Tottenham's Bold Gamble on De Zerbi: A 5-Year High-Salary Long-Term Contract with No "Relegation Clause"!

Written by Han Bing After announcing Tudor's dismissal on March 29, Tottenham, in a desperate rush, secured their third coach of the season within just 48 hours. Compared to last summer's dismissal of Postecoglou who won the Europa League, hiring Frank with no top-tier coaching experience, and appointing Tudor this year—who had no Premier League experience—to "save the fire," Tottenham's management betting on De Zerbi is essentially risking everything.

De Zerbi, who left Marseille in February and was unemployed, initially did not want to take over midway. After all, Tottenham currently resembles a scattered mess, with a particularly tough relegation schedule. The cautious Italian hoped to take over in the summer after Tottenham secured survival, to implement reforms. But Tottenham's management, desperate after losses, made the worst-case assumption: if a temporary coach failed to avoid relegation, finding a suitable coach to return to the Premier League from the Championship next season would be even harder. Ultimately, considering the club's long-term development, they不惜代价 signed De Zerbi, familiar with the Premier League, with a 5-year high-salary long-term contract, hoping he could create miracles as he did at Brighton.

To "escape death" in the remaining 7 matches, Tottenham满足ed all De Zerbi's conditions: if relegation is avoided, De Zerbi will receive the club's most expensive coach contract, with an annual salary仅次于 Guardiola and Arteta, reaching £12-15 million, plus millions in signing fees and survival bonuses; if Tottenham relegates, the annual salary remains unchanged. This is almost double De Zerbi's salary at Marseille (£5.5 million) and over five times his salary at Brighton. In Tottenham's history, De Zerbi's salary仅次于 Mourinho and Conte (£15 million), far exceeding Pochettino (£8.5 million), Frank (£8 million), and Postecoglou (£5 million). Including signing fees and survival bonuses, De Zerbi would be the highest-paid.

However, Tottenham's "bold gamble," like the previous appointment of Tudor, has sparked widespread质疑. During De Zerbi's tenure at Marseille, his defense of Greenwood,涉嫌 in sexual assault, triggered protests from Tottenham's women's fan groups. English football circles also worry about his fiery temper and his "tradition" of conflicts with management—De Zerbi has coached 8 teams, staying超过 2 seasons only at Sassuolo. His departures from Brighton and Marseille both involved clashes with management, and外界 are not optimistic about him harmonizing with Tottenham's management.

British media回顾ed De Zerbi's history at Brighton: he started with 5 consecutive losses at this small club, only truly磨合 after a big win against Chelsea in the 6th match. Tottenham has only 7 matches left,不可能 giving him that much time.

De Zerbi primarily uses a 4231 formation, organizing attacks from the back, relying on aggressive pressing, quick transitions, and creating chances through the wings. But一旦 losing possession, they are极易 vulnerable to counterattacks, with a high probability of conceding, which does not suit Tottenham's defense that has近乎 lost all confidence.

De Zerbi's possession tactics are similar to what the players liked under Postecoglou. In 2023, Kudus nearly joined Brighton; both he and Simons possess the technical and dribbling abilities De Zerbi favors, offering hope for Tottenham's relegation battle attack. For Tottenham's biggest problem—the goalkeeper position—Vicario just recovered from hernia surgery and is不稳定; substitute goalkeeper Kinski, after conceding 3 goals against Atletico, was substituted by Tudor in the 17th minute,近乎心理崩溃. But De Zerbi has former Brighton goalkeeper coach Stern assisting,有望 improving Tottenham's goalkeeper状态. Tottenham's current assistant coach Sarto played 7 seasons at Brighton, and De Zerbi还想 bringing another former Brighton assistant from Marseille. This Brighton-style coaching team might create miracles.

High salary long-term contract + huge survival bonuses—can they make the暴躁且固执 De Zerbi choose more pragmatic tactics suitable for relegation battles? Currently未知. The three Premier League matches starting April 12 are all relegation决战: April 12 away to Sunderland, April 18 home against his former club Brighton, April 25 away to relegation rival Wolves. People will see De Zerbi's choices, which may决定 Tottenham's fate.

Time left for Tottenham and De Zerbi is不多. For De Zerbi to重新 become the热门 technical coach pursued by top-five league giants two years ago, leading Tottenham to survival is the best and唯一的 "shortcut."