Jan Paul van Hecke and Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton clashes now fuel Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League push
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Jan Paul van Hecke and Roberto De Zerbi were once at loggerheads, but now the pair are united in their ambition to drive Tottenham Hotspur to the summit of English soccer.
The Dutch defender was reunited with De Zerbi in a £52 million ($69.8 million) deal this summer, with the Spurs head coach pushing hard for the North London club to secure the services of the 26-year-old he affectionately calls 'my son' from Brighton. De Zerbi invested considerable energy into Van Hecke's growth, frequently locking horns with the outspoken center-back during their early days together on the south coast, as the Italian pushed him toward becoming both a Premier League standout and a FIFA World Cup player.
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"I think the most important quality of JP is the balance between the arrogance and the confidence in himself. He is not arrogant but his confidence in himself is high, high, high," De Zerbi once said. "We fought... but we fought in a good way. We spoke a lot together. I am very proud of JP."
-Credit:GLYN KIRK, AFP via Getty ImagesVan Hecke acknowledges that the two now look back on those turbulent times with a smile.
"At the beginning we argued, it was because he had such a way of playing, and I needed to get used to it," the Dutchman told football.london. "Sometimes you're arguing over things, but I think that's a nice thing in football, because in the end, the manager wants the best and the player wants the best, and you push each other to the next level.
"We still speak about it sometimes now. He's joking about it, like, 'Do you remember our first few months?' And then you see what happens."
The pair maintained a strong connection following De Zerbi's departure from Brighton and Hove Albion in 2024, with the Italian consistently making clear that their professional paths would cross again.
"We have a really good bond. We kept in contact. We text each other, we call each other sometimes," said Van Hecke. "He always said, 'I hope you will play in my team again,' and now I am, so that's really nice."
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That's not to say De Zerbi has always seen eye to eye with Van Hecke, acknowledging that after the Dutch international set up Georginio Rutter for a stoppage-time Brighton equalizer at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April, he fired off a rather colorful message to the defender.
"After the [final day] Everton game, I sent the message 'F*** off, you wanted to send down Tottenham for Brighton when you made the assist, now you have to come to me, yes or yes, you have no choice!'" admitted the Italian.
"It was straight after the game, right in my office in the stadium, I sent a message to my daughter, and then JP."
Van Hecke chuckles at the recollection, even as he recalls it as an exchange following the 2-2 draw between the two clubs.
"I saw him after the game. Tottenham needed their points, but so did we," he recounted. "At the time, I was really happy that we scored to make it 2-2. Of course, for Tottenham and for De Zerbi, he was not really happy about it! It's a funny story. We spoke afterwards, and we had a laugh about it."
-Credit:Cameron Spencer, Getty ImagesDe Zerbi's arrival was followed by a further £185 million ($249.6 million) splashed on Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, with Spurs also securing free transfers for Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka.
Tottenham are poised to continue their lavish expenditure in the coming weeks, with De Zerbi eager to strengthen his attacking options. Van Hecke revealed that Spurs sold him on the prospect of marquee signings arriving throughout the window.
"That's what the club said to me. 'You're one of them', and of course it's also nice that you're the first one or one of the first ones. And they say there will be more signings, more good players, then you see other players coming as well. So that's a really good thing," he said.
"They're top-quality players, Premier League-proven players, talented players. And on top of that, we already have some good players, a lot of good players here. That could be a real combination, but now we need to show that."
He added: "The last two seasons, apart from winning the Europa League, have not been good, but you can see now there's a change in direction. Everyone's really excited. New players coming in and already strong players here.
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"And then a good combination with a really good coach. Tottenham need to be back at the top, and that's what we're trying to do."
Van Hecke acknowledged that De Zerbi was a major factor in his decision to join Spurs this summer, though the club's own stature proved equally compelling.
"Of course [he is there], but also Tottenham is such a big club, so if Tottenham comes, and then you speak with the manager, speak with the club, you get a really good feeling from everybody and also the people inside the club," he said.
"Also, the project that's coming up, then we got really excited. That really got me over the line. And of course the manager, I'm really good with him, we can't ignore that, but I thought it was a good combination."
The new signing also found a recognizable presence at the club in the form of international teammate Micky van de Ven, with the two center-backs frequently exchanging thoughts on life at Spurs.
-Credit:NurPhoto, NurPhoto via Getty Images"I'm really good friends with Micky. Even before the transfer was made, you speak always about football, you speak always about your club," he said. "He'd already told me that it's an amazing club. When I came here, I could see straight away from the first day that this is a really big club."
While Van de Ven operates as a left-back at international level, with Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk partnering the two Spurs defenders at the World Cup, the duo will be rekindling a familiar partnership when they line up together for Tottenham this season.
"That's what we did in the U21s years ago, we played together as a couple [of centre-backs]. Now I hope to play as many games with him, and hopefully it can be a really good partnership," said the new arrival.
De Zerbi anticipates Van Hecke will emerge as a vocal presence both on the field and in the locker room at Spurs. Both the Italian and his successor, Fabian Hurzeler, consistently praised the defender's leadership capabilities during his time at Brighton.
"We spoke about that [when I signed]. I've played four or five seasons here, so I know what the Premier League asks. It's a really tough league, and there's no easy game," he said.
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"I grew into that at Brighton. Of course, I had leadership qualities, but not straight away from the first year, but in the last few years, if you play every game and you're at a high level, you try to help your teammates.
"You try to be loud, you try to be positive. That's what I always try to do, and that's what I've got to do here as well."
So what can Tottenham supporters anticipate from the complete De Zerbi approach after experiencing only a glimpse of it during the closing weeks of last campaign?
"It's attacking-style football," explained Van Hecke. "Try to dominate teams, play out from the back, and try to score a lot of goals. You saw in his teams that they scored a lot of goals. It's exciting to watch. There's a lot to do because to play that kind of football you need a lot of work on the training pitch. That's what we're doing now.
"So far so good. Obviously we've improved and we have a really strong team and a really good manager. That could be a really good combination this season."