'Living The Dream' - Vicario on Italy debut, Ange's phone call and future ambitions
Mon 08 April 2024, 17:30|
Tottenham Hotspur
Guglielmo Vicario spent his entire life impelled by a dream: playing for Italy.
This dedicated intent, for a goalkeeper whose career in his homeland began in the Italian fourth tier before joining Spurs, has now led him to one of the pinnacles of football. There are few honours greater in the game than representing your country and, on 24 March 2024, ‘Vic’ achieved this lifelong dream when he was selected to start in Italy’s international friendly with Ecuador at the home of the New York Red Bulls in New Jersey, USA.
Having never appeared for his country at any level before, the 27-year-old, who received his first international call-up back in September 2022, proudly adorned the Azzurri crest on his chest for the very first time and would have felt like he was flying with wings in the Red Bull Arena.
For a player who hashtags ‘Living The Dream’ on his social media, it marked a landmark moment for our summer signing from Empoli who made a positive impact on his debut between the sticks for his nation, keeping a clean sheet as Luciano Spaletti’s side ran out 2-0 winners.
View this post on Instagram
When reflecting on his achievement, the goalkeeper speaks of his enormous pride at realising his enduring ambition but, such is his grounded and humble nature, was quick to use a mythological reference to emphasise he won’t get carried away and will not stop striving to improve.
“It's a big honour,” said our number 13. “It's a lifelong dream I've had since I was a kid.
“I've always wanted to represent my country, to represent my family and friends and everyone who lives in Italy but also for Italians who live abroad like me.
“It fills me with huge pride to have made my debut, it was a big target in my sporting life, so I'm very proud of what I've achieved but now my objective is to improve day after day, without setting limits and without flying too close to the sun either. I try to experience the present and expect the maximum from myself.”
A special phone call
Icarus, in Greek mythology, was a character whose fate was met by flying too close to the sun with waxen wings. His tale was written as a cautionary one, particularly for the transition from adolescence to adulthood, but Vic is a wise head on young shoulders which has also been apparent from an early age.
When pursuing his football career as an 18-year-old, he made the brave decision to leave the comfort of home and Serie A side Udinese’s academy to join a senior semi-professional outfit Fontanafredda in their first campaign in Serie D. In a country famous for its sculptors, the goalkeeper then carved his own path with spells at Venezia, Cagliari, Perugia and Empoli as he worked his way up from the fourth division of Italian football to the top.
These were pursuits that, outside of the traditional pathway, have helped him remain hungry and modest as well as develop a steely character. So, when it came to persuading Guglielmo to join us in the summer, Ange Postecoglou even referenced the pair’s kindred journeys to reach the elite level of the game. Not that he took much convincing!
“It was a very good call because he knew everything about me, my past, style of play and my character,” Vic explained.
“The gaffer was the main man. He told me it’s a very important thing that both of us started from the bottom and have had to overcome hurdles in our careers and lives. He believed in me and called me here to join this football club.
“Of course, you need to show your qualities, but at that time it was important to hear about the man he is so that gave me no doubts to join him and Spurs because I think we can do brilliant things together.
“He has a big personality, he's a big character. I think his best trait is that he's a great human being in the way he speaks and behaves. He has given us a new mentality in life and in football and has set the style he wants from his team.
“I'm very happy to have made this choice in the summer and I'm very happy with the future. I would have walked here if needed. It was an opportunity that I couldn’t miss so I was ready to come from Italy to the UK, walking or running!”
Team morale and leaving a legacy at Spurs
Now taking the Premier League by storm in a new league and foreign territory, Guglielmo has been a tower of strength between the sticks and remains our only ever-present in the league this campaign, keeping six clean sheets helped by his 91 saves in 31 league appearances, and was awarded the ‘Goalkeeper of the Year’ at the London Football Awards in February.
Possessing superb shot-stopping ability – which has earned him nominations for the Premier League's Save of the Month on six occasions so far – he also has a calmness in possession where he's such an important cog in our build-up from the back and it’s no surprise to see him on 1,110 passes completed, with 118 accurate long passes. Also, with our defensive high line, his awareness and reading of the game is also crucial to our defensive unit which is reflected in making 62 defensive actions outside the penalty area.
Watch - Vicario's award-nominated save against Everton
Vic cares deeply. And the Italian has been a revelation in his debut season in England’s top flight, endearing himself to the Spurs faithful with his swashbuckling performances and a passion that is fully reciprocated. At 27, the former Empoli man is one of the older members of our squad that has an average age of 25 years and 162 days, the fourth youngest in the league, under Ange this season. Led by the ‘amazing’ Heung-Min Son as Club captain, who reached 400 appearances in Lilywhite at West Ham United in April, Vic points to the quality and togetherness in this group and believes they can go on to achieve special things together.
“It's one of the biggest clubs in the country and worldwide so I'm very proud and happy to have joined and be part of this family,” he beamed.
“It fills me with emotion and pride every day to come into this football club and to train with this group of players and represent this fantastic club in front of our amazing fans, so I'm really, really happy to be here.
“To look up in the stands at the stadium and see the fans celebrating is one of the best feelings. Sometimes it's about emotion, you are only a fan watching on from the other end of the pitch and, when your team-mate scores a goal, I have the same reaction as a fan in the stands. It's about displaying my emotion and sometimes I go crazy because it's an important goal or victory, so I love to do that.
“We are still a very young team, so I hope we stay together for a long time because I think we have this quality and togetherness and desire to try to do something special. I think we are a close group with big friendships between each other.
“I have a big relationship with Sonny, he's my captain and an amazing lad. He's a very good captain and a great person who sets a brilliant example for everyone that has come in to see how he behaves. He's very thankful to everyone inside the Spurs environment which is an important quality, and he shows that in a very good way. I'm very happy because he has so much respect from us as our captain, so we are very happy with him.
“I can feel this now that in the future I believe we can write our names on the walls of the stadium forever which will be one of my best dreams.”
