Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi held a pre-match press conference ahead of Gameweek 6 of the Premier League, with an away fixture against Manchester United on the agenda. In the second part of the conference, De Zerbi addressed concerns about James Maddison's injury, training arrangements during the international break, the development of Matheus Fernandes, as well as his own experiences as a player during Juventus's relegation and his views on football rules.

Related reading: De Zerbi: Porro out for several matches, Mudryk longer; Maddison available

Journalist: During the break, several of your international players left to join their national teams, but a significant number of key attacking players like Solanke, Savio and Kudus remained at the training ground. How important was this period of individual and collective training for them?

De Zerbi: They trained with great dedication. That included Udogie, Marcos Senesi, Kudus, Savio, Dominic Solanke, Conor Gallagher, and others. I place great importance on this phase of tactical refinement that they worked through with me, but I can never overlook the international players who were away representing their country. We are a complete Tottenham Hotspur, and whether players are competing for their national team or staying at the training ground with me, my demands on them are exactly the same.

Journalist: This summer, it was widely known that both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United were keen to sign Matheus Fernandes, and he ultimately chose Tottenham Hotspur. Although he hasn't yet played in a traditional central midfield position, how significant was his signing this summer? When do you think he'll be ready to play as a central midfielder?

De Zerbi: Matheus Fernandes is a player of tremendous talent, arguably one of the best performers in our squad. He needs time to fully understand the club's philosophy and to settle and adapt to the new environment at Tottenham Hotspur. But I have immense confidence in him. He must respond with strength. Life and football are never easy—they're full of challenges, and the most essential quality is to face and overcome those difficulties bravely. His performances as a starter certainly weren't worse than others', in fact they've been excellent. He needs to become even stronger. He has my complete confidence, and the absolute confidence of everyone at the club, but he needs time, and we must give him sufficient patience.

Journalist: Hello Roberto. If I may, I'd like to take you back in time. During the 2006-07 season, you played for Napoli in Serie B and managed to secure promotion. The only team ahead of you at that time was Juventus. Given that Juventus had just been relegated to Serie B because of Calciopoli, do you remember what it felt like to face them in Italy back then? Were the other Serie B teams resentful that Juventus occupied a valuable promotion spot?

De Zerbi: Stop (gestures to translator). (Asks the journalist) What exactly are you trying to say? Are you trying to steer this into a discussion about Manchester City? Are you trying to direct the conversation toward Manchester City?

Journalist: I just wanted to know what you personally felt as a player at that time.

De Zerbi: Ah, as a player, listen, when I was a player I had hot blood and my mind was solely focused on pure competition. I don't specifically remember what I thought back then. My mind was only on the ball, on my work. As a player, you don't think about so many complicated things off the pitch; it's the same as a head coach—all your attention is on your players. Especially now that our team is at the bottom of the table, I don't have time to worry about other distractions outside of my own team and club.

Journalist: But looking back, what long-term impact do you think that incident had on Italian football?

De Zerbi: None. I believe there are people in this world responsible for making decisions, and they must do so with responsibility and courage, and always show honesty and fairness in their judgments. That's absolutely not my responsibility. My responsibility is to be a good football coach. But I firmly believe one thing: I genuinely love and strictly respect the rules.

Traduit par IA.

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