Guglielmo Vicario prepares for his European debut with Tottenham and is delighted that Luciano Spalletti has understood Italy’s ‘real suit.’
The Italy international spoke to Sky Sport Italia on the eve of Tottenham’s first Europa League game of the season against Qarabag FK.
Vicario has two appearances with Italy’s national team but has never played in a European competition, having joined Tottenham from Empoli in 2023.
The 27-year-old was part of Italy’s squad at Euro 2024. The Azzurri reacted to a painful Round of 16 elimination at the hands of Switzerland, by beating France and Israel in the Nations League earlier in September.
“I believe we have understood that we made more than one mistake,” Vicario admitted.
“We told each other we had to change something in terms of commitment and desire to beat all opponents. The victory against France was no fluke. We put in a great performance, pure football, playing well at their home and scoring three goals there.
Vicario: ‘Spalletti understood Italy’s real suit’
“We strongly wanted it and we made it as a family. Credit to the coach as well. He understood what the real suit of this national team was. He was very smart and practical. We had no doubts because he’s a great coach. Credit to him for giving us the platform to start well. Now we must push, we have a great opportunity to do well in the Nations League which will pave the way for the World Cup qualification, which is the other great target.”
Spalletti switched to a three-man defence in the most recent games against France and Israel, collecting back-to-back away victories.
Italy failed to qualify for the last two editions of the World Cup, which means that 14-year-old kids in the country have never seen the Azzurri play in the competition.
“It’s a weight that we must carry for these years of absences. We want to give this dream to all the kids who have never seen Italy at the World Cup,” said Vicario.
Tottenham didn’t play in any European competition last season, and Vicario is eager to make his debut in the Europa League on Thursday.
“We like it and it’s what we wanted. We were without Europe last season, and for a club like ours, it was heavy in terms of emotions,” he said.
“We want to play many games; we know that the fixture list is packed, away games are demanding and take energy away from us, so we must recover quickly and be ready for a new challenge. We know it’s hard, but it’s what we wanted last season.
“We are a top club, and of course, we play to win games. We want to finish in the top eight [in the UEL league phase]. We know there’s a new format, but we want to be in it. There are many strong opponents.”
Sky revealed that Vicario hosted Ukrainian refugees at his home, one mother and her child, who have now returned to their home country.
“They returned home a while ago. We agreed to their request, even if they were unconvinced. Of course, there was a need from a mother and a kid who hadn’t seen the father in two years, so they wanted to return together and perhaps suffer together, being united.
“They are a fantastic family. We are still in contact with them. We talk to them each week, they send us pictures of their daily life, and it’s relatively good. We are happy for them. They want to stay together; the most important thing to us is their happiness.”