Roberto De Zerbi is closing in on becoming the new Tottenham boss, but an incident from three years ago when he was Brighton manager almost scuppered his chances.
Back in April 2023 during a Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium between Spurs and Brighton, De Zerbi was involved in a furious touchline row with Cristian Stellini, the hosts’ interim head coach at the time.
Their original clash came pre-match before a skirmish involving both benches early in the second half led to the two Italian coaches being handed red cards.
Daily Mail Sport understands that when Thomas Frank was sacked in February, there were sources at Spurs making it clear they were not interested in De Zerbi in the slightest, and for multiple reasons.
One of these was the fact they were put off by his notoriety as an incendiary character as laid bare by that visit of his Brighton team three years ago.
On that occasion, De Zerbi’s finger jabbing and jibes sparked a row with Stellini as tension bubbled at the pre-match handshake after comments in the build-up to the game.
De Zerbi is thought to have taken offence to Stellini saying Brighton’s good form was a result of him simply carrying on the good work of his predecessor Graham Potter.
Potter had left the club the previous September to join Chelsea.
‘They came from a good [manager] with Graham Potter for a long time,’ Stellini said. ‘I think Roberto De Zerbi has found a good solution to play with this style because with Potter the players know themselves very well.
‘This is a great opportunity because when players play for a long time with each other it is easier.’
De Zerbi later said: ‘Yes (I felt disrespected). It’s a personal situation. I told him what was my opinion, my idea, not bad words, only my opinion.
‘I’m used to always respecting everyone inside and outside of the pitch. I don’t like it when people don’t respect me.
‘But there are normal situations in football. It’s personal things. I always respect everyone, especially the coaches. I can answer for me, not for him.’
Following the melee in the second period, both De Zerbi and Stellini were then dismissed, although the Spurs boss was keen to play down the carnage and clash post-match.
‘Sometimes when we speak Italian people seem aggressive,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘We were not aggressive. I don’t want to speak about other managers.
‘This is only the second game I’m a head coach. I want to respect every manager. What happened on the pitch, stays on the pitch.’
On his sending off, he added: ‘I didn’t say anything. I tried to keep calm. I am the head coach and have to respect the decision. Our team used the situation to create energy, that’s because it helped us.’
Spurs won the game 2-1, but three years later De Zerbi is now set to be in the opposite dugout despite those initial concerns from the club’s hierarchy.
