FALSE 10: Chin up, gloves on - the game has just begun

Goalkeeping is often regarded as the "loneliest job in football". Putting aside the fact that custodians are indeed alone in goal, usually far from the other players, dressed in different jerseys, and limited to their penalty areas, this "loneliness" has more of a psychological meaning.

Every easy save is taken for granted, every blunder is considered an unforgivable sin. For some, even the end of a career.

Pessimists would say that one young career that hadn't even properly started was destroyed last Tuesday. For them, somewhere between 23:00 and 23:15 at one of the most state-of-the-art stadiums in Madrid, a "goalkeeper doom" took another victim.

Dejected Kinsky following his second error (©Reuters/Matthew Childs/Gallo Images)

For instance, while some of the most famous custodians of our time like Manuel Neuer, Thibaut Courtois, and David De Gea hurried to express their support to the hero - or rather, a tragic figure - of this story, Antonin Kinsky, and write some words of comfort, another goalkeeping icon Peter Schmeichel decided to take the aforementioned pessimistic stance, claiming the youngster career was "ruined".

Yet, there's always the other side of the coin, the optimistic one, that will under no circumstances accept that one mistake - in this case, two blunders, but one devastating off night - can mean the end of a career, let alone the one in its earliest stages.

After all, football is a sport full of hope, and as such, it gives everyone a second chance. It's only up to them to seize it.

As you have probably seen - the whole world did - the 22-year-old Antonin Kinsky made two horrendous mistakes that led to Atletico Madrid's goals against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League Round of 16 clash last Tuesday.

How to ruin young player – Tudor subbed his goalkeeper after 17 minutes in another nightmare

Los Colchoneros were 3-0 up just a quarter of an hour into the game, and the tearful Czech was subbed off two minutes later, becoming the first custodian in Champions League history to be replaced within the opening 20 minutes without sustaining an injury.

At the same time, his performance was labeled one of the worst-ever in the UCL, and he became the proud main protagonist of the most horrendous 15 minutes the elite European competition has ever seen.

Kinsky got a black mark. Yes, the responsibility isn't only his. There's Igor Tudor, clearly out of depth as a coach for Spurs, who hid behind the highly inexperienced keeper, making him a scapegoat for a demolished team slipping toward relegation to the Championship, and then didn't even shake the youngster's hand or pat him on the shoulder after the sub. And there are also those who hired the Croatian, but his and their stories are far worse than Kinsky's, who, unlike them, seems to still have hope.

FALSE 10: The man who said goodbye and turned off the lights

The goalie publicly apologized, and most fans probably forgave him, understanding that at this point in his career, he needs more support than ever. Even the media were subtle in their criticism, most likely unaware that the worst night of his life occurred just three days before his 22nd birthday. For him, yesterday's birthday on Friday the 13th was nothing compared to the nightmarish Tuesday the 10th he experienced at the Metropolitano Stadium.

Nevertheless, despite everything, one terrible night must never mean the end. For anyone, let alone a young and talented footballer, who has yet to spread his wings.

After all, numerous goalkeeping icons have made serious mistakes at the biggest stages. One of Rene Higuita's well-known "trickeries" went wrong, allowing Cameroon's Roger Milla to score an extra-time goal, knock out Colombia, and send the Indomitable Lions to the quarter-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Twelve years later, at the WC in Japan and South Korea, England and Arsenal keeper David Seaman conceded a goal from almost the halfway line against Brazil, as that magnificent Ronaldinho's strike paved the Selecao's way to the semi-finals and their fifth title.

In the same tournament, Oliver Kahn made a serious mistake in the grand final, when he dropped the ball, leading to Ronaldo Nazario's opener for the Luiz Felipe Scolari's team. And still, all of these custodians are considered legendary figures, and people still remember them fondly.

And if all these examples aren't good enough, let's recall the greatest of all sinners between the posts - Loris Karius.

In the famous 2018 Champions League trophy match, the then-Liverpool shot-stopper made two colossal blunders (at 0-0 and 2-1), as Real Madrid beat the Reds 3-1 and clinched their 13th UCL trophy.

Loris Karius in tears after the 2018 UCL final (©Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

It's safe to say that no goalkeeper in football history faced the media backlash the German did after that game. His life and career seemed completely devastated. Was that the case?

Do you even know where Karius is right now, and does he play anymore? Probably not. Yet not because he retired and disappeared off the face of the Earth, but because he managed to find his peace after recovering from the biggest stress he had ever experienced.

Even though hardly anyone talks about him - and he must adore that after everything that happened - the 32-year-old is currently the first-choice custodian at Schalke 04, the German second tier's table-toppers, and soon, he may return to the biggest stage in the Bundesliga with one of the most renowned teams in German football history.

The bottom line is that everyone can be proud of him and envy him, and not because of his marriage to one of the most beautiful sports journalists, Diletta Leotta, but because he made a massive comeback.

FALSE 10: Rise, Phoenix! It's time for one last flight

Yes, it's been a path full of hardships, full of sorry spells at Besiktas, Union Berlin, and Newcastle, but he made it. That's why he should be the greatest source of motivation and example for Kinsky.

Karius' career was "ruined" at the age of 25, and he is still there. Why wouldn't the 22-year-old Czech do the same? At Tottenham or anywhere else.

Antonin Kinsky has to get up, dust himself off, move on, and keep going forward. It's hard and rough, but that's the only solution. Although a custodian, he's not alone now, and all the support he received should give him the necessary strength.

He owes it to all the (crazy) football optimists and to this beautiful sport. He owes it to every goalie - famous or unknown - who has ever made a mistake and lost faith. He owes it to his father, who was also a keeper. He owes it to himself.