Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is determined to keep his young teammates on track despite facing criticism. The 27-year-old played a crucial role in Spurs' fifth consecutive victory on Thursday, a 2-1 win over Ferencvaros in the Europa League.
This marked a turnaround for Ange Postecoglou’s youthful team, which had been under scrutiny following back-to-back Premier League losses and a narrow Carabao Cup triumph at Coventry. Despite being criticised when Spurs conceded from a set-piece against Arsenal last month, Vicario, who has been named the club’s third vice-captain this season, has bounced back with key saves and two clean sheets ahead of Sunday’s trip to Brighton.
“I am very proud of that (new leadership role),” Vicario reflected. It makes me feel important in the dressing room because we are a group of very young lads, very talented lads, but sometimes you need some old guys to manage some situations inside the dressing room, to keep developing these guys and to help them do good things in and out of the pitch.
“So, very happy with that, but first of all I have to focus on my game and make sure I can perform at the top level. Criticism is part of football, you know. One day you are top, the other day you are… I can’t say the word!
“No, it is part of football and what can I do? I can’t handle (control) it, I just have to focus on what I can manage. What I can manage is part of the way of playing football.”
Spurs' ability to bounce back from criticism has been highlighted this season, with Brennan Johnson hitting a rich vein of form, scoring five goals in as many matches after opting to deactivate his Instagram due to online abuse post-Arsenal defeat. Dominic Solanke, too, has found his stride, netting three times in three starts following a high-profile £65million move from Bournemouth.
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Solanke’s form helped him return to the England fold after seven years on Thursday and earned praise from his team-mate. Vicario added: “I make my congratulations to him. It’s a big achievement because England is one of the best national teams around the world. To be in the squad is a good achievement and I think he really deserves that.
“He is very intense in his pressing, very good in link-up play, at attacking the spaces and also a big presence for us inside the box. We have that threat that he is there inside the box, so we can use him and play the ball in there. It is a different type of player, we missed a player of this quality so we’re happy with him.”
On in-form Johnson, Vicario said: “Brennan is a fantastic player. We know his quality. Inside the dressing room, we know the good lad he is and also (Thursday) he showed everything to everyone, so big credit to him.”
Johnson’s 86th-minute goal in Budapest sealed Tottenham’s latest victory, but the night belonged to the four teenagers who started. Mikey Moore, 17, flourished on his first start along with fellow academy graduate Will Lankshear, while Archie Gray impressed in a variety of positions and 18-year-old Lucas Bergvall got through 65 minutes.
“They did brilliant, a very good effort everyone. So, let’s keep going and we have just to push them, don’t let them sit down,” Vicario explained. Yeah, Mikey is a brilliant guy. A very, very good guy. His behaviour and commitment every day is top level so credit to him.
“He showed on the pitch he is a great footballer and he has his future by his side. He just has to now put hard work in, like he is doing every day, but we are very, very proud of him.”
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