Poch:don’t kill the killer
IN THIS COUNTRY YOU BUILD STARS UP & THEN KNOCK THEM DOWN.. IF HARRY WAS ITALIAN HE’D BE PROTECTED SAYS BOSS
MAURICIO POCHETTINO believes English football does not fully appreciate “killer” Harry Kane.
The Spurs boss fears this country is all too willing to build its stars up, only to knock them down. And he reckons that his striker, who he describes as an “assassin”, would be far more celebrated if he were Italian or Spanish. Pochettino said: “In England you have some very good things, but there are things you need to improve with your own players.
“Kane is English and sometimes you push him to the sky and paradise and then you put him on the outside. Now, after six years here, I understand a little
DLFbit. It is true. If Harry Kane was Italian and playing for the Italian side he would be a bit more protected because the Italian people are more protective of their players.
“It is difficult to push, but when they are at the top they try to keep them up there.
“It’s similar to Spain. Here it is more up and down. You score, you are the best. If you don’t score, no – you are criticised. It’s an observation. That is the problem.” The Tottenham chief’s comments came after England boss Gareth Southgate voiced his concern at the “strange country” which has criticised plans to salute
Wayne Rooney.
Asked if Kane
(right) is now exceeding even his expectations, Pochettino (below) added: “No, because I know him very well. He is a killer, an assassin, a killer. “He always in practice, in everything, he wants to kill the keeper, everything. He wants to score, he is so determined to score goals.”
Kane spearheads the Spurs attack today, four days after saving his club’s Champions League life against PSV Eindhoven at Wembley.
It is a rescue act that Tottenham fans are all too familiar with. Last term, at Crystal Palace, Kane also had supporters breathing a sigh of relief with an 88thminute winner, the only goal of the game. The England captain has more than justified his world-class credentials, with Pochettino insistent that his comparison last season with legendary marksman Gabriel Batistuta has been more than justified.
Batistuta was Argentina’s all-time leading scorer with 54 goals in 77 matches. A record he held until two years ago, when he was surpassed by Lionel Messi.
His 10 goals in three World Cups made him Argentina’s all-time top scorer in the competition.
Pochettino said: “I compared Kane as his mentality is similar to Batistuta. But maybe Kane is going to improve on his stats.
“But for me Kane can be or is – depending on the people around him – of a similar mentality to Batistuta.
“I know Batistuta very well. He was my team-mate. And I know Kane. They are of a similar mind and focus and determination.”