Tottenham’s Vicario on taking risks, Lloris’ advice, UCL hopes

Tottenham Hotspur supervisor Ange Postecoglou had considerations whether or not the Premier League membership would embrace his revolutionary fashion of play, however maybe the perfect demonstration of his success is the transformation in goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

The departure of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich added to Postecoglou’s intent on radically altering what had gone earlier than and created a way of a membership at a crossroads final summer time. Somewhere in the course of this maelstrom was the necessity to determine a brand new membership captain and goalkeeper after Hugo Lloris had said his want to depart following 11 years in north London.

Vicario, 27, has exceeded all expectations to thrive in his debut season in England, a lot in order that he was named Goalkeeper of the Year ultimately week’s London Football Awards after committing so wholeheartedly to “Angeball” that he believes it might redefine the game.

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“We have to take some risks playing from the back because this is one of the situations we work on every day,” he tells ESPN. “We can have a lot of solutions in this. You play with a high line so you have to be ready with some sweeps outside the box. But I think this could be the new era, the new way of football. Of course, we practice every day and I really enjoy it.”

Vicario was a shock alternative in a number of methods. Firstly, Spurs had been pursuing Brentford’s David Raya however believed the preliminary £40 million switch price was too excessive for a participant with one 12 months left on his contract. Arsenal ended up signing Raya on a season-long mortgage for £3m with an choice to signal him completely for an additional £27m.

Also, Vicario had been taking part in top-level soccer for under a few years after making his Serie A debut in April 2021 for Cagliari earlier than transferring to Empoli three months later the place he performed an additional 31 league video games. Empoli completed 14th in Serie A as Vicario stored solely seven clear sheets, however Postecoglou was sufficiently satisfied to make him his second signing for £17m, after Spurs turned Dejan Kulusevski‘s mortgage from Juventus right into a everlasting deal.

Vicario was thought of calm and clever with the ball at his toes, however Empoli’s defensive fashion hardly ever allowed him to showcase his passing vary. So what is maybe extra shocking is the extent of composure the Italian has proven regardless of solely restricted expertise; he has not made a single error resulting in a purpose this season and solely two errors resulting in a photographs, and has not dropped a single cross.

Perhaps most impressively, his “goals prevented” rating — anticipated objectives from photographs on goal measured in opposition to precise objectives conceded — is +6.15, the largest differential within the Premier League. Only seven goalkeepers have the next determine from that metric in Europe’s prime 5 leagues. He has loved some spectacular particular person moments, being nominated for all however one Premier League ‘Save of the Month’ award this season.

“It is a completely different style of football from what I had to do in my past,” Vicario says. “But I think it just becomes about hard work and trying to work as a team because the keeper I know is the only player that can catch the ball with his hands but you have to work a lot with the defence line, with the back four.”

Lloris was a assist quite than a hindrance earlier than transferring to LAFC in December 2023. The France captain introduced his intention to depart Spurs final June after making his 447th and closing look for the membership however he did not agree a summer time transfer regardless of curiosity from Lazio, Saudi Arabia and Nice, the place he started his profession. Postecoglou allowed Lloris to proceed coaching with the first-team squad despite the fact that he wouldn’t be thought of for choice within the occasion of something apart from an excessive harm disaster involving Vicario and his No. 2, Fraser Forster. The state of affairs might have been tense however Vicario insisted it was something however.

“We trained every day and he was one of my teammates so any advice, anything I could to try and take from him, I tried to do,” Vicario says. “He was very kind with me, trying to speak with me and help settle me as fast as I can. He did it and I’m very grateful to him.”

But did he really feel any stress in changing such an iconic determine as Lloris? “Pressure is a word you find everywhere in football,” he replies. “It is not about overthinking who was before you. I have a huge respect for what Hugo did and what he did with me also when we trained in these last few months. He was a massive keeper, a massive human being in the way he behaves with me.

“So big respect for what he achieved in his career, he is a World Cup winner, a captain. So I think pressure is everywhere in football so you don’t have to overthink and just concentrate on what you have to do day by day,” Vicario provides.

Vicario has beforehand spoken in regards to the affect of Italian goalkeeping legends Gianluigi Buffon and Dino Zoff, each of whom hail from the identical area of Udine the place he was born. But to additional help his adaptation, Vicario studied goalkeepers at present taking part in in England and singled out two people.

“In the Premier League there are a lot of top goalkeepers, I like to watch every goalkeeper in the way he behaves, the way he saves, his style of goalkeeping,” he says. “[Aston Villa’s] Emi Martínez and [Liverpool’s] Alisson are for me the two top keepers in the league so if I have to say someone, I say these two guys because they are doing unbelievable, they play with risk, take risks playing from the back, they are very brave to go out and to clear situations so of course I look to other keepers.”

Tottenham are in a battle with Martínez’s Villa to safe Champions League soccer subsequent season. It is feasible that 5 English groups might qualify relying on sophisticated calculations referring to UEFA coefficients, which change based mostly on how groups from numerous nations carry out in Europe this season. But the working assumption is the standard 4 spots can be found and fourth-placed Villa maintain a five-point lead over Tottenham, who’ve a sport in hand. The groups face one another in an important conflict at Villa Park on Sunday.

“It is important for everyone, trying to go in the Champions League,” says Vicario, who has by no means performed in Europe’s premier competitors. “Of course it is one of our goals to try to achieve. We know it is hard because we have to face sides every week in the Premier League and it is tough against everyone.

“I do not suppose we’ve got to overthink in regards to the finish, simply focusing on making an attempt to do our greatest sport by sport. Our purpose for the time being is to attempt to win the subsequent sport, in the event you work to win the subsequent sport you possibly can perhaps suppose on the finish of the season about the place you’re.

“Of course, it is one of the best competitions in the world. I watch when I stay home, it is one of the best football shows in the world.”

Regardless of what occurs, nevertheless, Vicario says he believes the longer term at Spurs is brilliant: “We are a very young group, it is the first season we are playing altogether with the new manager so we just have to remain calm and try to focus and work hard every day because I think we can be something special in the next seasons.”