Jan Paul van Hecke was one of the players publicly singled out by Roberto De Zerbi following Tottenham’s 3-0 loss at Brentford on Saturday. The manager’s message was that the defender had not yet reached the required level of physical fitness.
De Zerbi also referred to Marcos Senesi and Sandro Tonali, two other recent arrivals at the club. Their lack of sharpness should not have been unexpected, particularly for the manager.
Van Hecke’s summer schedule helps explain the situation. Several dates stand out: on 18 June, he moved from Brighton to Spurs in a £52m deal; on 30 June, the Netherlands exited the World Cup after losing a last-32 penalty shootout to Morocco; and on 23 July, he joined Tottenham’s flight for a pre-season tour of New Zealand and Australia.
“The break was extremely brief,” he says. “However, I did not want to miss any part of pre-season. My opening days as a Spurs player took place in New Zealand and Australia.”
The central defender had never visited either country before and appreciated the trip, especially the warm reception. He was also impressed by the enthusiasm of the local supporters. Those were the positives, although the physical consequences of the journey remained noticeable.
“From a physical perspective, it naturally takes a toll on your body,” he says. “I found things difficult for a week or two.
There are positives and negatives. These are not places you would usually visit, but the trip showed us how much people there care about football. That was great to see.”
De Zerbi was not responsible for arranging such a distant tour during a World Cup summer. The schedule was already in place when he arrived at the club in late March, and he has repeatedly expressed frustration with it. “The journey lasted around 25 or 26 hours,” he said on Tuesday. “We had matches every three days, and the following day we were not in the proper condition to train.”
There seemed to be a compromise involving De Zerbi, whose preference was to spend the summer keeping the squad together and focusing entirely on training. He wanted to avoid unnecessary journeys and concentrate on demanding physical sessions and tactical preparation.
Tottenham’s third and final tour match was against Chelsea in Sydney on 1 August. Three additional friendlies followed: Getafe visited the Enfield training ground on 8 August, before Spurs faced Hoffenheim twice. Tottenham hosted the German side at their stadium on 15 August and then played them again at the training complex 24 hours later with a different group of players. De Zerbi remained dissatisfied. “After returning to London, we still could not begin proper work immediately because we had the friendly against Getafe.”
Van Hecke missed the games against Auckland and Sydney before starting against Chelsea. He was then selected against Getafe and for the stadium meeting with Hoffenheim. As a result, the distance he travelled was considerable compared with the number of minutes he played.
Senesi joined on a free transfer from Bournemouth on 1 July but did not travel because he represented Argentina in the World Cup final against Spain on 19 July. His first Tottenham appearance came in the stadium friendly against Hoffenheim. De Zerbi then started him beside Van Hecke at Brentford, so the manager’s concerns about both defenders’ physical readiness were understandable.
More surprising was De Zerbi’s decision to include Tonali in his criticism. Italy did not qualify for the World Cup, meaning the midfielder did not take part in the tournament. The 26-year-old completed a £92.5m transfer from Newcastle to Spurs on 6 July and participated in almost the entire pre-season programme. De Zerbi’s view that Tonali was still not fully prepared for Brentford reflected particularly badly on the club’s preparations.
De Zerbi omitted Tonali and Senesi from the squad for Wednesday’s 5-1 Carabao Cup victory at home to Charlton. He explained that both players had instead completed a demanding training session on Tuesday to improve their readiness for Saturday’s home fixture against Newcastle.
That match will have added meaning for Tonali. “Sandro followed a programme with Marcos that involved very demanding work to improve their fitness,” De Zerbi said after the Charlton game. “He still needs to work so that he feels stronger physically, but he will be in the starting lineup on Saturday.”
The overseas tour created several other difficulties. New recruit Mateus Fernandes experienced an injury after arriving in Sydney, having featured against Auckland. He did not return until the training-ground meeting with Hoffenheim. Dominic Solanke suffered a problem against Chelsea and missed the rest of pre-season. Both were fit enough to make the bench at Brentford before starting against Charlton.
Micky van de Ven faced similar issues. Van Hecke’s fellow Dutchman travelled to New Zealand and Australia but did not appear there, in any later pre-season fixture or against Brentford because of an injury. De Zerbi said last Friday that the problem had developed during the tour. “I am not certain whether it was caused by the flight or something else,” he said. “It was not serious, but he was not in the right condition to train.”
Van de Ven returned as a substitute against Charlton, as did Pedro Porro. The latter had not played at all during pre-season after helping Spain win the World Cup and was also absent from the Brentford match.
Destiny Udogie travelled on tour without featuring in pre-season. He came off the bench at Brentford and started against Charlton as he continued rebuilding his match fitness. Rodrigo Bentancur was in a similar position after missing the tour following his World Cup involvement with Uruguay. He was also a substitute at Brentford before entering the starting side against Charlton.
De Zerbi could take satisfaction from the victory over Charlton, although the performance came with reservations. Spurs struggled throughout the opening half-hour before eventually finding their rhythm. Charlton manager Nathan Jones had made 10 changes from the side that defeated West Ham on Saturday. Tottenham are fully aware that Newcastle will provide a significantly more demanding test, requiring a far stronger effort.
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