Roberto De Zerbi has revealed whether the system we saw Tottenham employ against Aston Villa is set to be his side’s blueprint going forward.
For large parts of the season, Tottenham fans have been frustrated by the team’s lack of attacking ambition, having watched their side deliver extremely uninspiring performances, especially at home.
However, there are now clear signs of that changing since De Zerbi arrived through the door, with the Lilywhites looking better and better with each outing.
Spurs delivered their best performance of the De Zerbi era so far at Aston Villa last week, dominating proceedings for large parts of the game and suffocating the home side with their press.
Roberto De Zerbi admits he wants to make more tactical tweaks at Tottenham
The system against Villa had some unique components, including Joao Palhinha often dropping back to the defensive line, doing the build-up and Destiny Udogie breaking forward to join in the attack at almost every opportunity.
De Zerbi admitted that his vision is to implement specific tactics depending on the opposition, but confessed that his priority for the moment is to give the players freedom rather than burdening them with too much information.
When asked if Tottenham’s tactical setup against Villa is something we will see every week from now on, the Italian responded (via the club’s official website): “I would like to change, it depends on the different games, because the principles in football are very important. The mental part is crucial, but the strategy can also be very important.
“We will change something in the occupation of the spaces, for sure, but I wouldn’t like to give too many ideas, too many instructions, especially in this moment, because I don’t want the player to lose energy thinking what is the plan.
“I want the player to play with freedom, play with confidence, following the plan, because football is 11 players together, and not like tennis or golf, one player, but in a way, the simple things, the clear things, because I think they are enough.”
De Zerbi asked about being at Stamford Bridge on Monday
Less than 24 hours after seeing his side win at Villa, De Zerbi was spotted at Stamford Bridge watching Tottenham’s relegation rivals, Nottingham Forest, overcome Chelsea 3-1.
It may not have been the result the Spurs boss would have hoped for, but he got a good look at one of Tottenham’s upcoming opponents, with his side set to travel to West London for a London derby on May 19.
When asked what he took away from the match, De Zerbi joked: “Because, at home, it was day off, and I don’t like the day off, so I found the way to stay focused on the football.”
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