There was a moment last season when Roberto de Zerbi turned to his Tottenham players and asked: “Did we pass away?”
The scenes after his first game in charge – a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland – painted a grim picture.
In the dressing room, De Zerbi said players were lying on their backs, some crying following the loss at the Stadium of Light.
It was the first of seven matches De Zerbi had to keep Spurs in the Premier League.
While survival was only secured on the final day, the 47-year-old now believes he can help the club rise from the ignominy of a turbulent 2025-26 campaign.
Four months on from the broken dressing room in Sunderland, the contrast is stark.
At the team’s hotel in Sydney for their pre-season tour, just a stone’s throw from the Harbour Bridge and iconic Opera House, De Zerbi’s players are laughing, smiling and enjoying coffees made by their own barista on a private floor.
Competitive table tennis matches are taking place as a club-record £237m worth of new signings integrate into a squad dreaming of a return to the upper echelons of English football and a renewed challenge for trophies.
Club-record signing Sandro Tonali, plus new arrivals Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke, Andrew Robertson and Martin Dubravka have all featured on Spurs’ pre-season tour.
Credit: bbc
