'Roberto De Zerbi is the best manager I ever played under - I fell in love after one week'

Fan favourite Sandro has told Tottenham supporters, and players, what to expect

One former Tottenham star has hailed Roberto De Zerbi as “the best manager I ever played for.”

De Zerbi is expected to be announced as Spurs’ new manager in the coming days, with the immediate aim of guiding the club away from the threat of Premier League relegation.

The former Brighton manager is set to return to the English top flight, two years after leaving the Seagulls, and will have seven games to save Spurs .

Spurs are understood to have offered De Zerbi a very lucrative package to take the job, having previously expressed a desire to wait until the summer before deciding his options.

And the appointment is set to go down particularly well with former Spurs midfielder, and fan favourite, Sandro .

Sando worked with De Zerbi for one season at Benevento, who were at the time in the second division of Italian football, and “fell in love in a week”.

Asked back in 2023, on talkSPORT, who the best coach he played under, Sandro said: "It was De Zerbi, 100 per cent."

"I worked with him and fell in love with him in the first week … He's got passion. He's there every day, like a teacher. He practised a lot, the repetition."

He later told BBC Sport: "He's a manager who wants to have the ball all the time. A very intelligent and very particular manager who thinks a lot about the game.

“He helps players and gives them the details they need to hurt the opponent."

"Benevento were in a very bad situation, but De Zerbi picked some players to try to improve the team and I was part of that,” he added.

“I didn't know that I was going to meet one of the best coaches that I've had. It was amazing because I learned a lot from him, and I really enjoyed playing for him. I saw great things.

"When I arrived there, I was already an experienced player and I'd seen so many coaches.

“He made me come to games with fire, like 'what's he going to teach us today? What are we going to do?' You must be good to do that. I wanted more. I wanted to play for him."