Antonin Kinsky has been one of the success stories under Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi.
Tottenham Hotspur defeated David Moyes’ Everton 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium through a Joao Palhinha goal to confirm their Premier League safety. That ensured Roberto De Zerbi’s men did not have a particularly tense finale, despite West Ham emerging 3-0 winners over Leeds United.
A draw would have been enough for the Lilywhites to stay up, but they managed to hold on for a 1-0 win to secure their place in the Premier League for next season. One of the biggest contributors to Tottenham’s survival under Roberto De Zerbi is goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.
Antonin Kinsky fought back from his Champions League disaster to play a key role in Tottenham’s relegation run-in. The 23-year-old’s career at Spurs looked to be all but over after an utterly disastrous Champions League debut night against Atletico Madrid in March. The goalkeeper twice lost his footing to gift early goals to Atletico Madrid and was substituted after only 17 minutes, with Spurs 3-0 down in the first leg of the round of 16, they would go on to lose 5-2.
The Czech Republic glovesman’s early substitution looked to have sealed his fate in N17, though he has shown remarkable character, resilience and fight to bounce back and help his team win the battle against relegation.
Roberto De Zerbi shares a deep secret regarding Antonin Kinsky
De Zerbi has been full of praise for Kinsky, who has been outstanding ever since he became a regular in goal in April in the wake of No.1 Guglielmo Vicario’s hernia surgery. Speaking after the 1-0 victory over the Toffees, the Tottenham boss revealed a secret to name Kinsky as his captain for his first game in charge at Sunderland in a bid to boost his self-belief.
“About Kinsky, I want to say a secret. Before my first game in Sunderland, I thought to give, when I was in Italy, I thought to give for the Sunderland game, just for one game to make Kinsky the captain,” De Zerbi was quoted by Football London.
“To show just one thing, very important in football, but in life. If we are a team, we are like a family. If one of us is going through a difficult period, we have to stay with him.
“Showing love, showing everything he needs, but he didn’t need it because he has a strong character, strong personality. He’s a great goalkeeper.”
Kinsky’s sweet redemption story
Kinsky has seen his Tottenham career go full circle in the last few weeks after his howlers on his Champions League debut against Atletico Madrid. He put that nightmarish evening in the Spanish capital behind him and produced a string of strong displays across his last seven outings since deputising for Vicario, who has not been picked by De Zerbi despite recovering from groin surgery last week.
The Prague-born starlet produced match-defining saves against Wolves and Leeds United. After a relatively quiet afternoon against Everton, he was called into action deep into stoppage time by Tyrique George. Kinsky sprung to his left to deny George’s arrowing right-footed shot curling into the far corner and preserve a priceless clean sheet on Sunday.
With the season done and dusted, our young shot-stopper will now undergo a small surgery on a medical issue that will keep him out of the World Cup. Following that, he must focus entirely on achieving full fitness for the pre-season tour.
