Tottenham Hotspur endured another difficult night on Tuesday, falling to a crushing 5-2 defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid.
While there were glimmers of hope as Spurs created chances and didn’t entirely give up, Igor Tudor’s decision to start Antonin Kinsky killed the game before it really started.
The goalkeeper made major errors in the first 15 minutes of the tie, having been picked to start ahead of Guglielmo Vicario. He was taken off within the first 20 minutes, leaving several teammates to console him when he walked down the tunnel.
Tudor is no stranger to making brave decisions – as evident from his time in Italy. However, the move to start Kinsky over Vicario in a big Champions League tie is one of his most controversial, given how things then played out.
The Croatian is now attracting criticism for his decision from all the way in Italy. He has a reputation in the country, and it’s not all positive.
Di Canio fuming at Tottenham manager
Paolo Di Canio was in Sky Italia studios for the Champions League ties on Tuesday. He was asked about Tudor’s big decision to bench Vicario and he ripped into the manager.
He said – relayed by Corriere dello Sport: “I feel sorry for him, perhaps he’s letting it all slide and doesn’t realise what the tabloids will write tomorrow. They’re mean, they’ll destroy him because when decisions like that are made, they’re incomprehensible.”
The Italian also expressed question marks over why his compatriot was dropped by Tudor in the first place. He pointed out at possible dressing room trouble.
“I don’t know if there was any problem with Vicario, and there were probably some clashes in the dressing room, but certainly not because the recent defeats are Vicario’s fault. He made some mistakes, but with a ragtag army up front that’s leaking from all sides.”
Di Canio described Tudor as someone who has destroyed Kinsky’s career at a young age.
“If you put a guy who’s made 17 appearances for Slavia Prague into such a delicate match and say he’s a good player with only six appearances, you asked for it and you destroyed him, even though it’s true that he could have done worse afterwards.”
The former West Ham player insists Tottenham will hire an English manager soon, with Tudor unlikely to last too long.
“I often understand that Tudor is very tough, and I don’t know if he’ll pay for it in his career at the highest level. I really don’t think he’ll stay at Tottenham; they’ll go and get an English manager.”
Our take on Tudor’s situation at Tottenham
Igor Tudor is struggling to put out the fire at the London giants. If anything, he’s thrown fuel on it.
He isn’t a manager who can put an arm around the struggling Tottenham players when they need that. Many players in the squad have never been in this situation before and it shows on the pitch. They clearly need someone who can lift their spirits.
Tudor’s risky man-marking approach hasn’t worked either. Despite that, he stuck to that against Atleti.
Tottenham need a manager who can help struggling players believe in themselves again. Tudor has proven to be the opposite.