{"id":663700,"date":"2026-05-11T11:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T11:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/663700\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T11:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T11:06:08","slug":"tottenham-hope-to-exorcise-demons-just-as-kinsky-has-done-after-atletico-debacle-tottenham-hotspur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/663700\/","title":{"rendered":"Tottenham hope to exorcise demons just as Kinsky has done after Atl\u00e9tico debacle | Tottenham Hotspur"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Antonin Kinsky had his Madrid episode<\/a>, there was an assumption that he would not play again for Tottenham this season. And maybe not the next one, either. The 23-year-old goalkeeper would have to rebuild himself elsewhere, probably on loan. Perhaps, given the scale of the horror against Atl\u00e9tico in the Champions League last 16 first leg on 10 March \u2013 and there really is no need to rake over the details \u2013 a permanent transfer may have been an option.<\/p>\n

Kinsky\u2019s comeback has been extraordinary; an inspiration to everybody at the club. With the first-choice selection, Guglielmo Vicario, undergoing hernia surgery towards the end of March, Roberto De Zerbi has counted on the Czech in each of his four matches in charge. The manager has not been let\u00a0down.<\/p>\n

Kinsky\u2019s standout moment was the diving save to keep out Jo\u00e3o Gomes\u2019s stoppage-time free-kick for Wolves and preserve a 1-0 win<\/a> and there has been an assurance about his work which has extended to his aptitude with the ball at his feet. There is a reason why De\u00a0Zerbi called him \u201can example\u201d in the buildup to Monday night\u2019s home game against Leeds when, with Vicario still unavailable, Kinsky will keep his place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat he felt after Madrid, for sure, was a big, big motivation for him,\u201d De Zerbi said. \u201cIf you have pride, if you have dignity, if you have the right spirit, if you have character \u2026 he has all these values. He is playing very well. He has to stay focused and not take risks in any situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Zerbi must remain cautious despite Spurs following up the win at Wolves with the one at Aston Villa last Sunday<\/a>. It could take a single slip from Kinsky for the narrative around him to shift again. But if he has exorcised demons then Spurs will face the same challenge in their fight for Premier League survival when they step out against Leeds.<\/p>\n

Kinsky had one horror game. Spurs\u2019s season has been scarred by them at their stadium. Before the start of this match week, they had the joint-worst home record in the division with Burnley \u2013 two wins, five draws, 10 defeats. By contrast, Spurs entered the weekend with the third-best away record.<\/p>\n

Antonin Kinsky\u2019s diving save to keep out Jo\u00e3o Gomes\u2019s free-kick against Wolves earned Spurs a first league win in 16 games. Photograph: Godfrey Pitt\/Action Plus\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

De Zerbi cannot make sense of it. He tried to dismiss it as a coincidence, saying Spurs beat Borussia Dortmund at home<\/a> in the Champions League in January and Atl\u00e9tico there in the second leg<\/a> of the knockout tie, although it was not enough to avoid an aggregate defeat. There is plainly more to it than that.<\/p>\n

De Zerbi\u2019s sample size at the stadium is small \u2013 two matches as the visiting Brighton manager; one since he took over at Spurs, coincidentally against Brighton. He lost both in opposition 2-1, Spurs scoring late goals each time. And he was winning by the same scoreline last month until Georginio Rutter\u2019s stoppage-time equaliser for\u00a0Brighton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

De Zerbi\u2019s attitude is to pretend that the Rutter sucker-punch did not happen. Focus only on the positives; it has been his mantra since he came to the club and it is not going to change now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask me, against Brighton, we won,\u201d he said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t take three points, we took one point, but in my head, we won. As a performance \u2026 if we analyse the game against Brighton, it\u2019s like\u00a0a\u00a0win.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not my problem now [to reflect on the home form in the league]. I don\u2019t want to lose energy doing that. We have to be good and smart, to keep this mentality, to keep this momentum, with the same qualities we showed in this last period.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Zerbi was asked whether the stadium was too nice, too inspiring for opposing players. \u201cNo,\u201d he replied. \u201cBecause there are a lot of big, very nice stadiums like theatres in the Premier League. Tottenham\u2019s stadium is hot [in terms of atmosphere]. When I was here with Brighton and last month against Brighton, the stadium was very, very hot. We are lucky to play in this stadium. It is a pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vicario has not returned to full training, according to De Zerbi, despite the manager suggesting on more than one occasion of late that he was poised to do so. The situation is coloured by Inter\u2019s interest, with De Zerbi unable to say whether Vicario would remain at Spurs. De Zerbi has been categoric about wanting the on-loan midfielder Jo\u00e3o Palhinha to stay<\/a>. He was more vague over Vicario.<\/p>\n

Roberto De Zerbi has made it clear that he is keen for Jo\u00e3o Palhinha, who is on loan from Bayern Munich, to remain at Spurs next season. Photograph: Charlotte Wilson\/Offside\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d De Zerbi said. \u201cIf you ask me if I\u2019ve any ideas about next season, my answer is no. For two reasons. One, I have no time to think about next season. And two, after two wins, if I lose time thinking about next season\u2019s squad I am being arrogant. You think after two wins you already consider yourself safe? No.<\/p>\n

\u201cVicario is still the first goalkeeper of Tottenham. Because what Vicario showed this season is enough to consider him a top player for us. But we have to consider the physical condition, how many games he missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Zerbi had an update on Dejan Kulusevski, who has been out all season with a knee injury, and it was not positive. The midfielder has been working abroad to recover his fitness and De Zerbi suggested he may be able to be around the squad for the final game against Everton to boost morale. But nothing more. As such, De Zerbi suggested Kulusevski\u2019s dream of the World Cup with Sweden must be over.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to understand how he can play at the World Cup if he didn\u2019t play any games this season,\u201d De Zerbi said. \u201cI texted him after Birmingham [the Villa match]. He told me in the next week, he comes back [to England]. I hope he can be available to stay with us in the last game because he is an amazing\u00a0player.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Antonin Kinsky had his Madrid episode, there was an assumption that he would not play again for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663701,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-663700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}