Guglielmo Vicario is reaping the benefits of his career choices with the goalkeeper blossoming into one of the Premier League’s best since joining Tottenham Hotspur.
Following a couple of nervy moments in pre-season, not to mention in Tottenham’s opening day draw at Brentford back in August, even the most optimistic Spurs supporter probably didn’t expect Guglielmo Vicario to blossom into a pillar of such confidence and calming consistency after just a few months under Ange Postecoglou.
The £17 million summer signing from Empoli has made those heart-stopping moments a thing of the past while keeping the joint-most clean sheets (four) anywhere in the division. Vicario’s qualities with the ball at his feet was one of the main factors in Tottenham choosing him as Hugo Lloris’ long-term successor, but his shot-stopping has caught the eye every bit as much as his distribution so far.
A striking one-handed, reflex stop when the score was still goalless at Crystal Palace on Friday night already feels like a genuine Save of the Season contender.
Guglielmo Vicario shining at Tottenham Hotspur
Called up to the Italy squad earlier in October, Vicario’s form must now have Gigi Donnarumma glancing nervously over his shoulder with the European Championships less than 12 months away.
Vicario, meanwhile, is proof that Donnarumma’s rapid rise – from AC Milan regular at 16 to PSG’s number one – is not the only route to the top of the European game, the late-blooming 27-year-old arriving at Tottenham after spells at Empoli, Perugia, Venezia and Fontanafredda.
“It’s the path he took that makes the difference. It’s a path that Donnarumma didn’t follow,” Simone Braglia, a one-time AC Milan glovesman, tells Tuttomercatoweb.
“You have to take all the steps to train yourself well. Today, Vicario is like he is because of his training. He has done all the categories (performed at all the levels) and grew gradually.”
Four clean sheets already
Vicario, alongside fellow new recruits James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, is a major driving force behind unbeaten Tottenham’s best-ever start to a Premier League campaign.
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