Guglielmo Vicario spent three years with hometown club Udinese but never made a first-team appearance.
In the summer of 2016, he left the Italian top-flight side and signed a permanent deal with Venezia, having just helped them achieve promotion to Serie C during a season-long loan. Vicario bounced around the lower leagues in Italy until he spent two years as Empoli’s first-choice goalkeeper in Serie A and earned a £17.2million ($23.1m) move to Tottenham Hotspur in June 2023.
On Wednesday evening, Vicario returns to the city where he grew up as a winner of the Europa League. Udinese’s stadium is hosting the European Super Cup between Spurs and Paris Saint-Germain. After a disappointing 4-0 defeat against Bayern Munich in their final pre-season friendly last week, Spurs have an opportunity to win another piece of silverware in new head coach Thomas Frank’s first competitive game.
“(Udine) is a small city, so just to imagine being involved in such an important game, a European final again, is a dream,” Vicario says during Tottenham’s pre-season tour of East Asia. “It’s a big achievement for the club. What we did in Bilbao (beating Manchester United in the Europa League final), we earned this right to play against PSG. It will be amazing. A lot of people close to me, friends and members of my family, will be watching. We were season ticket holders at Udinese.”
PSG’s first-choice goalkeeper is Italy captain Gianluigi Donnarumma. Vicario and Donnarumma have not spoken before this game but they congratulated each other after winning last season’s Europa League and Champions League respectively. Dino Zoff, who was in goal when Italy won the 1982 World Cup, grew up in Udine but Vicario’s inspiration was a midfielder — his uncle, Alessandro Bais, who never played higher than Serie C.
“My dad, my uncle, everyone was in love with football,” he says. “It’s probably easier when you are a child to kick a ball than to try to catch a ball but I had this love for being a goalkeeper since I was seven. I carried on and found my way.”
Vicario is strolling around Yeouido Park with centre-back Kevin Danso on one of the final days of Spurs’ summer trip to Hong Kong and Seoul. They are both wearing a hanbok, a traditional South Korean dress, and are in the shadow of a statue that commemorates the 15th-century ruler King Sejong. The sun is scorching and cicadas are noisily chirping in the trees.
A couple of hours earlier, across the road on the third floor of the IFC Mall, Son Heung-min announced he wanted to leave Spurs after “10 beautiful years”. Son told his team-mates shortly before the dramatic press conference. A few days later, after an emotional farewell at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, the 33-year-old completed a £20million move to Los Angeles FC. Vicario was spotted after the game repeatedly kissing Son on the head as they said goodbye.
“I would have loved to stay with him forever,” Vicario tells a group of journalists, including The Athletic, before Son’s move to LAFC was completed. “I love him as a human being. We shared a dressing room for two seasons and we won a massive trophy. We will remember each other and see each other. We will share this good stuff about what we did in Bilbao that night. It will stay with me forever because we created history together. He was my captain on that day so I will be grateful to him for eternity.
“It hasn’t been easy but I’m just happy for him. What he has done in his football career and life, he is a wonderful human being. He deserves the best.”
Son’s departure means Frank needs to find somebody to take over the captain’s armband. Cristian Romero was the vice-captain under former head coach Ange Postecoglou, while Vicario and James Maddison were members of the leadership group. Vicario led the side on the final day of last season in a 4-1 defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion. Maddison’s chances of replacing Son have been dealt a crushing blow after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in this month’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle United, ruling him out for the majority of the campaign. Does Vicario feel ready for more responsibility?
“I am happy to help the dressing room and the youngsters,” the 28-year-old says. “It doesn’t matter who has the armband. It is on us, especially the older players, to be respectful to each other and try to show it in a very good way. We have a lot of good characters in Cuti (Romero), Ben Davies, (Micky) van de Ven, Dominic Solanke, Madders. It’s on us to lead the dressing room and do what Sonny did over the last two years.”
Vicario sounds like a natural leader when he talks honestly about Spurs’ ambitions for the season. “We need to improve our league position. Last year wasn’t good enough. We will try in five competitions starting on August 13. We have an opportunity to win another trophy. We know it will be hard, playing against probably the best team in the world at the moment, but we want to be successful.”
Much has changed across multiple departments at Spurs this summer. Frank replaced Postecoglou in June on a three-year contract. The only surviving member of the latter’s backroom staff is Matt Wells. Fabian Otte has arrived as the new goalkeeping coach from Liverpool, after helping them win the Premier League title last season. He replaces Rob Burch.
During Liverpool’s pre-season preparations last year, Otte made the goalkeepers wear training goggles that limit peripheral vision and noise-cancelling headphones. Vicario describes Otte, who did his PhD in goalkeeper skill acquisition training, as a “good guy”, and they have quickly built a close relationship. The Italy international has been impressed by Frank, too.
“He is focused and clear on what the team has to deliver on the pitch, both attacking and defending,” Vicario says. “Now we are on the way. It’s on us how we can be focused and tuned in to his instructions. If we do it 100 per cent every game, even when the toughest period of the year will come, we will get a lot of joy.”
Vicario was Postecoglou’s first official signing and they shared a close bond. This year, the Australian called Vicario “one of the purest human beings you can come across”. There were lots of different factors as to why Spurs struggled in the top flight last season but they lost eight of their 12 games after Vicario fractured his ankle in a 4-0 victory over Manchester City in November.
Vicario returned in February and kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win against Manchester United. However, Spurs lost 22 games and finished 17th as their focus switched to the Europa League. Postecoglou was sacked in June, only two weeks after they beat United in Bilbao to lift their first piece of silverware in 17 years.
“I texted Ange when I heard the news,” Vicario says. “I will always be linked to him because we created history on that night. He was the manager on that special night when we lifted that trophy.
“I can just say lovely words about him. He is a great character and he gave me the opportunity to play in the Premier League and confidence in my abilities to be the first-choice goalkeeper. I will be thankful for my whole life.”
Frank will place different demands on Vicario compared to Postecoglou. Under the latter, Spurs rarely kicked the ball long in the top flight last season. During his time with Brentford, Frank instructed David Raya and Mark Flekken to chip passes over the opposition defence towards the strikers.
Antonin Kinsky, who joined Spurs from Slavia Prague in January, might have a more varied passing range than Tottenham’s current No 1, but Frank will find Vicario’s experience and leadership invaluable during his first season in charge.
(Top photo: Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)