'Top three in the world' - What Guardiola, Slot, Klopp and others have said about Roberto De Zerbi

Tottenham Hotspur have a new head coach at the helm and the Italian has had plenty of things said about him over recent years

Roberto De Zerbi has taken charge of Tottenham and he comes with plenty of praise from his peers after a rollercoaster managerial career so far.

The 46-year-old has been handed a big money five-year contract with the immediate task of saving Spurs from relegation, but also a view on the long-term with the Italian declaring that he will "be the coach of Tottenham next season, no matter what". De Zerbi has been at Marseille, Brighton and Shakhtar Donetsk in recent years after working his way up the ladder of Italian football before impressing at Sassuolo.

The new Tottenham head coach has brought beautiful football, emotion and fiery moments throughout his coaching career so far and has drawn praise from some of the best in the game for the unique way his sides play football.

Here are just some of the things people have said about De Zerbi over the years, starting with one of the Italian's biggest inspirations.

Pep Guardiola

"Roberto is one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years," said Guardiola back in 2023 after Brighton qualified for Europe for the first time in their history.

"There is no team playing the way they play - it's unique. I had the feeling when he arrived the impact he would have in the Premier League would be great - I didn't expect him to do it in this short space of time.

"He creates 20 or 25 chances per game, better by far than most opponents. He monopolises the ball in a way it hasn't been for a long time. They deserve completely the success they have.

"Brighton is the master of when to pass to the free man. They move at the right time. They don't pass the ball until the opponent moves. If you don't play at a high level he can do whatever he wants against you. They are one of the teams I try to learn a lot from."

A couple of months later the Manchester City boss heaped more praise on the Italian.

"I think I admire him for the fact it doesn’t matter the team he plays. He proved you don’t have to be in a top, top, top club or with top, top exceptional players to make your team play how you like to play. He came from Italy, and the way he plays is a little counter-cultural, and it doesn’t matter what happens.

"He plays [with] Sassuolo and teams who may not be considered the top, top, top ones, it doesn’t matter, [we] have the ball, we are going to play, to play, to play. I’m a spectator mainly as a manager, and I enjoy a lot watching his teams play, I learn, like it, and what he does makes sense.

"It’s not a surprise the success his teams have because he is playing deservedly. Even when they lost to Villa, he plays his own style, it doesn’t matter transitions, deflections, Aston Villa, a top side this season for the quality they have with the manager and players, but they do [play], it doesn’t matter."

Arne Slot

Ahead of Liverpool's Champions League clash with Marseille this season, Arne Slot spoke about the Italian.

"I see him as one of the best coaches in the world. In my opinion, you shouldn’t always be judged by the number of trophies you win, but also by the way your teams play," said the Dutchman

"I think he already coaches a big team because Marseille are a big club right now, and historically as well. I’m not the one who recruits coaches, but if I were, he would certainly be very high on my list for a big club."I’ve always liked his teams, I’ve always liked watching his teams play. When he was at Brighton, I saw more of his work because I watch the Premier League more than Ligue 1, but he’s a very good coach."It’s not fair to judge coaches only on what they win. You also have to look at the style of play and how players develop. And that’s what you see with him – players progress well, and sometimes they stop developing as well once he’s no longer there."

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Luis Enrique

Ahead of facing De Zerbi's Marseille one of their many meetings in Ligue 1 said, the PSG boss Luis Enrique said: "De Zerbi is a great coach that I like. He’s one of the best coaches in the league. He’s still young, and tonight’s match isn’t going to make me change my mind."

On another occasion he said: "I like De Zerbi's mentality. His team commands on the pitch. He will fight for possession and press high, with one-on-one situations. The match is not only emotional, but also tactical. We will have to press properly. Above all, I hope we can win and have a great football festival."

Jurgen Klopp

Ahead of meeting Brighton in the Premier League, the then Liverpool boss Klopp said of De Zerbi: "We know how difficult it is against Brighton. Roberto is doing an incredible job there, it's a different game against Brighton.

"We were the first opponents when Roberto arrived and we had no idea what to expect. It was quite impressive how quick he got the team playing in his way. Since then it only got better."

He added: "It's about having possession, we need to have more possession than in recent games against them. It's not a normal pressing game, it goes against our rhythm so we have to break their rhythm," Klopp added.

"The way they play, I couldn't coach that. It goes against my personality, but it's a good watch. It's very demanding on the players... On their day, they can beat any team. But the good news is we can do that as well."

Medhi Benatia

Marseille's head of football and former Juventus defender Benatia spoke about De Zerbi last summer.

"His passion is overflowing. You should see how he prepares matches. There's a touch of Pep Guardiola in him, but trust me, he's unique. He breathes football and he breathes life. In that order," he said.

"We talk until 2am, often on video calls because the coach wants to see people face-to-face. At any hour. Working with him is just exciting and stimulating; he lives for football, just like me."

Joao Pedro

Now at Chelsea, Joao Pedro was immediately wowed by De Zerbi after signing for Brighton back in 2023.

"It's the first time I've trained with a coach like him," he said. "He is, for me, in the top three in the world. Because of how he thinks about football, how he looks at it. I've never seen a coach who coaches like him. He pushes us, in the best way. He helps us a lot.

"When my agent called me about Brighton I was very happy because they play really well, they play football and that was why I came here How he [De Zerbi] plays is very different from Watford. That was more long ball and counter-attack. Here we think more about playing with the ball and moving at the right time so it's very good for us.

"I like how he helps us and the way he wants us to play. I'm ready to learn more and to help my team-mates. He told me to think about enjoying myself and scoring goals, so that was very simple."

Tony Bloom

The Brighton chairman said of De Zerbi during his second season at the Seagulls: "He has been pretty amazing. His track record, when we looked into it in a lot of detail, was exceptionally good.

"But I didn't quite realise the impact he would have when he came in. He has been hugely influential for so many players. He is so good at improving them.

"The quality of the play and the risk taking at the right times to create opportunities for the players to create chances and his tactical abilities are superb.

"He pushes everyone to go as far as they can. We are very fortunate to have him at the club. We love having him here. Long may that continue."

Adam Lallana

When the former Brighton man was asked if De Zerbi will keep Spurs up, he said: "Definitely. Not even a doubt in my mind. I just think they're very, very fortunate. I'm actually slightly jealous. I was speaking to a player at Spurs who was picking my brains about him. I just know they're going to be in for a rollercoaster, but a great one.

"I always compared him with Jurgen [Klopp], actually. Probably just the passion that they both possess for the game. I think tactically and game mode-wise, they're completely different. But in terms of love and passion for football, they're exactly the same.

"Roberto's an extremely smart man. He'll know he's not got time to play a certain way, a certain style. He won't be snobbish to not understand that. He knows he's got to go in there and motivate a group of men.

"Luckily for Roberto, he might not know that, but he's one of the most inspirational managers and people there is, in my opinion. After five minutes of him speaking in our first meeting when he joined Brighton, I was on board. I have no doubt he'd be able to emulate that at Spurs."

Lewis Dunk

Speaking in 2023, Brighton star Dunk revealed how difficult the adjustment was when De Zerbi came in following Graham Potter's exit. “If I am being honest, the first couple of weeks were horrendous…" Dunk told the Telegraph.

"I wouldn’t say horrendous, they were baffling. The first meeting when he went in, I was so confused – who to look at, what to listen to, and you slowly pick up. Basically don’t listen to the manager, wait for the translator to speak and you get there in the end.

"Training changed dramatically. We worked on a lot of different stuff and the first couple of weeks were a really hard transition. We were fourth in the league when Graham left and we were flying with him and it was a strange time for him to go and then Roberto came in and it was a carnage two weeks."

However, he added on what happened next: "I see football in a completely different way, I picture it in a different way and that is the biggest thing.

"Football is not what I thought it was. Just how we play now. The idea of what I did before, I thought it made sense. But when you learn something completely different, you believe in it and this makes sense. You think ‘why didn’t I know this?’ and ‘why didn’t I do this before?’

“The style of play, really. And when to release the ball. All our games now are about pressure, playing with opposition teams when they’re pressing high and pressing low. When to pass the ball, the timing of that and the timing of movement. Before, I didn’t really know about that. It’s all about the finer details."

Sandro

The former Spurs midfielder captained De Zerbi's Benevento side back in 2018 and served a coaching internship at Brighton with the Italian during his previous period in the Premier League.

"To be fair, I always thought Roberto would be a manager for us. When I met him and when I played for him in Italy, because I like Tottenham, straight away I thought this would be the manager to put Tottenham at the highest level. I’m so, so happy because this came true and he’s here now," said Sandro said in an interview with Spurs.

"It’s a huge moment for us, an important moment for us and he’s the right one to be there for me, no doubt. I wish him the best of luck, I will support the team as always and with him, it’s a pleasure to watch and see what he does. You guys will love him, he suits us with his style of play, he’s got passion, vision and intelligence. I am becoming a manager now because of him, because of what he did with me in Benevento. In that moment, I said I want to be a manager because I really trust in the work this guy does. He is so passionate and I’m so excited to see him at Spurs – it’s a great feeling!”

The Brazilian went on: "He gave us – the players – everything that we needed for the game. Each game is different and the way he approached each game was amazing. The players need to trust in him, and I will say that they will trust him because they will see the results of his work. In my first game with him, I felt that the game was easier because I knew everything that was coming, because we did it in training. It’s amazing – his strength is to give the players what the game needs. He gives that every day in the training sessions. With De Zerbi, five minutes in a training session matters because he wants every minute to be important. For him, he will use these five minutes with reason – everything matters.”

He added: "“He’s got energy, he’s got passion. I was his captain and we were talking every day about football. You don’t have to be afraid. He is very intense – I will say that – and the players will need to be prepared because he will demand focus in the training sessions, he will ask everybody to be ready but this is nice, this is what we love as players, to work with someone who pushes us upwards and teaches us, so I’m very excited to see him work at Spurs.

"At Benevento, he joined just before the winter. He called me to sign – I was one of his first ideas – and although he was very young and it was one of the first jobs that he got, I was 29 years old and he improved me, made me come to every single session with excitement. I told him this and said ‘you are one of the best managers’. He laughed at me, but it was true."