The goalkeeper has been speaking about his dramatic turnaround and the moments that were worse than what happened to him in Madrid
Antonin Kinsky has made it clear that two members of Tottenham staff were crucial to his incredible turnaround to help keep the club in the Premier League.
The 23-year-old Czech has enjoyed a remarkable transformation in his fortunes over the past month. On March 10, Kinsky endured a horror night in Madrid with a miss-kick and a slip leading to Atletico racing into a 3-0 lead at the Metropolitano and interim boss Igor Tudor hauled off the young goalkeeper just 17 minutes into his Champions League proper debut.
Some believed Kinsky’s Tottenham career was done in that moment and many feared how he could get past the humiliation of that night as the clips spread far and wide across social media.
Kinsky was stronger though than anyone expected and then two things happened. First Guglielmo Vicario required hernia surgery on a long-running problem and then Roberto De Zerbi arrived, with Vicario making it clear to the new head coach that Kinsky had already put that night in Spain behind him and was ready to replace him.
De Zerbi quickly found that out for himself and Kinsky did not look back with a string of remarkable last-gasp saves against Wolves, Leeds and on the final day against Everton, playing a huge role in keeping Spurs in the Premier League.
When asked about that night in Madrid and whether it felt like a lifetime ago, Kinsky admitted that it wasn’t even the worst time of this season for him.
“No it feels as long ago as it actually was. The season was not about Atletico for me. Of course for the fans, definitely yes, because it was a big moment to be knocked out of the Champions League and this played a big part, but for me, the six months on the bench were definitely harder than this one moment,” he said.
“It was just about believing, working, because I know I do the right stuff, I’m able to work, I’m able to perform well. I have the confidence based on the work that I do. The preparation made me feel well in this moment.”
De Zerbi played his part in picking up Kinsky but the young stopper points immediately to two men as the ones who are responsible for his turnaround.
“I have to say for me, two people were crucial. It was Dean Brill and Fabian Otte, the goalkeeper coaches. Since the start of the season which was going bad for me, they just helped me so much,” he said. “Every training session we did we were pushing, we were doing so much every day. I’m really grateful to them.
“I don’t need to describe even more because they know it. I just want to mention because they were the most important people for me in this moment. Of course then the coach came and he lifted everything. But for me, these two people are the most important, apart from my family, because I spend every day with them. We just work, we just push, we just prepare and that’s the key for this moment.”
Kinsky paid tribute to the Tottenham fans and how they got behind him and also the team to help push them all over the line.
“Of course I’m aware because when I stand on the pitch I feel the support. This is the best thing a player can get. Definitely the confidence and everything should be dependent on the preparation and the mentality of the player, but when you go out there on the pitch and sometimes the fans cheer your name or generally, the support is huge, like it was before the game [against Everton] when we were arriving, it gave me so much energy,” he said.
“It didn’t matter if that game was 30 degrees [in the sun], it could be 45 or 50, I think everyone had so much energy that we could play four halves! If they are thankful and grateful to us, then I have the same towards them because they make the club special. Of course there are people inside [Spurs] but the size of the club is based on the fans and this is incredible.”
Kinsky made a wonderful full length 99th-minute save to keep out Tyrique George’s powerful curling effort from inside the box and he admitted that required a quick shift of his feet. That moment ensured Tottenham did not undergo a nervy final few minutes in the game, knowing that West Ham had beaten Leeds 12 miles away.
“I was happy [with the save]. I knew he is good one-on-one, the winger, and I was expecting the shot. There was someone blocking the view a little bit so I needed to adjust the position,” said the Czech stopper. “But then it was a shot I was able to save so of course that was a nice feeling.
“The season ended really nicely. It didn’t go according to the plan but it ended very nicely. I’m happy for the situation that we stay in the league and at the same time that I was able to get back on the pitch for the seven games. This is why I train every day, why I do football, because I want to experience this moment, not from the bench but from the pitch.”
Kinsky will not be at the World Cup with the Czech Republic this summer as he has to undergo a small procedure on a medical issue.
“I had a small problem so I’m going to solve it. As soon as I’m going to be alright, I have planned a nice pre-season with my conditioning coach so we’re going to work well and definitely I’m going to be ready for whatever comes next season that I’m looking forward to so much,” he said.
“I needed to finish this season which was a great goal for me. The other thing is if I would be going to the World Cup as a clear number one then of course I would maybe think differently. But I knew I was not going as the number one, so in that case I was like ‘OK’, so probably because I didn’t play any games before in the qualification as I was here on the bench, I accepted it. Now let’s prepare well, let’s do it straight after so I’m ready for next season.”
