SYDNEY — Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi urged his team on Monday to play with “soul and passion” as the London club rebuild after narrowly avoiding relegation from the English Premier League.
Spurs have embarked on an aggressive summer of spending to boost their fortunes after avoiding the drop by coming 17th, but it was a nail-biting outcome that went down to the wire.
Big-money signings include midfielders Mateus Fernandes from West Ham and Sandro Tonali from Newcastle. De Zerbi also raided his old club Brighton for centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke.
Full-back Andy Robertson, centre-back Marcos Senesi and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka have all arrived on free transfers as the squad takes on a new look.
De Zerbi, in Sydney on a pre-season tour, said he expected more when the new campaign begins on August 22 and outlined that he wanted to “build a new team with the qualities, with big players, but with soul, with passion, with all the values we have”.
The Italian added: “Football now is not just on the pitch, it’s not just with the ball, it’s before, it’s in life. It’s how many hours during the day you think about your job.”
Spurs opened their pre-season tour with an entertaining 2-0 win over A-League champions Auckland FC in New Zealand on Sunday with goals from Dane Scarlett and Richarlison.
They face Sydney FC on Wednesday then meet London rivals Chelsea in Sydney three days later.
De Zerbi started with a host of younger players in Auckland, before more of a first team feel in the final 30 minutes when the likes of Fernandes, Richarlison, Conor Gallagher and Ben Davies all got a run.
“We didn’t concede, we didn’t suffer any injuries and this is big news, important news, especially for the beginning of the season,” said De Zerbi according to AFP.
He suggested there could be more signings before the transfer window closes.
“I think we can be happier at the end of this transfer market because I spoke a lot of time with the owner, with the board and they want to build a very strong team for this season, to make the days for the future become great again,” he said.
