Tag: Tottenham

Brazil legend Ronaldinho: Any team in the world would make room for Harry Kane

The Brazil great lauded the Spurs star, saying that any club in Europe would make room for him if given the chance

Tottenham star Harry Kane could walk into any team in Europe, according to Brazil great Ronaldinho.

Kane has enjoyed another prolific season at Spurs, scoring 35 goals in all competitions to mark the third campaign in four when he has netted at least 30.

The England international is linked to the likes of Real Madrid and Ronaldinho believes the 24-year-old is more than capable of playing for any of the world’s biggest clubs.

“Harry Kane has been a great player for a while now – but there is no doubt this season he has hit a new level,” he told the Mirror .

“He is now at the level where any team in the world would want him. He could walk into any team in Europe.

“Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, it doesn’t matter how strong the team. He is now one of those few players in the world that any team would have to make room for if they had the chance to sign him.”

Kane has won the past two Premier League Golden Boots and is on track to make it three this season.

While Spurs will want to keep Kane, Ronaldinho – a two-time FIFA World Player of the Year – said clubs had shown they would pay whatever was needed to sign the world’s best.

“Over the last windows we have seen that the biggest clubs in Europe have paid whatever fees needed to sign the best players in the world,” he said.

“For maybe four or five clubs, they are now at a stage where the fee is not important if they want the player, they pay what they have to.”

Tottenham sit fourth in the Premier League table but face a fight for a Champions League place next season, with Chelsea just two points back.

Spurs are still alive in Europe this term and head into their round of 16 second-leg clash with Juventus level after a 2-2 draw in Italy.

LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 16: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur in action during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City at Wembley Stadium on September 16, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)

Source: www.goal.com

Juventus vs Tottenham:

Mauricio Pochettino’s men make the journey to Turin where they will hope to establish a lead in the fight for a place in the quarter-finals

Tottenham resume Champions League action on Tuesday as they travel to Italy to take on Juventus in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Both sides come into the clash in buoyant form, with Spurs boosted by a derby victory over Arsenal at Wembley over the weekend.

Juventus, meanwhile, have been playing with a ruthlessness that was lacking in their early-season displays and they have not lost a game since last November.

 

Squads & Team News

 

Position Juventus players
Goalkeepers Buffon, Pinsoglio, Szczesny
Defenders De Sciglio, Chiellini, Benatia, Sandro, Barzagli, Rugani, Lichtsteiner
Midfielders Pjanic, Khedira, Cuadrado, Marchisio, Costa, Matuidi, Asamoah, Sturaro, Bentancur, Bernardeschi, Merio, Caligara
Forwards Higuain, Dybala, Mandzukic

Juventus are expected to be without a number of key players for the visit of Spurs with Paulo Dybala, Juan Cuadrado and Blaise Matuidi among those carrying injuries. Stephan Lichtsteiner has also been ruled out, while the injured Benedikt Howedes is not in the Champions League squad.

Andrea Barzagli is also a doubt and the defender trained separately to the rest of the squad ahead of the game.

Potential Juventus starting XI: Buffon; Rugani, Chiellini, Benatia, Sandro; Marchisio, Pjanic, Khedira; Bernardeschi, Higuain, Mandzukic.

Position Tottenham players
Goalkeepers Lloris, Vorm, Gazzaniga, Whiteman
Defenders Trippier, Rose, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Sanchez, Aurier, Davies, Walker-Peters
Midfielders Lamela, Wanyama, Dier, Sissoko, Dembele, Alli, Eriksen, Lucas, Winks, Georgiou, Oakley-Boothe
Forwards Son, Kane, Llorente, Sterling

Toby Alderweireld will sit out the game against Juventus as he works to regain full fitness following injury, as will Kyle Walker-Peters.

Juan Foyth and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou are not part of the club’s Champions League panel, but Pochettino has an otherwise full selection to choose from.

Potential Tottenham starting XI: Lloris; Trippier, Vertonghen, Sanchez, Davies; Dembele, Dier, Eriksen, Alli, Son; Kane.

Tottenham’s Champions League exploits this season have forced the rest of Europe to sit up and take notice. Convincing victories over Borussia Dortmund and reigning champions Real Madrid have shown that the Premier League outfit belong at that level and they will be eager to extend their foray into the competition.

Central to any success they might have in the competition will be the likes of Harry Kane, who has surged out in front in the race for the European Golden Shoe, and his supporting cast of Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son. In those individuals, Pochettino has forged a mesmerising front-four and they are undoubtedly a match for the continent’s elite.

Similarly to Spurs, Juventus have recovered from a wobbly start to the season to surge back into the reckoning domestically and they come into the last-16 match with a 16-game unbeaten streak under their belts. Perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that Massimiliano Allegri’s side have conceded just once in that period and they have won their last 11 games.

Therefore, the encounter between Juve and Spurs is essentially a showdown between Europe’s best strike-force and its best defence – the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. That would suggest that they will cancel each other out, but, knock-out matches are anything but predictable.

With nearly a month to wait for the second leg – on March 7 – both sides will be doing everything they can to lay down an early marker as they look to ensure their place among the last eight of Europe’s elite.

Dybala to miss out on Tottenham Champions League clash for Juventus

There had been hope that the striker would face Tottenham, but the Argentina forward will miss out on the last-16 tie

Paulo Dybala has failed to recover from a hamstring injury in time for Juventus’ Champions League round-of-16 tie against Tottenham.

There had been reports the Argentina star may be on the bench for the first leg at Juventus Stadium on Tuesday having taken part in training on Monday.

However, the forward was not included in Juve’s squad, which was announced before head coach Massimiliano Allegri addressed the media for his pre-match news conference.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino had been speaking about the quality of Dybala in his own media briefing before Juve released their squad.

“Obviously, Paulo Dybala is a great player who knows how to make the difference,” he said of his Argentine compatriot.

“As you know, however, Juve have quality players like Federico Bernardeschi and many others.

“We want to compete with them, we’ll see what happens.”

Dybala’s last appearance came in Juve’s 1-0 win at Cagliari on January 6.

Experienced wing-back Stephan Lichtsteiner was also excluded due to a problem with his left thigh. Source: www.goal.com

‘Tottenham star Kane was too chubby for Arsenal!’

The Gunners have been left to rue their decision to part with a striker who has gone on to star for their fierce north London rivals

Harry Kane was released by Arsenal for being “chubby”, Liam Brady has revealed, with the Gunners acknowledging that they were “wrong”.

Kane, who is now starring for north London rivals Tottenham and set to captain England at the 2018 World Cup, was on the Gunners’ books at the age of eight.

He was, however, to be shown the door, leaving him with a chip on his shoulder that made him all the more determined to prove his worth.

Two Golden Boots and more than 100 Premier League goals have seen him do just that, with a former Director of the Arsenal Youth Academy conceding that a poor judgement call was made on Kane in his younger years.

Brady told Corriere della Sera: “He was chubby, not very athletic and we were wrong.

“But even Tottenham loaned him three or four times to teams in the lower divisions. But with his determination, he is building a great career. And he deserves it.”

Kane is now considered to be not just a leading light of the English top-flight, but a striker who enjoys a standing alongside the great and good of the global game.

“That boy has a character that drives him to always improve,” added Brady.

“After [Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Robert] Lewandowski there is him. The numbers say it. And he’s only 24 years old.”

Kane will be looking to cement such a standing in his next outing for Spurs, as he prepares to grace a Champions League stage once more.

Serie A giants Juventus block Tottenham’s European path in the last 16, but former Bianconeri star Brady believes Mauricio Pochettino’s side should enter the contest with no fear.

He said: “Juve are not favourites, it’s 50-50.

“Tottenham are well organised, they have a good coach and three great forwards in [Christian] Eriksen, [Dele] Alli and Kane. You need to stop them in midfield to prevent those three from hurting you.

“Does Juve’s attack convince me? Not completely, because I think we’ve already seen the best of [Gonzalo] Higuain. It’s hard for him to make the difference in Europe, he’s too static.”

Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal

The north London rivals will lock horns for the 182nd time in the latest instalment of one of England’s fiercest local rivalries

Tottenham will hope to create further distance between themselves and Arsenal when they welcome their north London rivals to Wembley on Saturday.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side are currently fifth in the Premier League on 49 points, four points ahead of their bitter foes, and a win could see them move up to third.

Defeat for Arsene Wenger’s Gunners would be a major blow to their hopes of achieving a top-four finish, so they will be desperate to claim maximum points.

Both teams come into the crucial encounter on the back of victories, with Tottenham beating Newport County in the FA Cup fourth round and Arsenal demolishing Everton in the league.

Spurs are boosted by the return to full fitness of Toby Alderweireld, while Danny Rose and Harry Winks are also available again. New signing Lucas Moura could make his Premier League debut, but it is likely to be from the bench as Pochettino is unlikely to experiment in such a massive game.

Potential Tottenham starting XI: Lloris; Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Dembele, Eriksen, Son, Alli; Kane.

Arsenal will be without Petr Cech, who has not been training, meaning that David Ospina will start between the posts. Danny Welbeck is a concern, but Wenger hinted that the striker will be back for the game. Nacho Monreal, meanwhile, is poised to return to the team.

Potential Arsenal starting XI: Ospina; Monreal, Mustafi, Koscielny; Bellerin, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Ozil, Ramsey, Mkhitaryan; Aubameyang.

Lineups:

Kane hits back at Van Dijk over dive accusation

The Tottenham striker went down in the late stages of the clash with Liverpool to earn a spot-kick and dismissed criticism from the defender

Harry Kane has rejected Virgil van Dijk’s claim that he dived to win a penalty in Sunday’s 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs were awarded two penalties at Anfield, when Kane went down in the box under a challenge from goalkeeper Loris Karius in the 87th minute and for a Van Dijk foul on Erik Lamela deep into injury time.

Although Kane missed his first attempt from the spot, his second sealed a point for his side and took his Premier League tally up to 100 goals in his career and 22 for the season.

But the 24-year-old was criticised afterwards by Reds defender Van Dijk, who insisted Kane dived to win the first penalty and that the second was undeserved, too.

The England international dismissed the notion, however, saying he was definitely fouled and assistant referee Eddie Smart was correct to flag for the trip on Lamela later on.

“Yeah. [Karius] has dived, he has got in the way and I’m a player, I’m not going to jump out of the way because it’s football,” Kane said of the first penalty incident.

“I’ve definitely felt contact and I’ve gone down. For Lamela’s one, I thought the linesman showed amazing character to give that because a lot happened for the first one about the linesman so to give that penalty was massive and it was a penalty.

“It was a roller coaster of emotions. Obviously getting the first penalty you are thinking ‘I’m going to score the winner’ and then miss it and then it goes down the other end. I’ve got the team down and get another one (penalty) and now I’ve got to step up again. I was delighted to score it and get my 100th goal and delighted to get something out of the game, which I thought we deserved.”

The striker was disappointed to see his initial attempt saved by the home side’s goalkeeper, but there was “never a doubt” that he would convert his next shot.

“The first one was essentially what I wanted to do, go down the middle,” he added. “I have a routine, I went through it and the keeper just stood there and saved it.

“Sometimes that happens so as a striker you just have to deal with it and hope the next one will come soon. Thankfully it did and I was able to put the second one away.”

After reaching another milestone, Kane is already looking to complete another century of goals as he aims to continue his development and become one of the best in the world.

“That has to be the aim – and hopefully quicker than I got to 100,” he said.

“It is nice, I am going to enjoy the moment, but let’s see how many I can get this year and go from there.

“Hopefully I can get better and better. I am 24 years old, that’s not young but it’s not old so I’ve still got a lot of learning to do. I feel I am getting more experience year by year and I feel I am getting stronger and more physical and hopefully that just continues. I will always keep trying to work hard and get better and hopefully that will be the case.

“That is what separates good players from great players: can you do it consistently year after year? Can you get better and better when people don’t expect you to? That’s what I’ve done so far and that is what I will continue to strive to do. That is always my mindset to never let up. It is a short career and I’ll try to do as much as I can in it.”

KANE SETS REAL MADRID DEMANDS

Harry Kane has conditions that must be met if Real Madrid are to have any hope of signing him, Diario Gol reports.

The Spanish outlet claims Kane would prefer to work under Mauricio Pochettino rather than Zinedine Zidane, with the latter looking likely to be replaced in the summer.

Signing Pochettino would go a long way to getting Kane on board, but it is said that the England striker has no desire to play alongside Karim Benzema or Cristiano Ronaldo, and would ask that the Spanish capital club sell those players before his arrival.

[Source: www.goal.com]