‘I’VE HAD BIG ADVENTURES BUT I’M GLAD TO BE HOME’
BEING 27 is relatively young for a goalkeeper, but Lawrence Vigouroux has already enjoyed enough adventures to last a lifetime.
With Chilean and Jamaican roots, it’s perhaps no surprise the Leyton Orient shot-stopper has been willing to move outside his comfort zone and grasp new experiences.
On the books of Brentford, Tottenham and Liverpool as a youngster, the Camden-born keeper had his first taste of senior men’s football on loan at National League strugglers Hyde from Spurs in 2013-14.
But it was at Swindon where he was able to get his EFL career underway, notching more than 120 league appearances, split between Leagues One and Two, between 2015 and 2019.
Proud
In his time with the Robins, Vigouroux, whose dad Hirian hails from Chile, was also called up for the Chilean squad, mixing with some big-name world football stars.
“My dad is a massive football man and all my family out there are, too,” he told The FLP. “When I first got called up for the Under-20s, they were all really proud. It was a really nice moment. I’d been to Chile before but going for that was huge.
“To then get called up for the senior squad was crazy. I was playing for Swindon against perhaps Morecambe on the Saturday and on the Sunday flying to Japan to meet up with the likes of Arturo Vidal, who was at Barcelona, and Alexis Sanchez, at Manchester United.
“You don’t think about stuff like that happening, but the players were really welcoming. My singing’s not great, but I had to sing – in Spanish. Luckily I listen to a lot of Latin music, though it was still a bit nerve-racking!”
It’s you important you enjoy what and this are doing time is the best of my career Vigouroux Lawrence
Although Vigouroux didn’t get the chance to make his debut, it was still a valuable environment to be around.
“I tried to learn as much as I could from them,” he explained. “How they lived, how they eat, how they prepare for training and matches.
“The manager at the time said I needed to go and play at a higher level to get regular call-ups, and that’s normal. It’s not normal for someone in the fourth division of a country to get called-up for a team in the top 20 in the world rankings. It whet my appetite and I want to represent my country one day.”
Away from his national team ambitions, Vigouroux has taken the occasional unorthodox move in his club career. When his fortunes dipped at Swindon in the 2017-18 season, he went out on loan to League of Ireland side Waterford.
“I loved it,” he said. “I wasn’t having a good time at Swindon and almost fell out of love with football.
My time there was like rehabbing, it reinvigorated me and it helped me love the game again. The boys were really good.
“I lived in a house near the sea with three team-mates and everyone used to come over and spend time, we’d have barbecues together. I owe a lot to Waterford and I still look out for their results.”
When he eventually left Swindon in 2019, Vigouroux packed his bags for a destination a bit further than the Republic of Ireland – he joined Chilean side Everton. It was another chapter in his career journey.
Experience
“No one really speaks English, so it was good for me to learn Spanish and become completely fluent,” he smiled. “I was living in a lovely part of Chile, Vina del Mar, the training ground and facilities were really good and it was a great experience. But I did find it hard towards the end.
“I wasn’t playing as much as I’d have liked and I was missing my family – my kids (India, 6, and Thiago, 2) and my partner
(fiancée Mika).
“As an experience, I found it a real eye-opener, so I’d never say never about going back. Maybe when I’m older I can take my family out there. They haven’t been and they would like to go and see it. We need winter breaks here!”
At the start of 2020, Vigouroux packed his suitcases and headed back to England, signing for League Two Leyton Orient. He made six appearances before Covid hit and the season was cut short.
But this season has really given him the chance to make his mark between the sticks for the East Londoners. Heading into the weekend, he’d kept 17 clean sheets in 39 league games for the O’s, an impressive haul by anyone’s standards.
He even had an assist for the winner in the victory at Carlisle last month, Conor Wilkinson latching on to his booming kick downfield in the 88th minute to score the only goal of the game.
And after his travels of recent years, Vigouroux is glad to be back home.
“I’m enjoying every day at the moment, being back in London and being with my family every day, seeing my kids grow up,” he said. “That’s the most important thing.
And if you can match happiness off the field with harmony on it, then you’re on to a good thing. And Vigouroux reckons he’s in the perfect place at Leyton Orient.
Serious
“I love seeing the boys and having a bit of fun, and then when it’s time to be serious, we’re serious,” he explained. “It sounds a strange thing to say, but I don’t really like days off anymore! I love coming in, working and being the best I can be.
“It’s important you enjoy what you are doing and this is the best time of my career. As a team we’re enjoying it and it’s brought the best out of me. It’s the most clean sheets I have had, but that’s come from what we’re doing as a unit and team.”
Former Wimbledon, Watford and Reading winger Jobi McAnuff stepped up to take charge of the O’s on an interim basis following the departure of Ross Embleton at the end of February and the 39-year-old has inspired a late season push for the play-offs.
Vigouroux has been impressed with how the Jamaican international has handled his new responsibilities.
“He’s been really honest which is something you need as a manager,” he said. “He leads by example and with the career he’s had, he commands respect.
“As a person, he’s really open – you can speak to him about anything. He’s the manager now and you have that little boundary that you set, but he’s been really good and helped a lot of the boys.”
A seven-match unbeaten run pre-weekend, which left the O’s three points off the play-offs, had lifted hopes of extending the season.
“We have never shied away from the fact that was always our target with the squad of players we have,” he said. “That should be the minimum.
“We did fall off a bit, but we never looked at consolidating or for a top-half finish. You never know what can happen and we’ll give it a good go.”
After all his adventures, Vigouroux is older and wiser.
“I just want to enjoy my football and play as high as I can,” he said, “but you have to take each game as it comes and live in the moment. Sometimes I’ve looked too far ahead.”