Tottenham Hotspur host Aston Villa at home. Ahead of the match, Tottenham Hotspur manager De Zerbi held a press conference and discussed the recovery of Maddison, Kulusevski and other players, as well as the team's recent performance and upcoming preparations. This is the first part of the press conference.

There is one final match before the international break. Do you have good news about the squad? Are Porro, Tonali and Maddison close to returning? What is the latest on their condition?

Porro, Tonali and Maddison are all available. Of course, we normally need to assess their specific physical condition, but they are all ready now.

That's great. There will be a relatively long international break. What are your plans? Will you arrange friendlies or train elsewhere?

First we need to see how many players stay and how many leave for international matches. I think some key players will also remain, so we need to make the most of this time.

So some players who need to stay, like those who have been injured for a long time, will stay, and then...

Yes. For example, Udojie—we still need to see if he will go to the Italian national team. Of course, I hope all my players are selected for their respective national teams.

However, if they don't go, especially players like Udojie or Maddison, we need to create appropriate plans for them so they can continue training and maintain their fitness. So they are ready when the Premier League resumes.

Against Everton you were very close to scoring in the first 25 minutes; against Liverpool you also created many chances and played with great energy. Is now a good time for a break? Or would you prefer to play more matches? And for you personally, you haven't really rested all summer—you've been working, working, working, adjusting the squad and completing some signings. Do you need a week off yourself?

No, we have to accept this schedule, that's all. I'm ready to work every day, but when we have to stop, we stop. The most important thing now is tomorrow's match. It will be a difficult match, but we have enough quality and players who can perform well. Because if we don't play well, we can't win. Perhaps there are one or two exceptions in a season where we win without playing well, but not more than that.

You just mentioned that Maddison is available. How far is he from making his first start for Tottenham Hotspur this season?

Look, Maddison has only been training with the team for the last 10 to 15 days, perhaps even less than 15 days. Although he is a technical player, he also needs to rebuild his physical condition and keep his body at a very high level. When he reaches peak form, he will be very important for us. That applies to his personality, his qualities, his abilities and his experience. His passing ability is different from other players.

Perhaps only Kudus can offer something similar, but Kudus is not very accustomed to playing in central midfield, so we still need to see. Matheus Fernandes can play as a number 10, but when it comes to making final decisions between shooting or passing, he needs to be more decisive and confident. Gallagher is also a very reliable option.

Given that, how important is it for your football philosophy and the way you want the team to play to have a player like Maddison who is accustomed to this position and has such distinctive qualities?

I am very satisfied with the current squad. I have players with very distinctive qualities. Including the two centre-backs against Liverpool, Senesi and Adarabioyo—they both played very well. I am very pleased with these players.

One more question about Aston Villa. They have obviously picked up only 1 point so far this season, and I'm sure you've been following their performance. Why do you think they are facing such difficulties?

They have one of the best managers in the world. Like us, they have made many changes to their squad and brought in some young, very good and very promising players. Although they have changed many players, their style of play remains very clear. So this will be a difficult match for us, and I think it will be equally difficult for them.

You just mentioned some creative and organisational players, and of course Kulusevski. We've seen some photos of him returning to training, although he is still in the recovery phase. How do you control yourself not to get too excited about having such a player available again in the future? After all, you know he will return at some point, but for now you obviously need to be very careful with his situation.

Yes, we need to look after Kulusevski carefully along with the medical team and fitness team. But this is a very positive thing for us because he is an excellent player and a good person. He deserves to be back on the pitch and playing.

We have to take it day by day. This international break is also very important for Kulusevski. Once he has regained his peak physical condition and truly overcome this injury, it will feel like we have made a fantastic signing, like an additional new player.

Your job requires you to be something of a psychologist in a way, knowing how to communicate with players. Is that difficult when dealing with a player like Kulusevski who has been out for so long? You need to encourage him, but not too much, so he doesn't become overeager.

No, he doesn't need my encouragement because he is very strong. He has a very strong character and is a role model for everyone.

Back to the international break—it sounds like this break is actually quite important because many of your players need to rebuild their physical condition and need more training, like Maddison, Solanke and perhaps Udojie and Kulusevski. Is this a critical phase for you?

Of course it is for these players, but it also applies to the others. When we started pre-season training, the overall physical condition of the team was not particularly good. Players need to understand that the intensity of the Premier League is very high, and the intensity of European competition is also very high. Rest is fine, all of that is fine, but they cannot lose their physical condition completely—they need to train.

We have created individual training plans for the players because once the entire team is back with us, we need to start work immediately.

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De Zerbi: It is not appropriate to explain the starting situation now, we must trust what we do and the players

Übersetzt von KI.

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