Ex-Tottenham star 'fell in love with Roberto De Zerbi in a week' as new boss talked up
Roberto De Zerbi has been appointed Tottenham's new manager on a five-year contract, and one former Spurs player is a big fan of the Italian from their time together at Benevento
Ex-Tottenham star Sandro has hailed Roberto De Zerbi as the best manager he's ever worked under - and only needed a week to be convinced. De Zerbi, 46, was announced Spurs' new boss on Tuesday after signing a five-year contract.
The Italian has become the club's third manager this season after the departures of Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor. Their collective struggles have resulted in Tottenham battling relegation.
Spurs are languishing 17th in the Premier League table, just one point above West Ham, with seven games left to play. But Sandro is likely to a fan of their decision to appoint De Zerbi, who he worked under at then-Serie A side Benevento.
Back in 2023, the former Tottenham midfielder was asked by talkSPORT who the best manager he played under was. "De Zerbi, 100 per cent," Sandro replied.
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"I worked with him and fell in love with him in the first week… He's got passion. He's there every day, like a teacher. He practised a lot, the repetition."
Although Benevento finished rock bottom and were relegated, Sandro reckons that De Zerbi improved them after arriving in the October of that season. "He's a manager who wants to have the ball all the time," the ex-Brazil international later told BBC Sport.
"A very intelligent and very particular manager who thinks a lot about the game. He helps players and gives them the details they need to hurt the opponent.
"Benevento were in a very bad situation, but De Zerbi picked some players to try to improve the team and I was part of that. I didn't know that I was going to meet one of the best coaches that I've had.
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"It was amazing because I learned a lot from him, and I really enjoyed playing for him. I saw great things. When I arrived there, I was already an experienced player and I'd seen so many coaches.
"He made me come to games with fire, like 'what's he going to teach us today? What are we going to do?' You must be good to do that. I wanted more. I wanted to play for him."
After leaving Benevento following their relegation, De Zerbi went on to spend three years at Sassuolo before spells with Shakhtar Donetsk, Brighton and Marseille. His first game in charge of Tottenham will be away to Sunderland on Sunday, April 12.