🚨Roberto De Zerbi on his instructions to Mathys Tel before bringing him on against Coventry in Tottenham’s 3-1 victory:
🗣️ Roberto De Zerbi: “It wasn’t a difficult task, really, especially for a footballer with the experience and quality of Mathys Tel. At that stage of the game, I knew exactly what I needed from him, and I made sure he understood his responsibility before stepping onto the pitch.
“I told him to stay focused, not switch off for even a second, compete for every duel and make sure he tracked back to help Ben Davies.
I didn’t want him to come onto the pitch thinking only about attacking, looking for opportunities to score or trying to do something spectacular with the ball. Sometimes, you have to put your personal ambitions aside and do the work the team needs from you.
“When you bring on an attacking player, the natural expectation is that he will give you more going forward. You expect him to take on defenders, create chances and make things happen in the final third. But football is not always that simple.
There are moments when your team needs you to defend first, close spaces, win your battles and give your teammates the freedom to do their jobs.
“That was exactly what I wanted from Mathys. I needed him to become an extra man in our defensive structure, particularly on the flank.
Ben Davies had a lot of responsibility, and I wanted Mathys to support him, track the runs, contest the duels and make sure Coventry couldn’t exploit that area of the pitch. We needed more balance, more discipline and better protection whenever we lost possession.
“Funny enough, he was brought on specifically to help Ben Davies, but Ben Davies ended up scoring the most decisive goal of the night. [Laughs] That’s football sometimes.
You bring a player on to help someone defensively, and suddenly that same teammate becomes one of the biggest attacking stories of the evening. You can plan everything on the touchline, but you can never predict exactly how a football match will unfold.
“Fortunately, Mathys didn’t have to do too much because we had already put ourselves in a good position and had the game under control. But that doesn’t mean his instructions were unimportant.
I wanted him ready for every situation, because one mistake, one lost duel or one moment of switching off can change the entire direction of a match.
“I was happy with his understanding of what we asked him to do. A young attacking player can sometimes come onto the pitch wanting to prove himself by scoring or creating something immediately.
That hunger is good, and I never want to take it away from him. But he must also understand that being part of a successful team means accepting different responsibilities.
“Sometimes you are the player expected to score the winning goal. Sometimes you are the player who has to run 40 metres backwards to stop a counterattack.
Sometimes your job is simply to protect a teammate and make sure the opposition cannot hurt your team in that area.
“Tonight, we won 3-1, Ben Davies delivered a decisive moment, and Mathys came on with a clear responsibility to help the team.
That is what I want from every player in this squad: understand the game, respect the tactical plan and put the team first.
The goals will get the headlines, but the work that makes those goals possible is just as important.”