The fear of relegation is spreading at Tottenham and Spurs have now been waiting over 100 days for a win in the Premier League. New head coach Roberto de Zerbi is now required to act as a psychologist – and is worried about his captain.
The picture in the 70th minute spoke volumes. The game at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland had already been interrupted for seven minutes when Cristian Romero finally limped off the pitch with tears in his eyes. His team-mates tried to comfort their captain, but to no avail.
Romero had crashed into his own keeper, Antonin Kinsky, immediately before the long interruption following a shove from Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey. Both required lengthy treatment, Kinsky was able to play on, but Romero’s working day was over with a potentially more serious knee injury.
Spurs coach Roberto de Zerbi said after the defeat at Sunderland (0:1), which was bitter on several levels due to Romero’s injury, that he would have to wait for the next few days and further examinations. “I hope it’s not too big a problem. He is extremely important for us – a good boy and a good player with a great personality. We need him for the last few weeks of the season.” However, this is unlikely to happen, as various media reported on Monday evening that Romero will be out for six to eight weeks – and thus for the rest of the Premier League season.
A bitter loss for Spurs, for whom everything is at stake: staying in the Premier League. At the weekend, Spurs slipped to the relegation zone, two points behind the drop zone with six games left to play. However, the Londoners have not won in the Premier League for 107 days now, since December 28.
Inability and misfortune in one
De Zerbi, who took over the reins from Igor Tudor on March 31 after just 44 days in charge, is supposed to turn things around. The first results of his training work could be seen with a magnifying glass on his debut at Sunderland. The promoted side from the north-east of England were the better and more dangerous team, Tottenham hardly showed any sparkling attacking ideas.
Not even after the ultimately decisive goal conceded in the 61st minute, which in its manner almost perfectly matched Spurs’ current situation: a mixture of their own failures and the bad luck that almost traditionally seems to afflict teams in a slump. Ex-Bundesliga professional Nordi Mukiele was initially given far too much space, was not tackled – and then Micky van de Ven deflected his shot into his own goal, which was as unfortunate as it was unstoppable.
Spurs paralyzed by fear of relegation?
Where should optimism or even self-confidence come from? “My job now is not to change the style of play,” said de Zerbi after the seventh defeat in the last eight league games. He had worked on two or three things with and without the ball, but more importantly: “I have to give the players what they need in terms of mentality.”
In other words: De Zerbi is in demand as a psychologist, not as a tactician – although the new coach is already being criticized by some English media in terms of tactics, for example because he only substituted Xavi in the 85th minute against Sunderland despite being behind. In general, however, Spurs seem to be paralyzed at the moment due to their negative run and fear of relegation, which de Zerbi also acknowledged as a problem. His team will only experience a “positive coach in the coming days and weeks, because I believe in their qualities”.
The team shows a different face in training anyway, emphasized the 46-year-old Italian: “They play better during the week because they have their heads clear. But it’s different in the games. My job must be to ensure that the team shows in a game what it shows during the week.”
Reunion with the former club
The best time for de Zerbi to face his former team Brighton in his first home game with Spurs is next Saturday. Fabian Hürzeler’s team are currently on a completely different run, having won five of their last six games in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, de Zerbi has not deviated from his mantra. “If we win just one game,” said the new Spurs coach, reaffirming his hopes of staying up, “we’ll see everything differently.”
