De Zerbi: Never had trouble scoring before, I think it's pure coincidence

Beijing time (CEST), 19:30 on September 19, Tottenham Hotspur will host Aston Villa in the 5th round of the Premier League. After the media embargo ended, the confidential portion of Tottenham manager De Zerbi's pre-match press conference was released. This article covers the first half of that content.

Hello Roberto, I wanted to ask about Conor Gallagher. Last season, when you showed videos to some players to help them regain form, Conor later mentioned you showed him a video called "Dominating the Midfield." How will you help him recapture that feeling of "dominating the midfield" now?

Look, even if he doesn't start every game, I really like him because he's very generous, selfless, and committed. He's a very intelligent player with an extremely correct mentality for the game. In football, there are other factors – like a player's tactical characteristics – that you need to assess before the match starts, because it's always easier to analyze after the game, but before the game, you need to determine what type of player characteristics you need most for that specific match. When Conor wasn't playing before, it was simply because I needed players with different characteristics for those specific games, that's all.

Last season's match against Aston Villa was crucial in saving the team's season. If I remember correctly, Conor scored the opening goal. It seems he's somewhat underrated, or do you feel he's genuinely underrated by the outside world sometimes? Can he provide the creative spark the team urgently needs now?

For me personally, absolutely not – he's not underrated at all. Perhaps that may be true for other managers or other people, but never for me. Last season, when I first took over the team, Conor didn't have many opportunities before I signed my contract, but since I arrived, he's started almost every game.

Last season was different because we didn't have as much depth in the squad as we do now. But I really like him, he's my player, and I know he's a very reliable player. Whenever I call on him, he's always ready to play, to fight, and to run. So for me, he's definitely not underrated.

One last question – last season the club publicly announced they were seeking a sports psychologist. I'd like to know what impact that had?

You'll have to ask John Lange (Director of Football) or the club's management about that. You can send them an email and ask. I'm just a coach, not a club executive. I don't know, honestly, I really don't know. I believe the club is always doing its best to create the best conditions for the players, but I'm not aware of the specific details regarding the sports psychologist.

Hello Roberto, in your coaching career, have you ever experienced a period when your team struggled to score goals?

No, never, never. I may have conceded many goals, but I've never had trouble scoring. I think it's just a coincidence, yes, purely a coincidence. That's what I think, because if we can create four or five excellent chances away at Liverpool – Bergvall and Kudus' chances in the first half, then Marmoush having some chances in the second half, plus the goal Gallagher scored – to create nine goal-scoring opportunities at Anfield, that's certainly not bad, right? And also against Everton, although there weren't as many clear-cut chances, there were one or two clear opportunities and another three or four potential scoring opportunities.

Even though we haven't managed to put the ball in the net yet, I will never change my opinion about these players or my assessment of their abilities and qualities. Because Marmoush is an extraordinary player, Savio is an extraordinary player, and Solanke is also a very excellent player when healthy. Marmoush, Kudus, Gallagher, and Matheus Fernandes – they have different characteristics, but these four players are all extremely good. We also have possibly the best full-backs in the Premier League, like Robertson, Udogie, Pedro Porro – they're all at the highest level. We have five center-backs, each better than the last. As for the quality of these players, I have no doubts whatsoever.

So do you wake up some mornings thinking about new ways to try to turn things around?

No. Sometimes you see that you need to change everything, sometimes you just need to improve what you're already doing, and sometimes you need to stay calm. I think we're trying to improve where we need to improve and do better, but at the same time we need to stay calm. I know "if" and "but" aren't the right hypothetical words... but given our current performance, we only have two points on the table, and from my perspective, we should have gotten much more than two points.

Speaking of "ifs" and "buts," if you'll allow me to add one more: you sold Lankshear to Middlesbrough, and he's scored 8 goals in 10 games. Was selling him a mistake?

No, I don't think it was a mistake. Because Solanke is a good player, and Marmoush is also a good player. Plus, there's the situation with Richarlison. Richarlison's situation changed in the final five days of the transfer window – that happened without my decision.

If that hadn't happened, would you have kept Will? How many strikers do you want in your squad?

Three strikers, I think three strikers are enough.

You just mentioned that staying calm is very important. I'm curious – have you taken any specific measures to help the players stay calm, for example, helping them temporarily distance themselves from the pressure of match results?

No, on the first day after the Liverpool match, I didn't talk much with the players, because you know, the coach's voice can't be buzzing in their ears every day, but yesterday we trained very well with the players. Now I think we need to improve and help the new players integrate better. For example, Tonali and Matheus Fernandes – I think they can play much better, but we need to help them integrate better, help them understand the club, understand everything.

For example, Jan-Paul van Hecke played at a very high level in the last three or four games after not performing well in the first two games; Marmoush showed his best form against Liverpool and Tottenham; once Savio recovers from injury, I think he'll also be ready to show the real Savio; Robertson was perhaps the best player on the pitch against Everton; Bergvall also performed very well at Liverpool's place. So there's no fundamental problem with the new players' adaptation. I feel we started a bit late for various reasons, but we're closing that gap by working harder.

Traduzido por IA.

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