Roberto De Zerbi’s former goalkeeper coach has now revealed exactly what the Italian demands from his goalkeepers, and it could spell trouble for Guglielmo Vicario at Tottenham.
Tottenham Hotspur’s new head coach, Roberto De Zerbi, has already taken charge of his first training session as Spurs boss ahead of their clash with Sunderland next weekend.
De Zerbi is well aware that he has just seven games to turn the fortunes of Tottenham around as they battle against relegation this season.
As it stands, a single point is the difference between the Lilywhites and their London rivals, West Ham United.
De Zerbi, in his first interview with the club’s media, already made it clear that he will not have enough time to pass on all his principles to the players, but he did acknowledge his love for an attacking brand of football.
Tottenham goalkeepers: Jack Stern reveals Roberto De Zerbi expectations
The Italian’s comments about how much he loves football were very similar to Neal Maupay, who told Spurs fans what they can expect from their new manager.
Now Jack Stern, who worked as a goalkeeping coach under De Zerbi in the past, has provided more insight on the new Spurs boss, this time focusing on the goalkeeping department.
Speaking about what De Zerbi demands from his goalkeepers, particularly their role in build-up play and tactical understanding, Stern told Sky Sports:
“He wants all of the things that any coach wants from a goalkeeper in terms of keeping the ball out the net and doing all those normal goalkeeper things.
“And then on top of that he wants the goalkeeper to be so involved in the build up to understand… I think the biggest thing is understanding tactically how the team plays I think the goalkeeper is very responsible for that.
“So there is a lot of focus on that in training, he works hard with the goalkeepers, he is very involved in terms of what the goalkeepers do in training. And again you see the level that the goalkeepers get to when they work with him, it is a new level.
“I do not think he will be able to fully implement all of his ideas straight away but I think the big thing he will have – the big effect he will have on his players is his belief, whether it is totally in the way he wants to play or not, but his belief in we can get results, we can play like this, we can have success together.
“He is so infectious with that belief that it is going to rub off on the staff there, the players there, the goalkeepers and I think that can… he is a special person and he can go in and have an effect that not many people could do in seven games.”
Spurs goalkeeping dilemma: Guglielmo Vicario vs Antonin Kinsky
Jack Stern’s comments only leave questions about who will be the number one at Tottenham, given the contrasting abilities of Guglielmo Vicario and Antonin Kinsky.
Kinsky is definitely the better option when it comes to playing out from the back with his feet, which is a fundamental basic in De Zerbi’s tactics, where he often baits teams to press only to play through them.
Vicario, on the other hand, could be one of the biggest losers from the appointment of De Zerbi, given his inability to play out from the back.
The Italian is guilty of often hoofing balls long and at times out of play when receiving possession this season. Such a style will be far from ideal in De Zerbi’s system, and that could see him lose his spot as number one.
We already know that Vicario is a doubt for the Sunderland clash, which should give Kinsky a chance to audition for the role. We even believe that the Czech keeper could be crucial if Spurs are to get off to a winning start under De Zerbi.