Spurs' Vicario on shock Euro loss: There's still everything in our hands and we can reverse the result
By Jack Burford at AFAS Stadion
Tottenham's European knockout adventure started with a 1-0 defeat to Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, delivering a performance that the club and the fans will want to quickly erase from recent memory.
Spurs only managed one shot on target throughout the first leg, never looking comfortable at the AFAS Stadion.
However, Tottenham’s keeper, Guglielmo Vicario, still firmly believes his Tottenham side can succeed in the competition.
When asked by Capital Football whether he believes Spurs can still win the competition, he said: “Of course.
We have to think game by game, as we thought we had to do in this game and we didn’t.
"It's really disappointing from our perspective, but I can understand the fans out there. But now we have to play another game. There's still everything in our hands and we can reverse the result.
"I don’t know [why we are so inconsistent]. It could be any reason, but we know what we have to do. For us tonight, it’s very disappointing. We take the responsibility for what happened, but now we're going to show the real Spurs in the next game."
Tottenham fans will be hoping Vicario is referring to the ‘real Spurs’ side that destroyed Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad, rather than the Tottenham side that has fallen short in cup games in recent years.
The Spurs players and fans have Vicario to thank that the tie was only 1-0, as he pulled off numerous saves. Most notably, he denied former Tottenham academy star Troy Parrott, whose one-on-one effort was smartly saved.
When asked after the game how important it is to have the fans behind the players in the return leg, he said:
"Of course, we need them every game, home and away. We know they are very important for us, and now is a big moment of the season. With them, we can play with one more man on the pitch, so it’s so important.
"I can really understand the disappointment they had because we didn’t show our level of football. It’s disappointing for us, but we have to analyse and forget, and be ready for the next round.
"The performance is nowhere near the level we should have played in this game. We know, it’s frustrating.
"The result, of course, is not great. But we have to play the second leg, so it’s on us. Now we have to analyse, but also forget this game straight away. We have a big game on Sunday and will be ready for the second leg next Thursday."
Tottenham fans will have left Alkmaar with a real sense of confusion and disappointment that their side didn’t take the game to the opposition and, alternatively, played out the match lacking any control or conviction.
Especially when Spurs headed into the competition as the bookies’ favourites. That said, Spurs should head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday, knowing it's in their hands to turn this European tie around.
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