De Zerbi’s ‘ultra’ roots and the Brescia connection at SpursImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Roberto de Zerbi grew up as a fan of Brescia, where Tottenham’s club record signing Sandro Tonali also playedByAlex BysouthBBC Sport Senior JournalistPublished46 minutes agoThere is a distinctly Brescian feel to N17 of late. While the Italian city’s famous old club were effectively declared bankrupt this week, a footballing passion forged at Stadio Mario Rigamonti may be fuelling Tottenham Hotspur‘s revival.
Roberto de Zerbi, the manager who saved Spurs from relegation last season, was raised on the terraces of Brescia’s ‘curva’ by his father, Alfredo, who was president of the supporters’ clubs. De Zerbi says he was “born an ultra”.
“My dad is crazy about football. He was one of the leaders of the Brescia tifoseria. At home, we lived and breathed football. He was the one who passed that passion on to me,” the Italian told Salim Lamrani in his book Football According to Roberto de Zerbi.
Tottenham’s Brescia connection runs through the playing squad too. Sandro Tonali, their new record signing, joined Le Rondinelle aged 12 and made his debut as a 17-year-old, helping Brescia return to Serie A before joining AC Milan in 2020.
De Zerbi says he followed the midfielder as he rose through the ranks at his boyhood club, and Tonali told BBC Sport on Thursday about the bond they share.
“Brescia is so small. I had two weeks there and met him two or three times,” he reported.
“We spoke about Brescia, about the difficult situation facing our club.”
However, Tonali’s £100m move threatened to pose a contentious issue in Italy.
Amid mounting debt and financial problems, Brescia Calcio, owned by Massimo Cellino, were excluded from professional football by Italian authorities last summer.
They were replaced by a new team in Union Brescia, who have taken on the mantle of the city’s club and play at the same iconic ground graced by Roberto Baggio and Pep Guardiola, as well as De Zerbi and Tonali.
Tonali and his wife were there to watch Union Brescia in the Serie C play-offs earlier this year – the club eventually lost to Ascoli in the final.
It is Brescia Calcio, though, having developed Tonali, who could lay claim to a percentage of his transfer fee – about £3.5m – under Fifa’s solidarity contribution scheme.
There were reports Cellino may look to revive the club in some format using that money, but that prospect seems to have died after Brescia Calcio were wound-up in a court ruling, external on Tuesday.
As Brescia and their fans embrace a new era, the passion and footballing ethos De Zerbi learned through his father and those visits to Stadio Mario Rigamonti remain.
“Roberto’s love for Brescia shaped his career,” his brother, Rocco, told Corriere Della Sera.
