I knew Harry Kane when he was coming through the ranks at Tottenham and even then you could see just how driven he was to be the best.
I will never forget one training session that made me think, wow, this lad’s got some guts. We had some world-class strikers at Tottenham at the time. We had Dimitar Berbatov, Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane. They were demanding, too.
Harry was just a young lad training with the first team. He got the ball on the edge of the 18-yard-box, Berbatov made a run into the area and waited for the ball to be played to him for a tap-in. Harry ignored him, shot and the ball flew over the bar. Berbatov was furious. He just stood there and looked at him as if to say: ‘Are you taking the p***?’
Then it happened again, this time with Defoe. Harry would shoot, miss and Defoe would be livid. He’d shout: ‘You are just a kid, pass me the ball!’ Harry just put his head down and walked back to his mark. He didn’t care. That would just make those lads angrier.
I’ve seen fights break out in training for less! There was no sense of, ‘Oh God, it’s Robbie Keane, I’d better pass him the ball.’
Kane was simply obsessed with scoring goals and making himself a better player. And he believed in himself completely.
We had other young strikers who probably had more talent but none of them came close to Harry’s drive and dedication. That’s why they got nowhere near the level he’s achieved. Back then, his self-belief outweighed his ability — not any more.
Harry is as down-to-earth as they come. He never gets too high after victories or too low after defeats.
If you listen carefully to the way he talks, the tone of his voice, he stays on the same level no matter what. He has enjoyed so much personal success but also suffered so much pain when it comes to team success.
He came close to greatness at Tottenham when getting to the Champions League final but fell short. It’s those painful moments throughout his career — all of the loan spells he was sent out on — that made Harry the person he is.
When he was a kid coming through the system, no one thought he was going to make it to such a level. He’s a decent player, a bit slow, maybe a bit chubby. He’ll do OK but probably fall a bit short, people thought at the time. He has proved everyone wrong.
Proving people wrong is what he’s based his career on. He takes pleasure in showing how good he is and that he is now part of the game’s elite.
When he says he wants to be thought of up there with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, he’s not joking. That is how good he believes his career can be. That is the standard he has set in his life on and off the pitch.
He wants to beat Alan Shearer’s scoring record in the Premier League, he could be about to beat Gary Lineker’s mark scoring for England at major tournaments.
He loves his golf and we’ve played a few times. He’s annoyingly good at that, too. He won the last time we played and I think I still owe him £20. I’ll make up for it next time, when he’s back as a European champion.
Double or quits?