The former Tottenham Hotspur defender has been speaking about the north London club and what he wants to do next in his future
Toby Alderweireld believes that the next few decisions made by Tottenham are going to ‘crucial’ as to whether they move forward under Roberto De Zerbi or discover that it’s three strikes and they’re out.
This version of Spurs must feel somewhat alien to the Belgian centre-back. During his 236 appearances for the north London club they were fighting at the other end of the table with three top-three finishes under Mauricio Pochettino, including two title challenges, before reaching their first ever Champions League final in 2019 while finishing fourth in the Premier League.
In contrast, in the past two seasons Tottenham have twice finished 17th, albeit around winning the Europa League in 2025. The recently-finished campaign was nearly a disastrous one as the Lilywhites only escaped relegation on the final day of the season after 12 months in which they had four different head coaches at the helm.
In the second part of football.london‘s interview with Alderweireld – you can read part one here as he speaks about Van Hecke, Senesi, Vuskovic and Romero – the 37-year-old Belgian said Spurs need to get this summer’s planning and execution spot on if they are to avoid another season from hell.
“We need stability and the next few choices are going to be crucial. Proven players, not that they are 35 or 36-years-old but proven a little bit in the Premier League, and the club needs players with desire, and they must give time,” said the former defender.
“De Zerbi, give him time, and get the fans back on your side by playing positive football, like a team that really wants to play for the badge. That feeling, because what you can say about the fans, the fans are the club, that’s it. You have to know this and how they supported the team in the last couple of weeks of the season was unbelievable.
“You need to use that. The players need to know ‘look, this is something special, this is not normal’ and if you get this, I think everything will work out. Everyone needs to work very hard to get back in that position, because one time, two times, third time you’re out, and it’s difficult to come back again.”
It’s noticeable throughout that Alderweireld still calls Tottenham “we”. The Belgian, who racked up 127 caps for his country, spent six years of his career in N17 before – after a season in Qatar – he wrapped up his playing days with a remarkable fairytale ending at his hometown club Royal Antwerp.
Not only did he win the Belgian Cup with them but a month later on the final day of the season the centre-back crashed home a stunning 94-minute rocket of a goal to hand Antwerp their first league title in 66 years. The following season he led them into the Champions League group stages for the first time in their history before announcing that he would retire at the end of that 2024/25 campaign.
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So what has Alderweireld been doing in the past year since he hung up his boots? Well he made headlines after performing as Oehoe the Owl in the Belgian version of The Masked Singer. Videos of his performances and unmasking went viral across social media as the most unexpected of reality show contestants.
Around that Alderweireld has been ticking off those things in life that he just could not do as a footballer, but now he’s starting to get the itch to become involved in the sport again.
“I climbed a mountain in Peru! Some stuff like this. Things that I never could do in my football career. I do some punditry work on the Champions League and the national team and then I have my liquor company (MM Antverpia), of course, that’s going very well in Belgium. I’m happy with that,” he said.
“I decided to go away a little bit from football, to step back, because I think for 20 years I’ve been in there. I needed to get refreshed, breathe a little bit and then see what opportunities were there. And after a year now, I’m starting to get the feeling back that I really want to get involved.”
Don’t expect Alderweireld to be the next Tottenham head coach though.
“I never want to be a manager because it’s like one day you’re the best and you win games, then you get sacked and then you get all over the world,” he said. “I want something for the long term, so I can help and build on a bigger story, not like today, tomorrow, and then the next day is different. I don’t like this.
“So if something is coming and there’s opportunities…not to be arrogant, but a lot of things came on my path, but I said ‘no, no, no’ because I really want to find something that is ‘okay that’s what I want to do’. I’m waiting a little bit for that and I think you need a year to experience other things.
“Then when you go back into football, you go in fresh and you want to go back again. Because if I do something, people that know me know I do everything 100%. It demands a lot of time and effort, but I think I’m coming a little bit more back into football.”
Alderweireld’s long-time central defensive partner Jan Vertonghen has spoken in the past about potentially becoming a sporting director at a club and that also appeals to his fellow Ajax academy graduate.
“Yeah, that’s something. Of course, I will never be so arrogant to say I will be very good at it,” said Alderweireld. “You need to learn things, but other than that, I think we’ve been in football. We know how the world works a little bit and you can learn stuff like this.
“For some things, of course, you can have a degree but it’s like I went to school [in football]. There’s everything you learn on the pitch, off the pitch, close to the people that work there, you know. Everything in theory is good and I know this, but you have to feel and to know ‘I’m good at this and I’m not good at that’. And I’m good at a lot of things, but a lot more things I’m not good at.
“And those are the things you want to know. Of course, there’s some pressure. You need to perform. That’s always like this, but it’s something more stable. I can really work for a long term and try to help a team in a different way than becoming a manager.”
So perhaps while Alderweireld might not be the man in the dugout in the future for Tottenham, he could be found operating higher up within his old club one day. First though, he needs to complete something not many sporting directors can boast – a huge tattoo that will cover his entire back.
“It’s not finished yet. I’m working on it. It needs a couple more sessions, but it’s going well. It’s recovery time now,” he said.
So what’s it going to be?
“Oh, nobody knows! I will show it on my Instagram when it’s finished!” came the coy response.
Like that art being inked on to his skin, both Alderweireld and Tottenham remain unfinished in what they want to achieve. Both will hopefully be back in the game sooner rather than later.
Toby Alderweireld was speaking in association with BOYLE Sports 2 Goals Ahead. The early payout offer allows fans to back a team and if they go 2 goals up at any point during a 90-minute match (e.g 2-0, 3-1, 4-2), BOYLE Sports will immediately settle as a winning bet, no matter the final result. Go to BOYLE Sports for more.
