marseille team took six wins from their first 10 in Ligue 1 last term, drawing two and losing two respectively.
They also scored a whopping 23 goals in that time period, and conceded only 12, which is the kind of form he may well need with Tottenham if he’s going to keep them up.
De Zerbi almost granted Hollywood-esque first Tottenham game
Tottenham’s first match under De Zerbi will see them travel to Wearside to take on Sunderland on 12 April, in what is a good first test for the new boss.
However, the footballing deities almost blessed us with a dream first game as Spurs boss, as the very next game after Sunderland sees Brighton come to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
That would’ve been some way to kick his Lilywhites career off, especially if his team were to win that one.
Regardless, when that fixture does roll around, it’s sure to capture the imagination of fans and the media world alike.