Interim coach Igor Tudor has been criticized for his treatment of goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky after substituting him after just 17 minutes of Tottenham’s 5-2 loss at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Tudor sprung a surprise by dropping regular ‘keeper Guglielmo Vicario for the last-16, first-leg clash and handing Kinsky his first start since October. But the move backfired in spectacular fashion as Spurs conceded three goals in the opening 15 minutes – two of them resulting from glaring errors by the young Czech ‘keeper.
Tudor immediately sent on Vicario, the Croat standing stony-faced as a stunned Kinsky headed to the dressing room.
Substituting Kinsky was “a very selfish decision” by the caretaker boss, said former Leeds, Tottenham and England ‘keeper Paul Robinson.
“It’s quite blatantly for self-preservation by the manager because it was a decision that he thought was best for him and his team, without consideration for the young goalkeeper.”
Former England ‘keeper Joe Hart said he was shocked by Tudor’s treatment of Kinsky.
“The whole stadium is feeling sorry for him. He walks past Igor Tudor – and he doesn’t even acknowledge him. If that’s man-management, I am flabbergasted,” Hart, who also had a spell at Tottenham, said. “He’s had a bad moment, a slip, and then another bad moment. But the fact [Tudor] has taken him off, at 22, to just rip him off, how is that good for him?”
Atletico coach Diego Simeone said he had never seen anything like it before and there was even sympathy from Atletico’s fans and players.
“Mentally, it must be very tough for the goalkeeper. It wasn’t the best solution,” striker Antoine Griezmann said.
Support also came from former Manchester United ‘keeper David de Gea. “No one who hasn’t been a goalkeeper can understand how difficult it is to play in this position. Keep your head up and you will go again,” the Spaniard said on X.
REUTERS
