The goalkeeper, who is part of the youth generation of 2013, went from the title of champion of League Two, the fourth English category, to that of the first division with Burnley. In his career, he recounts an almost unnoticed stay in the Chilean championship, at Everton, four years ago.
The last time the Chilean team played in the Under-20 World Cup was in Turkey in 2013. They were a group of players from whom a lot was expected for the future, due to their good performance at the South American Cup in Argentina. Under the command of Mario Salas, the team included elements such as Nicolás Castillo, Ángelo Henríquez, Bryan Rabello, Igor Lichnovsky, Valber Huerta and others. Who was also part of this generation was Lawrence Ian Vigouroux, who slipped into the South American payroll (he asked the DT for the chance to prove himself). He was the third goalkeeper, after Darío Melo and Brayan Cortés. However, he was left out of the final World Cup list (Álvaro Salazar entered).
Ten years later, the goalkeeper reached the biggest milestone of his career by reaching the Premier League, the most attractive league in the world. He signs until 2026 with Burnley, the last Champion of the Championship, who returns to the elite after a year.
Little by little, the name of Lawrence Vigouroux began to become more familiar in the middle of national soccer. Born in Camden, England to a Chilean father and a Jamaican mother, he was eligible for Chile due to the blood relationship. Thus, this young goalkeeper who was part of the youth team of Tottenham came to the Reds, facing the South American championship. With the years, He received his first call for the adult team in August 2018, during the stage of Reinaldo Rueda, for the friendlies against Japan and South Korea. Since his appearance in the youth team, he has become one of the possible cards for the future of the arc, thinking of the absolute team. However, to date, it does not add attendances.
His football moment gave him a smile, after having lived a dream season, both collectively and individually. He was one of the biggest names in the Leyton Orient, club in a district of London (specifically called Leyton), the second oldest in the British capital, after Fulham (it was founded in 1881).
The goalkeeper was champion of League Two, the fourth category of English football, a championship with 24 teams. Before fulfilling the desire promotion to Ligue 1, the third division, an important step for the establishment. They had not been in this category since the 2014-2015 school year. Leyton Orient added 91 points in 46 games played. The Chilean goalkeeper had the least beaten close of the tournament, with 33 goals received, and added 100 saves.
That’s not all. The biggest merit of Vigouroux’s last campaign has to do with keeping a clean sheet in 24 games. With this, he set a club record: he is the first goalkeeper in Leyton history to clear such a number of hurdles undefeated in a league. This kind of thing allowed him, for example, to be worthy of being part of the ideal team of League Two 2022-2023, receiving the award for top scorer.
Compared to the British Premier League, the Chilean has seven unbeaten goals more than the goalkeeper who dominated this position in the Premier League: Spaniard David De Gea of Manchester United (17).
At 29, Vigouroux arrives in the English first division at the hands of a club returned to Prime Minister, after winning promotion with Vincent Kompany, former footballer and captain of Manchester City, on the bench. “It’s amazing to be here. It was the right step and the right way to go. I hope I can leave a good impression here.” the goalkeeper told the club’s official website.
“I’m still young as a goalkeeper and I feel I can improve a lot. After watching a lot of games last season, I feel I can work very hard here every day and I hope to have the opportunity to show my abilities. It’s up to me to show how good I am and how hard I can work to make my place in the team.” added.
His stay in Viña and the epidemic
In the career of the goalkeeper of English origin, there is also a passage in Liverpool. In July 2014 he arrived at Anfield, having passed a trial. He became the Reds’ Under-21 goalkeeper. But if it is about private stays, in 2018, it reached the Irish Premier League, UEFA Third Tier football. He arrived on loan at Waterford, where he played 19 games.
In mid-2019, from Swindon Town (from League Two), Lawrence Vigouroux arrives in Chilean football. connected Everton , for a year and a half. “I decided to come for Rueda”, he confessed on this occasion, to get closer to the national team. However, his stay was brief and unproductive, as He left the roulette team without adding any minutes. She was an alternative to Argentinian Cristian Campestrini.
In dialogue with Talk Sport the goalkeeper spoke about his short-lived transit through Ciudad Jardín and a 2019 season interrupted due to the social epidemic. “I knew it would eventually go back to normal for everything in the country, but that was also a factor in wanting to leave, I was a little scared when I was there.” he stated. “People were protesting everywhere, I saw things on fire, people being shot at with rubber bullets. You had to ask the police or the army if you could go to the supermarket and at what time, because they wouldn’t let you out at any time, we had a curfew, you had to be home by 7 p.m. evenings,” she added.
Moreover, the footballer told about the differences he found in Chile compared to England. “You go from a place as free and as open as England to go, where I didn’t even know about people’s rights. It was actually quite scary. I thought if I were to go out by accident, what would happen? Or if I was late coming home from somewhere, what could happen to me? It was quite scary! he asserted.
Vigouroux is in pre-season with the Clarets (he played his first friendly match this Saturday), who will have the honor of opening the 2023-2024 Premier League season. It will be Friday August 11, hosting Pep Guardiola’s super Manchester City. If you have continuity in the most powerful league in the world, will the call come from Juan Pinto Durán?
follow on Jock
Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
