Kane is aiming for the stars
SPURS STRIKER HAS MATCHED RONALDO, MESSI’S EXPLOITS
Harry Kane is an admitted follower of Cristiano Ronaldo’s stratospheric stats as he pursues the Portuguese’s status as the best in the world, but for once it is Ronaldo who trails in the race to be the Champions League’s top marksman.
An inspired Kane has transformed Tottenham Hotspur’s European form from last season’s failure to a flying start with five of Spurs’ six goals in victories over Borussia Dortmund and APOEL Nicosia.
The acid test for Kane and his team-mates comes at the Santiago Bernabeu tonight where holders Real Madrid and Ronaldo lie in wait having dismissed Dortmund and APOEL themselves thanks to four goals from the World Player-of-the-Year.
“It is a chance to measure ourselves. We are facing the best team in the world,” Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino said.
“We are a young team with many internationals, but not so much experience of playing these type of games. It is a fundamental test.”
Pochettino has fallen head over heels for Kane, conceding his wife was jealous of his repeated declarations of “love” for the striker.
“He is one of the most in-form strikers in the world for sure. The numbers speak for themselves,” added Pochettino.
Numbers are so good they’ve drawn comparisons with the two men that have taken goalscoring to previously unseen levels in the past decade – Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Kane’s 13-goal haul in September matched the best ever goalscoring month by Messi or Ronaldo.
“I want to be one of the best players in the world, so when people put stuff up and I see I am close to those players it is a great incentive to get even closer and go to the next step,” Kane said after netting his sixth hat-trick of the season to slay APOEL in Cyprus.
At just 24, Kane has time on his side but far more to prove not only to reach the heights set by Ronaldo and Messi, but also the consistency they have shown in sharing the last nine World Player-of-the-Year awards.
“Staying consistent at the top level is what it’s all about,” added Kane. –