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Things may have ended on a sour note but there is a reason why a giant picture of a beaming Roberto De Zerbi adorns the wall outside the home dressing room at the Amex Stadium. It was taken in 2023 at the end of the Italian’s first season at Brighton after he had led the club to sixth in the Premier League – their highest finish – and taken them into Europe for the first time.
Three years on, memories of De Zerbi remain strong among Brighton supporters. It is a legacy that Fabian Hürzeler has found hard to emulate since succeeding De Zerbi, who fell out with the owner, Tony Bloom, over squad recruitment.
Although Hürzeler has shown more willingness to work with the tools at his disposal, the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history has struggled to win over fans, partly owing to the raised expectations created by the De Zerbi era. That is something Tottenham fans would find difficult to relate to after their experiences in recent seasons, but De Zerbi, described by Pep Guardiola as “one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years”, can provide fresh hope when they need it most after his appointment on a five-year deal.
The former Napoli midfielder’s appointment still represents a gamble for a Spurs hierarchy smarting from Igor Tudor’s disastrous interim spell, given his tendency to shoot from the hip. It was after Brighton’s 4-0 thrashing by Roma in March 2024 in the last 16 of the Europa League that De Zerbi, called a “genius” by his opposite number, Daniele De Rossi, in the buildup, took the nuclear option with Bloom.
“Today we paid for our mistakes,” he said. “From the owners to the coaches to the players. There is a lesson to learn for the chairman because in the future maybe we will be able to improve the team. For myself because I could have handled the period between January and March much better and also for the players because they will walk away with many regrets. And with those regrets next time you know what to expect and you can improve.”
It proved the beginning of the end for De Zerbi at Brighton, who won only one of their 10 Premier League games after exiting Europe and finished 11th, having been well placed for another top-half finish at the start of spring, despite a number of high-profile departures the previous summer. In January 2024, when Jürgen Klopp announced his decision to leave Liverpool, De Zerbi was mentioned as a potential successor, while Barcelona and Bayern Munich were also linked with the man who began his coaching career in Serie D with Darfo Boario.
The fallout from his last few months at Brighton is thought to have put off potential suitors from the biggest clubs and in June 2024 he joined Marseille, who had been impressed by Brighton’s comeback from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in their Europa League group match the previous season, on a lucrative three-year contract.
Ligue 1 perhaps wasn’t where he had envisaged managing next. At first, De Zerbi proved that his style was adaptable to another country and he again proved popular with supporters after leading the team to second in his first season, albeit not quite playing the swashbuckling brand of football that was his calling card at Brighton. The concern for Tottenham supporters will be that with only seven games to ensure Premier League survival, he will have no time to implement his favoured 4-2-3-1 system that relies on energetic pressing and fast transitions.
A training-ground incident involving the former Watford player Ismaël Koné that went viral last year and has re-emerged this week gave a glimpse of De Zerbi’s approach when he rebuked the Canada international for taking too many touches during a drill, then told him to “call your agent”. Koné was loaned to Rennes. De Zerbi, despite recording Marseille’s first victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Vélodrome for 14 years at the start of this season, he left by mutual consent in February after a 5-0 thrashing by the reigning European champions at Parc des Princes.
“It is the first time in my career that I’ve had such an unstable team – I don’t understand it,” said an exasperated De Zerbi, although critics pointed out he had not named an unchanged side all season, so must take some blame for inconsistency. Marseille struggled to break down more defence-minded teams in Ligue 1, and Benfica’s dramatic late Champions League goal against Real Madrid meant they failed to reach the playoff round, finishing 25th in the league phase, on goal difference.
Tottenham were interested in De Zerbi after sacking Thomas Frank in February but De Zerbi is understood to have been reluctant to take over mid-season, especially having just left Marseille, preferring to wait until the summer to consider his options. But Spurs stepped up talks with the 46-year-old’s camp after their situation worsened under Tudor and were able to persuade him to change his mind. Assurances of major summer investment to reshape the squad to his vision – should they avoid relegation – will no doubt be a prerequisite and one that will sound familiar to Bloom and Brighton supporters.
At a club that has been drifting for some time, perhaps the highly ambitious De Zerbi can give Tottenham some desperately needed new direction.
