Tottenham star joined Heung-min Son, James Maddison and Cristian Romero in club’s leadership group this summer
Midway through the week, it looked as though Tottenham may lose the Carabao Cup, but a dramatic comeback saved Ange Postecoglou’s team’s blushes. And they pulled off another comeback on Saturday, as James Maddison, Brendan Johnson, and Dominic Solanke scored goals to help Spurs defeat Brentford 3-1.
Since Postecoglou’s appointment fifteen months ago, a lot has changed at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with many players he inherited leaving the team. Postecoglou made a bold move by appointing Maddison and Christian Romero as co-vice leaders and Heung-min Son as captain.
Tottenham star added to club’s leadership group over the summer
It appears that a different team member has been elevated to a senior position. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Alasdair Gold said that the dressing room has acknowledged the respect that Guglielmo Vicario deserves.
“I know Vicario was added to the team’s leadership group throughout the summer. You may recall that the players in this leadership group that the Spurs have had in the past have all left. Of course, there was Kane, Hojbjerg, and Lloris, and I entirely forgot about someone else. Even Skippy, a budding captain, was there and was picking up tips from the others. Ben Davies wasn’t in it, at least not in my opinion. He mentioned Eric Dier as one of them.
“Obviously, all of those guys have since moved on, and now you have Romero, Maddison, and Son. Furthermore, based on my understanding, Vicario was formally joined to that group in the summer to complete the quartet since the players respect him as a leader and pay attention to what he has to say. I believe Postecoglou adores guys like him because he has a strong voice in the locker room and has faced hardships and battles throughout his career.
An inspired signing on and off the pitch
After leaving Empoli in 2023, Vicario has shown himself to be an inspired addition. To be honest, not many Premier League supporters were familiar with the Italian before to his move.
But in the previous season, Victorio was undoubtedly among the Premier League’s greatest goalkeepers. Given how at ease he is in the passing game, he also seems perfect for the kind of play that Postecoglou wants from his team.
Vicario has faced criticism in the early going of this season, but when the 27-year-old is in goal, Tottenham appears to be a much stronger team. Additionally, it appears that the club believes Vicario has a very significant presence on Hotspur Way.
In related news
BBC pundit says VAR made a really weird mistake during Tottenham vs Brentford
After just twenty-two seconds, Bryan Mbeumo gave Brentford a 1-0 lead. However, later in the day, Tottenham showed their true colours, winning 3-1.
But as usual, there were some controversy around this game.
In the second half, Gustavo Vicario did appear to control the ball beyond the area, but the referee gave no penalty despite Thomas Frank and Kristoffer Ajer’s loud protests.
While discussing this incident with the BBC, Nedum Onuoha expressed confusion about the referee’s lack of action.
Nedum Onuoha shocked by Guglielmo Vicario handball
Onuoha thought this was an odd decision and expressed surprise about it.
Onuoha stated, “Earlier, Gugliemo Vicario leaves his area and tries to touch the ball three times.”
If we saw the third touch from a different perspective, I believe they would have said it came outside the box, in which case it would have been a red card.
“It is quite odd that the VAR missed that, as it is a significant moment in the game.”
Guglielmo Vicario got lucky
Guglielmo Vicario is very lucky that this handball wasn’t called.
The Italian has been under the spotlight in recent times due to his lack of influence from set-pieces.
Vicario came into this game with serious question marks around his form, and if he was sent off here, the heat would only have been turned up.
From a Brentford point of view, VAR have plenty to answer for here, but Tottenham will feel very fortunate to have got away with this one.
Tottenham ultimately managed to get the win here, and this could be a real platform for Ange Postecoglou’s side to now build on
