Roberto De Zerbi has been appointed as Tottenham’s new manager on a five-year deal, but one former Spurs player has been a big fan of the Italian since their time together at Benevento.
Roberto de Zerbi was impressed by Benevento early in his managerial career (Image: Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
Former Tottenham star Sandro hailed Roberto De Zerbi as the best manager he has ever worked for, but it took just a week for him to be convinced of that. De Zerbi, 46, was announced as Spurs’ new manager on Tuesday after signing a five-year contract.
The Italian manager becomes the club’s third manager this season, following the departures of Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor. Their united struggle resulted in Tottenham fighting for relegation.
Spurs are languishing in 17th place in the Premier League, one point behind West Ham, with seven games remaining. However, Sandro is likely to support the decision to appoint De Zerbi, who was working at Benevento in Serie A at the time.
Back in 2023, the former Tottenham midfielder was asked on talkSPORT who the best manager he played under was. “De Zerbi, 100 percent,” Sandro replied.
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“I fell in love with him within the first week of working with him…He’s passionate. He’s there every day and he’s like a teacher. He practices a lot and repeats.”
Although Benevento hit rock bottom and were relegated, Sandro believes De Zerbi has improved the team since joining in October that season. “He’s a manager who always wants to have the ball,” the former Brazil international later told BBC Sport.
“He’s a very intelligent, very particular coach who thinks about the game a lot. He gives you the details you need to help your players and hurt your opponents.
“Benevento was in a very bad situation, but De Zerbi selected some players to try to improve the team, and I was one of them. I never expected to meet one of the best coaches ever.
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Sandro loved working for Roberto De Zerbi (Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
“It was really great because I learned a lot from him and I really enjoyed playing under him. I saw some great things. When I arrived there, I was already an experienced player and I had seen a lot of coaches.
“He made me come to the game enthusiastically, saying, ‘What are you going to teach me today? What are you going to do?'” You have to be good at doing it. I wanted more. I wanted to play for him. ”
After leaving Benevento following relegation, De Zerbi spent three years at Sassuolo before playing for Shakhtar Donetsk, Brighton and Marseille. His first game for Tottenham will be away to Sunderland on Sunday 12th April.
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