Guglielmo Vicario: “If we win, Tottenham fans will remember us forever” | Tottenham Hotspur

YoThere is one thing that never fails to excite: the moment when a young fan sees a player from his club. The reaction is almost always the same: wide eyes, stunned incomprehension. Then, belated understanding, and then, dizzying excitement.

When Guglielmo Vicario turned up for a training session organised by Tottenham's global football department at Richard Hale School in Hertford on Friday, the children aged between eight and 13 immediately became excited. “I'm Vicario,” they shouted. Some waved. Others decided whether they wanted him to sign their boots or gloves.

The Q&A session at the end is fun because, as always, the questions are great. The most dangerous opponent of the Premier League? (Mohamed Salah) And outside England? (Nico Williams) Spurs' best player? (Son Heung-min) The club's best friend? (Destiny Udogie)

Vicario obviously gets on well with them because, at the risk of being sentimental, he exudes charisma. And yet, not all the children who wear the Spurs shirt have enjoyed the same experience lately with the imposing goalkeeper.

It was the 91st minute of the club's match. Opening match of the season When 18-year-old debutant Lucas Bergvall lost the ball to Leicester's Stephy Mavididi, he crossed for Wilfred Ndidi, who nearly headed home the ball.

Vicario got up after making the save and ran at a glowing Bergvall, using his inner hairdryer. Some applauded the passion of the man known as Venom, while others criticized him for attacking a young man. For the record, Bergvall is not the type of character to let that (or anything) get to him.

“I was too aggressive with him and I apologized to him,” Vicario said. “Maybe it was because we dominated and then we conceded a goal (in the 57th minute) and I had the feeling in the last five minutes – for whatever reason – that we could lose.

“It's just about understanding where the game is taking us. But it wasn't the right way to go in terms of yelling at him.

“He will understand, he is a good guy. And it is part of football. I also suffered this when I was a teenager. We are men. We get through it. Maybe my performance at that time was not the best, but the message had the right reasons and came from the right place.”

Vicario has experience in this field. Remember his Ryan Sessegnon's Monster After January's FA Cup win over Burnley? But the broader issue is about a change in dynamic at Spurs and the increased status Vicario now enjoys.

The team looks younger after the transfer window, with Bergvall having been joined by two youngsters, Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert. It is as if chairman Daniel Levy has returned to the strategy that worked so well before: acquiring young players with great potential, who are likely to improve and increase in value.

Vicario is 27 and entering his second season with Spurs, but there are only a handful of players at the club who are older than him: Fraser Forster, Ben Davies, Yves Bissouma, Timo Werner and Son. Vicario reveals that manager Ange Postecoglou has given him an unofficial leadership role, supporting captain Son and vice-captains Cristian Romero and James Maddison.

“I think it’s something that comes with age,” he says. “It’s not an official position. We talk about it amongst ourselves in the dressing room and I like taking on this responsibility, especially with the youngsters.”

“Our commitment, discipline and focus have to be at the highest level at all times. And we have to try to make sure that we are always performing at our best. Sometimes we have good days and sometimes we don’t. But the right mentality during the week and during the match will help some of the youngsters develop. I am very happy with this new position.”

Vicario was excellent last season, putting in some impressive numbers, even with the ball at his feet. According to Opta, he had the most successful passes of any goalkeeper in the Premier League and was second in the goalkeeping tackle metric. There were plenty of great saves, some of them spectacular.

If there was one criticism, it was that it could be distracted by the dark arts from opponents at set-pieces. He looked to be in the spotlight during the second half of the season, with Ben White's attempts to play his gloves off a corner during the derby against Arsenal attracting plenty of analysis, mainly because Spurs conceded goals.

“I didn’t realise it at the time… I only saw afterwards that he tried to grab my gloves,” says Vicario. “We conceded a goal, but not for that reason. And it’s not about targeting anyone. Every team targets everyone. You just have to deal with it.”

Vicario also does not want to dwell too much on the 61 goals that Spurs have conceded in the league, a figure that they will surely have to reduce if they want to qualify for the Champions League this season.

“Aston Villa conceded 61 goals and went into the Champions League with a two-point advantage,” says Vicario. “Manchester United, Newcastle, Chelsea… they all conceded around 60 goals. Only Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool conceded around 30, 35, 40.”

“It’s the way we play football in England, it exposes teams to conceding more chances and goals. Here, it’s about scoring one more goal than the opponent rather than not conceding one less, which is the best way for people who come to watch the games. It’s more entertaining.

“I also like to play a good game… with the ball, playing in some situations where there is a lot of pressure from the rivals and with my work we can overcome it, break some lines and score.”

Vicario will look to settle the score at Newcastle on Sunday, where Spurs were… Defeated 4-0 last seasonalthough it is an improvement on the 6-1 thrashing they suffered there in 2022-23. It is when the Italian outlines his goals for the season that the excitement erupts.

“It’s about being a team until May 25, about building a great team until May 25,” he said. “But everyone wants to win and, if we have the opportunity, we will try until the end. We know that if we achieve this at Tottenham, our fans will remember us for life, for eternity.

“It would be one of the most important things that could happen in your career, in your life. Plus, maybe one day you could go back to the stadium and walk down the tunnel, down the hallway and see some pictures and say, 'Well, maybe 40 years ago I did this.'

“If I'm in the photos, that would be great. So we'll try to do that.”