Vicario: I really want to play with Son Heung-min forever, he is the captain of history

Hupu August 11th, Tottenham Hotspur main goalkeeper Vicario accepted an exclusive interview with TheAthleticUK.

On Wednesday night, Vicario will return to the city where he grew up, where he is his hometown.

"(Udinese) is a small city, so it's like a dream to imagine being able to participate in such an important game again, another cup final.

It was a huge achievement for the club. Our performance in Bilbao (beating Manchester United in the UEFA Cup final) gave us a chance to compete with Paris Saint-Germain. It would be a great game. A lot of people, friends and family I'm close to will watch. We were the season ticket holders for Udinese at the time."

Dino Zov was the goalkeeper for Italy at the 1982 World Cup, and Zov grew up in Udinese, but Vicario was inspired by a midfielder - his uncle Alessandro Bais, who had only played in the Serie C.

"My dad, my uncle, everyone loves football. Playing football may be easier than catching it when I was a kid, but I have loved the career of goalkeeper since I was seven. I persevered and finally found my direction."

In the last few days of Tottenham's summer trip to Hong Kong and Seoul, Vicario and centre-back Kevin Densor stroll in Yeouido Park. Both of them were dressed in traditional Korean costumes and behind them was a statue commemorating the 15th century Sejong King. The sun is scorching, and cicadas are chirping on the trees.

A few hours ago, on the third floor of the International Financial Center across the street, Son Heung-min announced that he wanted to leave Tottenham after a "beautiful decade". After the game, Vicario was seen kissing Son Heung-min repeatedly on the head while saying goodbye to him.

"I really want to be with him forever. I love him as a man. We spent two seasons in the same locker room and won an important trophy. I will remember each other and meet often. We will share the wonderful memories of that night in Bilbao. That will always be remembered in my heart because we made history together. He was my captain that day, so I will always be grateful to him.

It was not easy, but I am happy for him. Everything he did in his football career and life shows that he is an amazing person. He deserves the best."

Is Vicario ready to take more responsibility?

"I'm glad to help the locker room and the younger players, it doesn't matter who wears the captain's armband. We, especially those older players, should respect each other and try to show it in a very good way. We have a lot of great players, such as Cute (Romero), Ben Davis, (Mickey) Van dervine, Solank and Madison. It's our responsibility to lead the locker room, like Sun has done in the past two years."

When Vicario spoke frankly about Tottenham's goals this season, he sounded like a natural leader.

"We need to improve the league rankings. Last year's performance was not good enough. We will start on August 13 and work hard in five events. We have a chance to win another trophy. We know it will be tough because we are going to play against the team that may be the best in the world right now, but we are eager to succeed."

This summer, many divisions have changed a lot. Frank signed a three-year contract in June. Fabian Ott is from Liverpool. After helping the team win the Premier League last season, he replaced Rob Birch as the new goalkeeper coach.

Vicario described Ultra as a "good guy" and the two quickly established an intimate relationship. The Italian international was also impressed by Frank.

"He is very focused and knows what the team needs to do on the court, whether it's offense or defense.

Now we are working hard. How to focus and follow his instructions is up to us. If we go all out in every game, we will get a lot of happiness even during the toughest times of the year."