De Zerbi: Mudryk's injury is frustrating; I don't know Richarlison's situation

At 00:30 Beijing time (CEST) on September 13, Tottenham Hotspur will face Everton in their Premier League matchday 4. Ahead of the match, Tottenham manager De Zerbi held a press conference. This article covers the second half of the press conference.

Hello Roberto, how have you been lately?

I'm well.

Does your team absolutely have to win tomorrow? Just to silence all the external noise and prevent people from thinking Tottenham is heading for another difficult season?

We need to win, we need to score, we need to beat Liverpool next Tuesday and Aston Villa next weekend. We need to win, but simply saying "we need to win" is not enough. To win games, we must establish the right way to win games. So we must press, play our combinations, maintain possession, play with courage, implement what we work on in training, and then see the final result. But without these fundamental elements of football, you cannot win games out of nowhere.

You've mentioned the word "courage" twice in this press conference. Is your team courageous?

Yes. Because... sorry, because I think we can play much better. I work with the players every day, I know them better than you do. In training, we play with more confidence, more courage, more freedom, right? However, in matches, when opponents are just 3 or 4 meters away from us, it seems we don't want the ball, or we're afraid to take risks, fearing that if we lose possession, it will lead to a goal conceded.

So where's the problem? I'm the head coach and I'll take responsibility—I can take full responsibility without reservation. But I want the team to move, pass, maintain possession, run, press, dribble past opponents, and shoot at goal multiple times, because I know the great potential of my players.

After the Newcastle match, you mentioned a mentality issue. Have you been working to address this? Because you said once before that the team had a mentality problem after the first two matches...

No, it was after we conceded the first goal. Because before conceding, we played very well—not brilliantly, but very well. And after conceding, I saw the morale of the midfield drop a bit. I don't want that to happen, because in a match, even if you concede a goal at 60 minutes, you still have 30 minutes to score one, two, or even three goals. We must fight until the last moment, especially at this moment, we must establish our values. Only when the referee blows the final whistle does the game truly end.

Before the game ends, we must fight for the result with all our strength, because this is our job—we play for a great club and must show respect for the club by fighting until the last moment. After the game, we go home and reflect, whether we win or lose. That's why I spoke about mentality, you understand? Overall, I'm satisfied, because I have no complaints about the mentality, spirit, and professionalism of the players.

You just said Mudryk's injury was "frustrating and unexpected." What exactly happened?

He felt ankle pain while playing normally, without making any special change of direction. Two days later, he had a detailed medical examination and we discovered the problem. But it took a while for us to understand it clearly—it was indeed an unexpected and frustrating injury. However, we're not naive; when we signed Mudryk, we already knew it could be difficult for him to recover fully from an injury like any other player.

Another player returning from injury who has already made several substitute appearances: Maddison. Obviously, you expected to have him back in April, but he suffered a setback. I remember you saying how important he would be for you. Is he ready to start now? What role will he play in the team going forward?

I think he's very close to being ready to start. For me, that's great news. I wanted Kudus when I was at Brighton; I pushed hard to sign him before he went to West Ham. He can play as a winger, a number 10, and even as a striker. He's an extremely good player.

Continuing on the subject of wingers, Savio—I think you mentioned options on the left wing last week. Don't you think Savio can play on the left, or do you prefer him to cut in from the right?

I used to be a player, also a winger, right? Perhaps more of a number 10, but I played right wing for many years as a left-footed player, and I really like inverted wingers. However, Savio is top class, and I think he can play in both positions.

Hello Roberto, continuing on the topic of attacking down the left flank, when James Maddison returns from injury, could he be an option on the left? Or do you still position him primarily as a number 10?

Yes, I think that could be an option. He's not typically a winger, but we can create a tactical setup where he cuts inside while pushing the left-back forward. Maddison is very intelligent, and when you work with intelligent players, they understand spatial positions on the pitch; they can sense and read the correct positions based on the game situation.

So I think this will be a good solution, especially considering that when Conor Gallagher and Matheus Fernandes play as number 10s, they are more central midfielders, number 10 midfielders, rather than inverted wingers like Xavi Simons was last season, you understand? Perhaps sometimes you have a midfielder who can initiate attacks down the wing and then carry the ball inside, but that's not what I demand of Gallagher and Matheus. However, yes, Maddison, like Xavi Simons, can thrive in that position.

Bergvall signed a new contract. Whenever we talk about Bergvall, we often mention Archie Gray, because both joined the club together and are very young. Do you expect Archie Gray to be the next player to sign a new contract, showing that he's the future of the club?

As a generous and kind-hearted man, I'm always happy when the people around me complete contract renewals. Also Antonín Kinský, if he can renew his contract (already officially announced after last season), I would also be happy for him.

Finally, Richarlison participated in all training sessions this week. What's the latest on him? Is he close to leaving, or is it possible he'll stay?

I repeat, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know—that's not within my scope of responsibility. What I can say is that I'm well aware of everything the club has done for Richarlison, and I'm also well aware of everything Richarlison has done for the club over the last month or two. I know, the club knows, he knows, his agent knows, everyone knows better than you do. Okay? Much better.

Traduzido por IA.

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