How De Zerbi's 'Press-Baiting' Build-Up Can Save Tottenham

Roberto De Zerbi's tactics are some of the most intriguing in football

In fact, he's widely regarded as one of the most important gaffers of the modern era

But does that mean things will actually work out for him at Tottenham

I'm Jacob Horsfall, 442's resident tactician, and this is how this Roberto De Zerbi line-up could save Tottenham

To understand his system, we first got to look at the foundations of his style of play

Press baiting is a style of build-up, and it's something that Roberto De Zerbe really helped popularise in England

These 3v3s are moments that Marseille constantly found themselves in under Roberto De Zerbe

That's because Marseille have loads of players in the first phase, so the opposition step forward to press

which means the Marseille defenders can then play into the space beyond the press. Which again, is core to the way De Zerbe wants to build up and play his football

Lewis Dunk, during De Zerbe's first two seasons at Brighton, had completed the most pass in the Premier League out of any player

Now, Lewis Dunk wasn't just pinning about passes for the sake of it, and it wasn't a coincidence that he was playing so many passes

It's because that is a core of De Zerbe's football. When we look at the Tottenham backline, De Zerbe makes perfect sense for that way of playing

Cristian Romero is arguably one of the best passers through the lines out of any player in the Premier League

So you'd imagine he'll be happy to have a lot of on-ball responsibility, just like Lewis Dunk did at Brighton

However, there's someone who actually benefits more than Romero from De Zerbe's style of play

and that's Vicario. I know, I know, I can hear you through the screen

Vicario is useless with his feet, or at least he has been since Ange Postacoglu left the club

and that's the key. 47% of Vicario's passes have been long passes this season

which yes, is pretty normal for a goalkeeper, but in the first season of Ange Postacoglu

only 21% of Vicario's passes were being sent long and I'd argue that Ange's first season

is when we really, really saw the best of Vicario. Ange's build-up wasn't identical

to the Zerbys, but the idea behind taking risks and playing quite a few short distance passes was

the same. And actually, with Ange, there's a lot of things that are similar between him and Roberto

de Zerbi. Big Ange gave his fullbacks utility roles. By that, I mean they would invert on the

inside, but also they would be expected to get forward and join the attack if that opportunity

arose. Both Destiny Adoggi and Pedro Porro both really did perform with that responsibility given

to them, which is something that I think de Zerbi could give back to them. The fullback is in midfield

are to pull the opposition narrow and give the winger a 1v1 against his fullback. The ball is

then played to the winger, he bounces it and spins in behind to attack the open space. Then in this

instance it's a completely different story. The fullback is all the way back here but as soon as

that wine man picks up the ball the fullback legs it and manages to get around him make that overlap and run split the defender mind and give space for the winger to cut inside and produce something both those things

fit the profiles of poro and udoggy well udoggy if he can stay fit but even if he can't his best

football did still come when he was given that responsibility to do all that sort of jazz as a

fullback which again i think the zerby will give to him so we've got the back line pretty much set

in stone and we will get onto the midfield very shortly but I want to first talk about the wingers

because they kind of go hand in hand with the fullbacks. Marseille's top dribblers and top

scorers see two of their wingers in the top five for both of them. In the modern game a high scoring

winger is not mental but a guy who shoots a lot, scores a lot and also takes a lot of take-ons

that is pretty rare. However in a system in which the opposition are baited out to press and then

the opposition's fullback, the split between marking his opposing fullback and also the opposing

winger, it does make a lot of sense. Now, a player who fits the mold of being direct, being a high

volume shooter and also attempting a lot of take-ons is Mohamed Koudous. Unfortunately, he's back from

injury pretty soon. Look at this here. Free defenders could easily have impact on Mohamed Koudous and

where he goes with the ball, but instead he takes a touch wide, which creates a 1v1 between him and

the nearest defender. He then uses just pure pace to accelerate away and then attack space

and deliver into the box. Kourouz is just simply incredible in those 1v1 battles. Compared to every

other Premier League player, he sits fifth in the league for most dribbles completed per 90 minutes

And it's important to remember, he was playing in less favourable conditions than you expect he will

do under De Zerbe. By that I mean, he was usually in a 1v4, whereas De Zerbe will try to get him

into more 1v1s. So Kourouz slots in on the right, but what about the left? Xavi Simmons, potentially

even Lucas Bergvall? No, it's Matis Tell. In attack, Pedro Porro's crossing will be utilised

It's a must, it has to be utilised, but that means that you can't just have Solanke or Richarlison

attacking the cross, you need other players, like Matis Tell at the back stake. Matis Tell's ability

to arrive at the back post and sniff out a chance would make perfect sense to get the most of Pedro

Porro's ridiculous crossing ability, but Tell does still have some issues. When receiving with his

back to goal, his touch is often very loose, which means he's not the most secure player

in possession. However, I think De Zerbi's ideas behind his attack can certainly help manage that

with Tell. Because the opposition's midfield line is often dragged high to press, the opposition's

fullback doesn't really want to over-engage with his winger, which means a De Zerbi winger is often

given time to take a touch, then square up his mind before having to commit to being in a duel

That because the wingers are isolated with the fullback A fullback then wants to protect the between the winger and the goal because if you over commit he can often end up being in a rondo and getting passed around him Which is why I think Tell can be really important for De Zerbe in this Tottenham team

because he will be receiving the ball high, already facing goal. And as we know, he is a high volume shooter

which De Zerbe loves. He will often rotate into midfield, then take a small touch before getting a shot off early

Which again, is something that De Zerbe will want. He wants his winger to be taking plenty of digs towards goal

So there's the goalkeeper, there's the defence, and there's the wingers. But what's about the midfields

Well, I can imagine Roberto De Zerbi is going to be a little bit frustrated

with the midfield that he's got in front of him. Spurs midfield likes any sort of real progressive passer

someone who will get on the ball, fire the ball through the lines continuously and break the opposition's pressing structure

When baiting the press, a midfielder will either come in and bounce the ball to the opposite side of the defence

so then the defender can play forward or they'll be expected to get on the ball

receive on the half turn and then fire Tottenham forward. Which when you look at the Tottenham squad, there's not many options for De Zerbe

But when you look on a technical level at the players, Archie Gray is probably the best fit

His performance against Atletico Madrid was one of a future midfield general who has every tool in his locker

Here he sees a loose ball, beats an Atleti player to the loose ball and then starts an attack instantly with his first touch

That ability to cover ground, retain possession but also fire your team into an attack

is so important for a manager like De Zerbe who is attacking-minded at the forefront of his philosophy

So, I think Archie Gray is a shoo-in, but at Brighton, we often saw a double pivot under De Zerbe

So, we need to look at who his partner is actually going to be. Clips of Roberto De Zerbe with Lucas Bergwahl have already emerged

and looking at it, we either have a match made in heaven here where Lucas Bergwahl projected to be one of the best midfielders

in the league in two years' time, or we have an environment that Bergwahl could really struggle in

The midfielders De Zerbi used at Brighton are largely cut from the same cloth

They're all action players. Lucas Bergvold probably falls onto the attacking side of that all action category

which to me says he could be really, really important in this De Zerbi system

Bergvold can get forward and help pin back the opposition's back line, whilst also having the brain and the IQ to latch onto those balls that are going to be played into the box

Something that De Zerbi looks to utilise with his midfielders whilst he was over in France

So, that leaves us with just the number 10 and the centre forward to work with now

The former Marseille manager will want a number 10 who can nit play together, can play those short passes and also can operate in multiple different positions to join in with rotations

Which, for me, leaves a huge opening for Xavi Simons to finally come onto the main stage and grab the spotlights

Xavi Simons heat map from this season shows him having that pretty heavy bias for the left side He wants to get the ball there and then he wants to look to them play inside or play forward from that zone Now with De Zerbi encouraging his wingers to be pretty free in the zones they operate in Xavi Simmons

ability to operate across the front three could be pretty important. Space has opened up for the

Marseille right winger to come inside and drive into space here. So the on paper number 10 looks

to go on the wide flank and start to get in behind the opposition's defence. He then has passed the

ball by the right winger who's inverted inside and then looks to play into the box as quick as

he can with his minimal touches. Again, something that suits Xavi Simmons. Don't get me wrong

I completely understand that Xavi Simmons has been so underwhelming, but he was told to carry

over large distances, which he's not great at, and he didn't really have the players around him to

play those short, intricate passes, which is what he's best at. So under a new manager, we could

potentially see Xavi Simmons at his very best. So that's pretty much the whole team ticked off

We just need someone to lead the line. Someone who can link play, someone who can get into the box

someone who can be doing a little bit of everything. Now, this is the touch map of someone who can do that

Operating in his own half, in the opposition's half, doing a little bit of everything

That's Dominic Solanke's touch map. Solanke, throughout his time in the Premier League

has been vital to his team's ball progression and build-up play. Something that Roberto Dezerbi will certainly want from his number nine

However, it's not just about the end product of Dezerbi ball. It's not just how we will look eventually

It's about the here and now. And it's not going to be perfect in the here and now. As much as De Zerbe loves his intricate pass in football

don't be surprised if we see long balls and direct passes until things have really settled

Potentially, until the end of the season. Which means Solanke's job and his ability to make the ball stick

is going to be even more important. So, that's my predicted XI

At least for now. But, it's pretty easy to just make a predicted XI

with a few little things in about the manager. I bet a lot of Spurs fans are actually worried about how quickly that that 11 will gel and work together

Brighton saw five winless games in De Zerbi's first five fixtures at the Seagulls

However, it actually wasn't that bad. In his first game, they drew 3-3 with Liverpool and 100% of Brighton's shots came inside the Liverpool box

They weren't just having pop shots, they were creating real high-value chances, even though they were away at Anfield in De Zerbi's first game against the Jurgen Klopp Liverpool side

I'll give you the truth, the objective truth. Roberto de Zerbi's system is intricate and it's complicated

but that doesn't mean it's nailed on to take years and years for the Tottenham players to grasp it and understand it

Just like it doesn't have to take time for you to go and like and subscribe this video, because I'll be back again next week with more ysis

Who knows? It might be about Tottenham's historic weekend win. Let me know. Maybe it is. Maybe you're watching after that

And yeah, I'll see you next week