Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has described Harry Kane as “the complete player” ahead of their Champions League clash against Tottenham tonight at the Bernabeu.
The two clubs are unbeaten in Group H and although the reigning champions are favourites to take the home tie, Zidane knows that in Kane the visitors boast the competition’s in-form striker.
The 24-year-old England striker has scored five goals in two Champions League games this season, part of an overall tally of 36 goals in 32 games for Tottenham this calendar year, and this evening he’ll be able to test himself against Europe’s dominant force.
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It will also be a chance to measure himself against one of the great goalscorers in European history, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has proved himself in the last decade as one of the finest strikers to pull on a Real Madrid shirt.
“He’s a very complete player even though he does not look it, but he always turns up when he needs to,” said Zidane of Kane. “He is very good in every aspect, but the best thing about him is that he’s always got the goal on his mind.”
Inevitably during the press conference, Zidane was asked if he had designs on Kane, a question that the Frenchman batted away, telling reporters: “I don’t know what's going to happen in the future.”
The immediate future is all about taking three points from Tottenham this evening, no easy task bearing in mind the confident manner in which the London club beat Dortmund and Apoel in their opening matches.
“We are playing against a very good team and that is good for us, it encourages us to play a good match,” said Zidane. “Tottenham have always been a great club, but they are constantly improving and they have a great coach. It will be a good game between two strong teams. It will be the group final.”
Real Madrid will be without former Spurs star Gareth Bale, still sidelined with the calf injury that kept him out of Wales’ World Cup qualifier against Ireland last week, but Ronaldo is coming back into form after a slow domestic start to the season.
The 32-year-old scored his first league goal of the campaign in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Getafe, and Zidane said of the Portuguese matchwinner: “It is good he has scored. He scores many in Champions League, and we want him to be comfortable and scoring for us.
“He has been working very hard, and is always professional, always wants to improve even after everything he has done. I have a lot of respect for Cristiano, what he does is not easy, but he is an example for the others.”
For Tottenham, their inspiration is Kane, and teammate Fernando Llorente believes the presence of the England striker means they have “a chance” this evening.
“We have great players who are capable of playing very good football and we have Harry Kane, who at the moment is turning everything he touches into a goal,” said Llorente.
“There isn’t a great deal of difference among the top teams in Europe and I’d count Tottenham among them.”
Tonight’s Champions League fixtures (7.45pm)
Group E
- NK Maribor vs. Liverpool
- Spartak Moscow vs. Sevilla
Group F
- Feyenoord vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
- Manchester City vs. Napoli
Group G
- Monaco vs. Besiktas
- RB Leipzig vs. FC Porto
Group H
- Apoel Nicosia vs. Borussia Dortmund
- Real Madrid vs. Tottenham Hotspur
