Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou was concerned whether the Premier League club would adopt his innovative style of play, but perhaps the best demonstration of his success is the transformation of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Harry Kane's departure to Bayern Munich added to Postecoglou's intention to radically change what had happened before and created a sense of the club at a crossroads last summer. Somewhere in the midst of this maelstrom was the need to identify a new club captain and goalkeeper after Hugo Lloris expressed his desire to leave after 11 years in north London.
Vicario, 27, has exceeded all expectations to thrive in his first season in England, so much so that he was named Goalkeeper of the Year at last week's London Football Awards after committing so wholeheartedly to “Angeball” that believes it could redefine the sport. .
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“We have to take some risks by playing from the back because this is one of the situations we work on every day,” he tells ESPN. “We can have many solutions in this. You play with a high line, so you have to be prepared to make some sweeps outside the area. But I think this could be the new era, the new way of football. Of course, we have Practice every day and I really enjoy it.”
Vicario was a surprise replacement in several ways. Firstly, Spurs had been chasing Brentford's David Raya, but believed the initial transfer fee of £40m was too high for a player with one year left on his contract. Arsenal ended up signing Raya on a season-long loan for £3m with the option to sign him permanently for a further £27m.
Furthermore, Vicario had played top-level football for only a couple of years after making his Serie A debut in April 2021 with Cagliari before moving to Empoli three months later, where he made 31 more league appearances. Empoli finished 14th in Serie A and Vicario kept just seven clean sheets, but Postecoglou was convinced enough to make him his second signing for £17m, after Spurs converted Dejan Kulusevski's loan from Juventus into a permanent agreement.
Vicario was considered calm and intelligent with the ball at his feet, but Empoli's defensive style rarely allowed him to show his passing range. What is perhaps most surprising, then, is the level of composure the Italian has shown despite having limited experience; This season he has not made a single error that led to a goal and only two errors that led to a shot, and he has not dropped a single cross.
Perhaps most impressively, their “goals avoided” score (expected goals from shots on goal measured against actual goals conceded) is +6.15, the largest differential in the Premier League. Only seven goalkeepers have a higher figure in that metric in Europe's top five leagues. He has enjoyed some spectacular individual moments, being nominated for all but one of the Premier League's 'Save of the Month' awards this season.
“It's a completely different style of football than what I had to do in the past,” Vicario says. “But I think it's about working hard and trying to work as a team because the goalkeeper I know is the only player who can catch the ball with his hands, but you have to work a lot with the defensive line, with the back four.” .
Lloris was a help rather than a hindrance before moving to LAFC in December 2023. The France captain announced his intention to leave Spurs last June after making his 447th and final appearance for the club, but failed to agree a summer move despite interest from Lazio. Saudi Arabia and Nice, where he started his career. Postecoglou allowed Lloris to continue training with the first team even though he would not be considered for selection in the event of anything other than an extreme injury crisis involving Vicario and his number 2, Fraser Forster. The situation could have been tense but Vicario insisted that he was not.
“We trained every day and he was one of my teammates, so any advice, anything I could try to take from him, I tried to do,” Vicario says. “He was very kind to me, he tried to talk to me and help me calm down as quickly as possible. He did it and I am very grateful to him.”
But did you feel any pressure to replace such an iconic figure as Lloris? “Pressure is a word that is found everywhere in football,” he replies. “It's not about thinking too much about who was before you. I have great respect for what Hugo did and for what he did with me too when we trained in these last few months. He was a huge goalkeeper, a huge human being in the way he who behaves with me.
“There is great respect for what he achieved in his career, he is a World Cup winner, a captain. So I think the pressure is everywhere in football, so you don't have to think too much and concentrate in what you have to do day by day. “adds Vicario.
Vicario has previously spoken about the influence of Italian goalkeeping legends Gianluigi Buffon and Dino Zoff, both of whom hail from the same Udine region where he was born. But to make his adaptation even easier, Vicario studied the goalkeepers currently playing in England and highlighted two people.
“In the Premier League there are many top-level goalkeepers. I like to observe each goalkeeper by their behavior, their way of stopping and their style of goal,” he says. “[Aston Villa’s] Emi Martínez and [Liverpool’s] Alisson are for me the two best goalkeepers in the league, so if I have to say someone, I say these two guys because they are doing incredible, they play with risk, they take risks playing from behind, they are very brave to go out and clear situations, so of course I turn to other goalkeepers.”
Tottenham are in a battle with Martínez's Villa to secure the Champions League next season. Five English teams are likely to qualify depending on complicated calculations involving UEFA coefficients, which change depending on the performance of teams from various countries in Europe this season. But the working assumption is that the traditional four places are up for grabs and fourth-placed Villa have a five-point lead over Tottenham, who have a game in hand. The teams meet in a crucial clash at Villa Park on Sunday.
“It's important for everyone to try to get to the Champions League,” says Vicario, who has never played in Europe's top competition. “Of course, it is one of our goals to try to achieve. We know it is difficult because we have to face teams every week in the Premier League and it is difficult against everyone.
“I don't think we have to think too much about the end, just focus on trying to do our best game by game. Our goal right now is to try to win the next game, if you work to win the next game you can do it.” Maybe think about where you are at the end of the season.
“Of course, it is one of the best competitions in the world. I watch it when I stay at home, it is one of the best football spectacles in the world.”
However, regardless of what happens, Vicario believes that Spurs' future is bright: “We are a very young group, it is the first season we have played with the new coach, so we have to stay calm and try to concentrate.” . And work hard every day because I think we can be something special in the coming seasons.”
