De Zerbi's Brescia roots help lure Tonali to Tottenham

Sandro Tonali said it took him only 10 minutes to decide on Tottenham after meeting Roberto De Zerbi at the manager’s home, a detail that shows how much the Italian coach’s Brescia background is shaping the club’s message in north London. Tonali said the two spoke about Brescia and the difficult situation facing the city’s famous old club, a conversation that tied Tottenham’s recruitment straight back to De Zerbi’s own roots.

De Zerbi has described himself as born an ultra and raised on the Brescia curva alongside his father, an upbringing that gives his Spurs project a sharper identity than a standard managerial appointment. BBC Sport has said De Zerbi grew up supporting Brescia, where Tonali also played, and that the club were effectively declared bankrupt, adding another layer of local loyalty to a move that already carried emotional weight.

That connection matters because Tottenham have made Tonali, a club-record £100m signing, part of the football argument for De Zerbi’s project. The link is not just personal history; it is also about the kind of dressing-room culture Tottenham are trying to build, one that relies on shared experience, intensity and a manager who can speak to players in the language of place, pressure and belonging.

Tottenham chief executive Vinai Venkatesham said De Zerbi has already made an “extraordinary impact” so far, a view that suggests the club sees value beyond tactics. De Zerbi’s Brescia upbringing, his ties to Tonali and the trust he can build with players from similar football cultures now sit at the center of Tottenham’s attempt to make N17 feel less like a stopover and more like a committed project.

The appointment has also carried scrutiny. Tottenham Hotspur supporters trust said De Zerbi’s arrival “raises serious and far-reaching concerns” because of his backing of Mason Greenwood, and De Zerbi later sought to clarify those comments in his first interview as Tottenham head coach. Even that controversy feeds into the same larger picture at Tottenham: a club leaning into a manager whose identity is inseparable from conviction, loyalty and the emotional force of the Brescia curve.