Antonin Kinsky has enjoyed quite the turnaround at Tottenham since his difficult Champions League debut, with former Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes now backing the Czech stopper to become a top goalkeeper.
It has been quite the comeback for the young goalkeeper, who was tipped to leave Tottenham after his disastrous Champions League debut against Atletico Madrid last season.
However, Kinsky was handed a second chance to redeem himself after Guglielmo Vicario suffered an injury, with Roberto De Zerbi forced to give him a run in the team towards the end of the campaign.
He responded with some outstanding performances and played a big part in helping Spurs retain their Premier League status. The Czech goalkeeper has since signed a new contract and goes into De Zerbi’s first full season in charge as Tottenham’s first choice.
Several members of the goalkeeping fraternity, including Thibaut Courtois, David De Gea and Peter Schmeichel, spoke in support of Kinsky following that difficult night in Madrid. Now, another one of them, a former Tottenham man, has had his say.
Heurelho Gomes praises Antonin Kinsky’s Tottenham turnaround
Tottenham have introduced a new feature this season where a former player or supporter speaks ahead of each matchday, with Heurelho Gomes the first guest.
The former goalkeeper made 130 appearances for Spurs between 2008 and 2013 and, now working as a football agent, was asked how impressed he had been by Kinsky’s performances during the run-in last season.
“I was so pleased for him. He had a tough game against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League game. To concede the goals he did, (and) to be substituted. That must have been so hard for him.
“But what a response he showed. He made some incredible saves in the run-in last season and he was just brilliant. Those saves he made against Leeds… wow! Every time the team needed him, he was there. I want to congratulate him.
“I look forward to watching him this season, even better prepared, more confident. He will become a top, top goalkeeper for sure.”
Heurelho Gomes is a big admirer of Roberto De Zerbi
Gomes is also excited about what Tottenham could achieve under De Zerbi, revealing that he has followed the Italian’s career closely through his friendship with former Spurs teammate Sandro Raniere, who has shared a good relationship with the Tottenham head coach.
“I am sure they can do very well this season. I like Roberto De Zerbi a lot. He’s someone I follow a lot because he’s close to my good friend, Sandro. De Zerbi and Sandro were together at Benevento as a head coach and a player.
“I went to Italy a few times to see Sandro and he’d say about De Zerbi ‘we have a manager here like you can’t believe… he will become a top manager’.
“Then Sandro got some coaching experience working with De Zerbi when he was at Brighton. I visited Sandro when he was at Brighton too and, again, he spoke so highly of Roberto.
“With this manager and the signings Spurs have made ahead of this season, it’s all very exciting. The squad is stronger than last season and Spurs will be very competitive for sure. And when you are competitive, the opportunity is there to achieve great things.”