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Harry Kane is living the dream of every young Tottenham fan at the moment. Already a household name, the striker, who started as third choice striker at the start of the season, is now likened to a messiah.
Born in Chingford, London, his first steps as a footballer were at Ridgeway Rovers, a local club in London. He then went on to join current arch rival Arsenal’s youth academy and spent a year before jumping ship to Watford. When he was aged 11, Tottenham saw enough talent in Kane to take him to their youth academy.
Rocky road for young Kane at White Hart Lane
Harry Kane has had his ups and downs ever since he became a first team member at Spurs. He had to compete with big names such as Jermain Defoe, Emmanuel Adebayor and record signing Roberto Soldado – whose name was sung loud by the Spurs faithful with a chorus of “Soldado, he came from sunny Spain, to play at White Hart Lane”.
Under Andre Villas-Boas, Kane was sent out on loan spells to various clubs and struggled to even make the squad. However, in his second season as manager, Villas-Boas was convinced about Kane’s abilities to lead the line for Tottenham. He was used as a substitute in the Premier League at the start of the season and started few UEFA Europa League games and impressed the fans and the pundits alike with his work rate and movement.
Later, when Tim Sherwood took over the reigns as the manager, Kane saw an increase in opportunities on the field, especially after Roberto Soldado was heavily criticized by the manager for his poor performances. He continued to score goals at an impressive rate in the Europa League, albeit it was against weaker opposition.
Pochettino gives Kane the breakthrough on the big stage
Mauricio Pochettino took over as full-time boss at the start of the current season and immediately indicated that Harry Kane was an important member of the squad. His first real contribution this season came in the very first game of the Premier League where he set up Eric Dier to score the winner against West Ham United. Kane continued to impress from the bench for Spurs making important contributions.
Meanwhile, he continued to bang in the goals for the England U21 side. The form shown at the international level coupled with his performances in the UEFA Europa League convinced Pochettino to allow Kane to start his first EPL game of the season against Stoke City in November. He had scored on his three previous appearances for the club, coming on as a substitute against Brighton, Aston Villa and Asteras Trip.
He had also begun to exert his influence in the side by taking free kicks in important positions at crucial junctures in the game. That, for a 21-year-old youth team player was a big responsibility to shoulder. He has since started almost every Premier League game for the club. The freezing out of Emmanuel Adebayor from first team action and the poor form of Roberto Soldado did a world of good for Harry Kane. He scored in four consecutive matches against Swansea, Newcastle, Burnley and Leicester and his popularity with the fans began to rise significantly with people around the world beginning to take notice of his abilities.
Kane makes it count and scores in the big games
The biggest moment of his short career so far came on New Year’s day in the London derby against table-toppers Chelsea. Although the Blues took an early lead and began to take control of the game, Kane was unfettered. He sparked off Tottenham’s comeback by scoring an amazing solo equaliser which left the opposition visibly shaken and one which the made the pundits dub him as “the best cross-shot specialist in the Premier League”.
He went on to score another and make two more as Tottenham ran out 5-3 winners to leave the title race wide open then. Kane had become one the key players the club were heavily dependent on, along with Christian Eriksen. He started scoring goals almost for fun. He showed quick movement, amazing strength and a great mind to read situations.
He went on to score more goals, one against Crystal Palace, a brace West Brom and then wrote his name into the club’s folklore by scoring a brace which included a late winner against arch rivals Arsenal.
The phenomenal rise in popularity of Harry Kane has made the fans change their chants to “Soldado, he came from sunny Spain, to train with Harry Kane.”
In an interview to The Guardian recently, he said: “It’s great to hear the crowd sing my name. It makes me feel very happy and quite emotional as well. I was a fan here once singing the name of someone else. I used to sing the name of Teddy Sheringham, he was a big idol of mine, and Robbie Keane.
“To hear them singing my name in games that mean a lot to the fans, means a lot to me.”
Quite rightly, for a young boy who was once dreaming about playing for the club he truly loves, this has been a dream come true.
