Rafael Van der Vaart was starring at Premier League giants Spurs when Harry Kane was just a budding young teenager.
Rafael Van der Vaart has admitted that he didn’t think Harry Kane was up to much when a young striker was honing his talents at Tottenham Hotspur, speaking to Championat.
Arguably the most complete striker in world football right now and a two-time Premier League Golden Boot winner, Kane’s remarkable rise is an inspiration for any budding teenager struggling to make his mark in the game.
The Tottenham academy graduate is the very definition of a late-bloomer, exploding onto the scene in remarkable fashion after a series of underwhelming loan spells at Norwich City, Millwall, Leicester and Leyton Orient.
Kane was a little-known teenager when a legendary Holland international was still pulling the strings in North London and it’s fair to say Van der Vaart did not expect his former team-mate to become Tottenham’s talismanic number ten one day.
“I remember his first training session. Kane was then 18 or 19 years old. Every second touch – with your head,” says Van der Vaart, who remembers calling a fresh-faced striker a certain four-letter word in conversation with then-Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.
“Now look, Kane is the best striker in the world. This story says that I do not understand anything in football.”
Unfortunately for Van der Vaart, one of the most influential creative midfielders of the 21st century never got the chance to serve up chances on a silver platter for arguably the greatest centre-forward in Tottenham’s history with Kane starting to shine only after the Dutchman had departed.
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