Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi has been brutally blasted by Jesse Marsch for his behaviour with a Marseille star
Roberto De Zerbi has been slammed by Canada head coach Jesse Marsch for his treatment of Ismael Kone while at Marseille. Footage of the two needing to be separated by players and staff at the French club’s training ground emerged last August, with De Zerbi left furious by his actions in that session.
The now-Tottenham boss could be heard telling Kone to ‘go inside’ before shouting in his direction ‘call your agent’. Kone ended up leaving Marseille for Sassoulo in that transfer window and now Marsch has come out to defend the Canadian midfielder, alongside providing some choice words for De Zerbi.
He said: “It wasn’t easy for him with De Zerbi in Marseille. De Zerbi was a real a**hole to him, but he stayed strong. He never doubted himself. He found a new environment, and look at him thriving today. I repeat: De Zerbi behaved like a real a**hole to him.
“When I took over the reins of Canada, I thought Ismael was a raw player, but full of talent. And since then, I have talked to him a lot about discipline and concentration, and everything that this implies in his daily life: his diet, his sleep habits, his way of training, his way of playing, as well as his overall intelligence.
FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
“He went to Italy to play for a newly promoted team in a very organised league, and he played an incredibly important role in that team, having an excellent season. Look at the progress he was able to make despite the difficulties.”
De Zerbi, on the other hand, essentially doubled down on his opinion of Kone in the documentary that showed their altercation.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
He said: “He is one of the players with the most potential at Olympique Marseille, but who didn’t always behave well. Someone who had highs and lows that were too big for a player who is ready for Olympique Marseille.”
De Zerbi has thus far overseen four games at Tottenham and picked up a hugely important seven points in their battle to avoid relegation.
Last Sunday’s win at Aston Villa, coupled with West Ham losing to Brentford just over 24 hours earlier, has seen the Lilywhites take control of their own fate as they now sit one point outside the bottom three.
The Hammers again play first this weekend as they host leaders Arsenal on Sunday afternoon while Tottenham welcome Leeds United to north London on Monday evening.
Spurs conclude the campaign against Chelsea and Everton while West Ham play Newcastle United and Leeds. While Tottenham head to Stamford Bridge several days after their relegation rivals’ trip to St James Park, the 10 final games of the season kick off at the same time.
Nottingham Forest all but secured safety after their 3-1 win over Chelsea on Monday with Vitor Pereira’s side unbeaten since mid-March while also navigating the latter rounds of the Europa League.
