It’s been just over a year since Guglielmo Vicario joined Tottenham and the Italian is already becoming a leader at the club.
He is a vocal presence between the sticks and has grown as a player at Spurs, improving with the ball at his feet and turning into a more reliable shot-stopper than he was in Serie A.
The goalkeeper rose through the lower divisions of Italian football to reach the pinnacle of the sport and there is a lot of pride in Italy, whenever Vicario does well.
Sporting director Giorgio Perinetti, who signed the keeper at Venezia, spoke to TuttoSport about Vicario and he seemed very happy about the 28-year-old’s journey.
He said: “When I arrived at Venezia I had recently lost my wife. I felt the need to get involved, to accept a challenge to try to fill that void. In Serie D there is the problem of young players, each team had to field at least four under-21s.
“They told me about this goalkeeper owned by Udinese who already had a Serie D championship behind him. It was summer, and the boy was on retreat with Pordenone.
Revealing how he managed to sign Vicario, Perinetti said: “Thanks to a tip, I discovered that the club had not yet signed him and so I immediately rushed in, bringing him to Venezia for free.
“His journey was not the fastest, but it is the result of the many steps that led him to become the player he is now.”
Expressing further glee about the goalkeeper’s journey, the sporting director remarked:
“An indescribable emotion. I have always sponsored him, he is an extraordinary guy, he deserves the best.”
There were some initial doubts about Vicario’s ability on the ball when he joined Tottenham.
But for someone who has witnessed a steep rise in the game, it was just another challenge and he overcame the problem very quickly.
He is now one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and it’s clear Spurs pulled off an excellent deal in the summer of 2023.
