Jacob

Harry Kane in 2018: “My dream wasn’t to play in the Premier League. My dream was to play in the Premier League for Spurs. So I told [André Villas-Boas], quite honestly, “I don’t want to go [on leave].” As the words were coming out of my mouth, I thought, Oh, wow — maybe that wasn’t.… He just kind of looked at me, a bit confused. And then I just came straight out with it. I said, “I’m gonna prove to you that I should be starting on this team. And you can tell me every Friday before the game that I don’t deserve that, and that I’m not going to play. And that’s fine. But I don’t want to go.” And that was that. He let me stay on and train with the first team — and it really ended up being the turning point in my confidence. I had always felt like I had the ability, but I kind of had to stand up for myself. It was like I could see my childhood dream, and it was right there in front of me … but it was just out of reach. I was waiting for somebody to hand it to me. But life never hands it to you, does it? You’ve gotta grab it. I was on fire in training, but I still couldn’t get a game. Then the manager was let go in the winter and Tim Sherwood took charge — and he gave me my chance. The rest, as people might say, is history. I scored three goals in my first three starts, and that was an incredible feeling, especially the first time scoring at White Hart Lane. But honestly, all the things I went through before I scored Goal Number 1 … that’s what made me who I am…. For me, the rejection is the best thing that ever happened to me. When I was lacing my up boots for my first start in the North London derby back in 2015, I had a flashback to when I was 11, playing against Arsenal’s youth team. It was like déjà vu. Before every match, I always visualize scenarios in my head of exactly how I’ll score in the match. Left-foot curler into the bottom corner. Right-foot volley from the right corner of the box. I’ve always been that way. I get really detailed about it — I’ll picture my opponents and the cut of the grass and everything. This time, I was picturing the defenders wearing the red Arsenal kit, and I got goosebumps. We were in the tunnel, and I thought, “O.K. Took me 12 years. But we’ll see who was right and who was wrong.” I scored two that day, and the winner in the 86th minute was something that I’d never even dream of visualizing before a match. It was a header — probably the best header I’ve ever scored — and that feeling when it hit the back of the net … I’ve never felt a rush like that in my whole career. I remember walking round the pitch after the final whistle … and clapping to the fans … and it felt like, Well — I told you so.” playerstribu.ne/KaneEngland @HKane | @England