Antonin Kinsky's invisibility is a breath of fresh air to the Guglielmo Vicario disaster
Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was the second biggest story of the relegation battle last season after manager Roberto De Zerbi, as the Italian manager put his faith in the player following the injury to Guglielmo Vicario and never looked back. After Kinsky's nightmare of a night against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, it looked like he might never play another minute for Spurs, but Vic's injury and the superior man management of De Zerbi helped give Kinsky another chance.
He ended up getting plaudits from all corners, including pundits as mainstream as Jamie Carragher, as he turned into Tottenham's relegation hero and arguably the best player of the final month of the season - and the Premier League's best goalkeeper during that crucial time span, in contrast to Vicario being statistically the worst.
Vicario is now off to Juventus where he has been a mixed bag even in his new environment, while Kinsky has been less the hero and more anonymous. But as a goalkeeper or really any defensive player, being invisible is a form of flattery.
Antonin Kinsky doesn't lose Tottenham games
Last season at around this time after the brief Frank Honeymoon period had worn out, Vicario's name was endlessly on the lips of the Tottenham Hotspur faithful for a myriad of clumsy errors with his hands and his feet.
While Antonin Kinsky did have a couple of hiccups on the ball against Chelsea, he also accomplished the rare feat of a clean sheet victory at Stamford Bridge and bailed out Spurs with a couple of wonderful saves against the Chelsea forwards. And while he faced almost no shots against Crystal Palace, he racked up a second straight 2-0 victory to the Spurs cause.
Kinsky not being the center of attention or any sort of focus at all as a goalkeeper is definitely a breath of fresh air for Tottenham. There's been more discussion around the attackers and the outfield players than around the goalkeeper, because there's not much of a concern. Not a single game has gone by that Spurs have felt that Kinsky cost them a game or made mistakes that led to a loss or dropped points.
That's a level of security that Tottenham can't take for granted. Antonin Kinsky has not been as lights out as he was during the relegation battle, but everyone knew that he could not sustain that level of performance every week, of course. But what he has done is proven that he is still the right option in goal and someone who can keep Spurs in the lead, like against Chelsea, and avoid making the mistakes that burn them to a loss, which was the case with Guglielmo Vicario in goal throughout the 2025/26 season.
