Guglielmo Vicario has opened up on how his move to Tottenham Hotspur came about in the summer, revealing that he asked his agent to get the deal done as soon as he heard of the club’s interest.
Vicario was a relative unknown to Tottenham supporters and Premier League fans as a whole when he arrived from Empoli in the summer but the Italian has quickly garnered a reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in the English top flight.
Unlike other top goalkeepers, who have struggled to make the transition to the Premier League when they first arrived from Spain or Italy, the 27-year-old has looked completely at home since the second he set foot on the pitch.
When asked about his decision to join the North London side, Vicario told FourFourTwo (as relayed by Football.London): “My agent said to me, ‘Tottenham might be interested in you’. I said, ‘Oh, Tottenham, OK… that’s very nice!’ What can you say when you hear that name? From Empoli to Tottenham, it could be a big deal for me.”
The former Empoli man admitted that his conversation with Ange Postecoglou helped convince him regarding a switch to Hotspur Way.
He continued: “Then the gaffer called me, we spoke about football and also about life, and he made a massive impression. In just two days, we arranged everything. After a week’s holiday, I came to London to sign my contract – it was one of the best days of my life because it was one of my dreams to come to the Premier League.
“Many Italians don’t want this opportunity because it is not easy to say, ‘OK, we go to another country, maybe we don’t know the language and it could be a little bit colder during winter’. But I only thought about the chance to join Spurs, to play in the Premier League and to live in a big city like London.”
Vicario wanted to step out of his comfort zone
Vicario also revealed that he was keen to challenge himself outside Italian football as he hates getting into a comfort zone.
When asked about interest from other Serie A clubs in the summer, the Tottenham number one responded: “Maybe, I don’t know. When I listened to Tottenham, I said, ‘OK Tottenham’. I didn’t want to listen to anything else, I wanted to come here. I don’t need comfortable stuff in my life.
“Life is too easy to live in a comfort zone – for me, this was a challenge. The level here is the best in the world. It was also an opportunity to experience how people live in a different way to Italy and to learn a new language in a new dressing room.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Tottenham have not just found a reliable number one for the long-term but also a real leader, with the Italian going a long way to filling the void left by Hugo Lloris’ departure.
While the 27-year-old has understandably come for some criticism over recent weeks for his ability to deal with set-piece situations, he is evidently a driven individual who works hard on his game, which is why I have no doubt that he will improve that part of his game.