Like strikers, the best goalkeepers have the shortest memories.
Take Manuel Neuer, who many consider the greatest goalkeeper in history. His style of sweeper-keeping has led to countless calamitous moments for Germany and Bayern Munich, and yet, aged 40, he is still often outstanding. His performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday was one of the best of his career.
Or how about when, in the 2022-23 season, Real Madrid and Liverpool faced each other in the round of 16 of the Champions League, which meant a clash of the two best goalkeepers of the last decade: Thibaut Courtois and Alisson. If you had never seen either of them play before, you would be forgiven for thinking they were drafted in from the cold as they repeatedly passed the ball to opposition players in dangerous areas. But like Neuer, their reputation and long-term confidence barely took a dent.
Of course, it does not always work out this way. The circumstances leading to Liverpool making Alisson the most expensive goalkeeper in history were a direct consequence of predecessor Loris Karius’ unforgettable howlers in the 2018 Champions League final. Karius never recovered from his defining mistakes — but defining moments do not have to be negative.
With Guglielmo Vicario unavailable for Sunday’s trip to Sunderland after undergoing hernia surgery at the start of the international break — new Tottenham Hotspur head coach Roberto De Zerbi said on Friday that Vicario was not ready for this game but that he hoped he would be back next week against Brighton and Hove Albion — Antonin Kinsky now has the chance to repair his reputation and ensure the Madrid episode becomes little more than a footnote in a successful career.
Cristian Romero consoles Kinsky as he is substituted in Madrid (Javier Soriano/Getty Images)
After the 23-year-old made two mistakes that led directly to two Atletico Madrid goals, De Zerbi’s predecessor Igor Tudor called for Vicario to replace Kinsky with only 17 minutes gone. Atletico won 5-2, and eventually progressed by a 7-5 aggregate scoreline, but the inquest into Tudor’s decision to start Kinsky, substitute him in the first half, and ignore him as he trudged down the tunnel at the Estadio Metropolitano was the story of the tie.
Everyone had an opinion on the matter, including former Spurs and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who described it as “selfish” on BBC Radio 5 Live, and criticised the then Tottenham boss for acting in “self-preservation”. But there’s now a new face in the dugout, who may be the ideal person to help Kinsky get back on track.
De Zerbi is perhaps the Premier League’s staunchest ideologue.
Even Pep Guardiola, who famously dropped Joe Hart for Willy Caballero and then Claudio Bravo at Manchester City due to the Englishman’s limitations in possession, has eased away from his fundamental footballing principles in recent years, replacing Ederson, the greatest goalkeeping playmaker the Premier League has seen, with Gianluigi Donnarumma, a ’keeper who is better known for his shot-stopping rather than passing ability.
De Zerbi believes all 11 players have essential and individual roles to play in the team’s attacking build-up, and as Brighton head coach, he dropped Robert Sanchez in his first season in charge because his replacement, Jason Steele, was better suited to that role. Despite never having played in the Premier League before, Steele replaced Sanchez for the final months of the 2023-24 season, when they qualified for the Europa League.
Even after Brighton signed Bart Verbruggen the following term, Steele shared minutes with the Netherlands international as the Italian worked to get his recruit up to speed with the technical and tactical demands of being a De Zerbi goalkeeper.
De Zerbi rotated Verbruggen and Steele at Brighton (Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
Under a coach where bravery and proficiency in possession are highly valued, perhaps even above more traditional attributes like shot-stopping and cross-collecting, Kinsky may grow in stature.
Clearly, it reads as slightly ridiculous to overstate Kinsky’s quality with the ball, given what happened the last time he took the pitch. He has barely featured for Tottenham since a £12.5million ($9.8m) move from Slavia Prague in January 2025, save for a short run in the team immediately upon signing due to Vicario suffering an ankle injury.
In his past two starts, he has been at fault for four goals: two against Atletico, and two in the Carabao Cup against Newcastle United in October. So, with increasing interest around Vicario’s future and his awkward stylistic fit under the new head coach, De Zerbi will surely be considering goalkeeper reinforcements should Spurs remain in the top flight. But for now, he may determine Kinsky is his best short-term solution.
As demonstrated in his eight-game stretch to start his Spurs career — and perhaps to his detriment in Madrid — Kinsky is incredibly confident in possession. In fact, it is one of the primary reasons why sporting director Johan Lange was so keen on bringing him to north London.
Take the clip below, from the second leg of the 4-1 aggregate defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final last season. After an outstanding debut in the first leg, keeping a clean sheet and impressing as a distributor, Kinsky remained front-footed and ambitious in possession, even as Liverpool dominated.
This clip appears straight out of the De Zerbi playbook, with Kinsky waiting for Darwin Nunez to press from the side before playing a clipped, curling pass to his full-back.
While it does not ultimately progress them much further up the pitch, it demonstrates that Kinsky is not afraid to play passes with opposition players around him. For better or worse, this is what his new coach has typically asked from his goalkeepers.
This next clip shows what he can do when given time and space. With Son Heung-min breaking beyond the Liverpool defensive line, Kinsky drops a perfectly-weighted pass into the South Korean’s path, but he is unable to get it under control on the bounce.
“I didn’t speak with him yet because I think he doesn’t need to speak too much,” said De Zerbi when asked on Friday whether he had made any particular effort to boost the ’keeper’s morale.
“I have confidence. I think his qualities are enough to play at Tottenham. The other players believe in him. He has to stay calm and confident. He is playing at Tottenham, so he has to be stronger than the mistakes and to move on.”
As De Zerbi looks to invigorate Tottenham’s attack, having a goalkeeper who is capable of playing in short, medium and long distances could be a bonus. But for Kinsky to help keep Spurs in the top flight, after they dropped into the bottom three on Friday courtesy of West Ham United’s 4-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers, it will take an elite goalkeeper’s mindset to forget his Madrid misadventure.