The Tottenham head coach feels Guglielmo Vicario is more than a goalkeeper
Tottenham Hotspur had to settle for a point in their Premier League season-opener against new entrants Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Monday evening.
The north London side dominated the majority of the game and created plenty of chances in the final third. While they deservedly took the lead through Pedro Porro just before the half-hour mark, failure to capitalize on chances saw them being punished eventually. Jamie Vardy scored the equaliser in the 57th minute that brought renewed optimism around the King Power Stadium.
After making it 1-1, Leicester City players were right on top and caused problems for Tottenham with their closing down, pressing, energy and physicality. In a bid to help Spurs regain control of the game, head coach Ange Postecoglou handed Lucas Bergvall his official debut.
Lucas Bergvall, who officially arrived at the club in July after signing from Swedish side Djurgardens, looked extremely composed on the ball and made some crisp passes. His entry worked as Spurs slowly wrestled back control of the game.
Although the Swedish prodigy did his job well, one mistake of his on the ball saw goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario go absolute bonkers. Bergvall dwelled on the ball far too long, leading to a Leicester player dispossessing him on the left flank and crossing for Wilfried Ndidi in the box.
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Ndidi forced Vicario into a smart save late in the game, and after he kept the ball out, the shot-stopper ran towards Bergvall like a madman and gave him a dressing down. These things generally happen in the game but Vicario ripping into the youngster playing his first game for the club would have led to a divided opinion within the Spurs fanbase.
In an interview with Ange Postecoglou earlier this summer, the Spurs boss claimed that he trusts Vicario’s temperament, attitude and leadership skills to perform the right act on the pitch and off it.
“If you bring a person like that into your dressing room, it’s going to give you more than just a goalkeeper. He is the kind of guy who is going to have an influence over everything we do,” Postecoglou heaped praise on Vicario.
“He is going to have an influence over what I do and that’s how I keep learning — by bringing these kinds of players in.”
It looks like Vicario has grown into a leader at Spurs. He has come leaps and bounds in more than a year after arriving from Italian outfit Empoli, becoming one of the trusted figures for Postecoglou. He spoke about taking the leadership mantle due to him being one of the oldest members of the Spurs squad before the start of the new campaign.
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While many fans will think the Italy international’s scolding of Bergvall was a bit exaggerated, it also demonstrated that he is someone who will not let the team’s standards dip and will make his displeasure known regardless of who you are. Such personalities are required in the squad for a club to become successful and we are lucky to have a figure like Vicario in Postecoglou’s ranks.
