LONDON: Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi will stage a do-or-die duel as two of the most prolific strikers in the Champions League go head to head at Wembley on Wednesday.
Both Kane and Icardi have humble origins after surviving rejection and self-doubt to reach the top. Now well established as talismanic figures for their clubs, these unlikely heroes have become two of the sport’s hottest properties.
Both have been linked with European champions Real Madrid this season and this week’s vital clash between Tottenham and Inter provides another chance to celebrate their rags to riches rise and marvel at their predatory instincts.
Born in Argentina, Icardi moved to Spain when he was nine and was one of the most sought-after players in Europe when Barcelona, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Liverpool fought for the teenager’s signature in 2007. Icardi eventually chose Barcelona, but his time with the Spanish giants went surprisingly sour.
He never broke into the first team after being written off as lacking the technical quality to shine at the Camp Nou. A loan spell in Italy with Sampdoria proved the making of Icardi, who stepped up to the big time when he joined Inter in 2013.
Icardi has scored 106 league goals in 167 appearances for Inter, twice finishing as the joint highest scorer in Serie A and taking over as the club captain three years ago. It is a success story that would strike a chord with Kane, who also had to endure rejection before proving his doubters wrong.
While some English stars are ear-marked for success years in advance such is their obvious potential, Kane was written off time and again as a schoolboy, with Arsenal, Tottenham and Watford all deciding he didn’t have the right qualities to make it.
Tottenham eventually recognised the goal-scoring potential Kane possessed, but even then it took loan spells at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester before he was finally given his chance as a regular on the Premier League stage in 2014.
A barrage of goals followed as Kane made up for lost time in stunning style. Now 25, Kane has amassed a host of goal records, scoring more than 100 times for Tottenham and becoming only the second England player to finish as the World Cup’s top scorer. (AFP)
