Harry Kane wins Ballon d'Or to end England's 25-year wait
Ballon d'Or triumph caps remarkable journey
Harry Kane is on top of the world. The Bayern Munich striker continued his remarkable career journey on Monday night by becoming the first Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or for 25 years.
He is already England's joint record appearance maker and his country's record scorer with 89 goals in 124 appearances in an international career he started by opening his account 79 seconds into his debut.
It hasn't been the smoothest of journeys. From being rejected by Arsenal to loan spells in the Football League, the 33-year-old has had to defy the doubters throughout.
From safe hands to hot-shot striker
When a six-year-old Harry Kane arrived for trials with Ridgeway Rovers in 1999, the youth side – who a generation earlier had produced David Beckham – thought they had found themselves a new goalkeeper.
Dave Bricknell, former Ridgeway Rovers coach, recalled: "We're doing a little shooting session, and I ask for a lad who can go in goal. This little boy puts his hand up and says: 'I'll go in goal.' We give him some gloves, and he performs heroics – makes some fantastic saves. He's tipping it round the post, tipping a couple over the bar. I'm thinking this is great, we've got a goalkeeper. And then this woman came up to me and said he's better on the pitch. We put him on pitch and he smacked goals in left, right and centre. So he ends up being our centre-forward."
Kane's prolific form for Ridgeway Rovers and his Waltham Forest district side caught the attention of professional scouts. Arsenal initially snapped up the youngster but decided not to keep him, while Watford also passed up the opportunity to sign Kane.
Trevor Bailey, Kane's manager at Waltham Forest, said: "Harry could have done nothing all game, but if that chance came up it was in the onion bag. He was always on the move up front. When he got a chance, guaranteed four out of five he was going to score or set someone up."
Alex Welsh, former academy coach at Arsenal, said: "I first met Harry in the academy and he was a very competent goalkeeper, but his real desire was to score goals. I am absolutely convinced that is the reason why he is such a clinical striker – he intuitively knows what the goalkeeper doesn't like. He shoots early when the goalkeeper's not set."
Bricknell added: "I believe he was second top-scorer at Arsenal behind Benik Afobe, and then for some reason they decided at 11 years of age that they didn't want him any more."
The model student
Kane attended Larkswood Primary Academy before moving to Chingford Foundation School, where he was inevitably the star of the football team. As a dedicated student, he impressed his teachers across the board.
Mark Leadon, Kane's PE teacher, said: "Aged 11, Harry was technically very gifted, with a great first touch, and a very clever player. He always knew where to go, right from an early stage. He was also a very good cricketer – he opened the bowling from year seven to 10 and batted at four or five. But he loved football. He was never a prima donna, and he would always put a shift in. What came through more than anything else was his determination to succeed. That work ethic was clear."
Childhood friend and team-mate Luke Robinson recalled: "The only thing on his mind was football. We used to have a laugh, a couple of games of Fifa, but he was always driven. He'd always keep himself to himself. He loved David Beckham, he came in with the Mohican, everyone was laughing but he loved it. He loved football, 24/7, he lived and breathed football."
Tottenham breakthrough after loans
It was Tottenham Hotspur who offered Kane hope after his earlier disappointments, but the future England captain was by no means the pick of the bunch for his age group.
Kane signed scholarship terms with the club on his 16th birthday in July 2009.
Alex Inglethorpe, former Tottenham youth-team coach, said: "When I joined Spurs as under-18 coach, Harry was 13. I'd like to say he was the gold medallist in the group and we'd all spotted he was going to be the fantastic player, but I'd be lying. He probably wasn't even on the podium. If there was something that endeared him to you it was that he was very, very low maintenance. It became fairly evident when Harry became a scholar he was someone who could finish. He was wonderfully demanding to coach because he always wanted to stay out and do extra. That obsession to improve is undoubtedly his greatest strength."
Kane went to League One Leyton Orient in 2011, making his professional debut in January 2011 at Rochdale, coming on for veteran striker Scott McGleish. Kane would score five times in nine starts.
McGleish said: "Harry was not like other Premier League players, where you feel they're going to come in 'Billy Big Time'. He wanted the experience of learning what I call men's football. From the word go he was ready to fight for his place."
After a few first-team games for Spurs, he went on loan in January 2012 to Championship strugglers Millwall. Kane's nine goals helped save Kenny Jackett's side from relegation.
Former Millwall defender Alan Dunne said: "I've seen a lot of players come to the Den and freeze, because within five minutes they're being called names they've never heard before and they can't cope with that pressure. But it didn't faze him – he was a focused lad, he was confident in his ability."
After making his Premier League debut for Tottenham in August 2012, Kane was sent on loan again. The 19-year-old only made three appearances in the top flight for Norwich because of injury, and then had a loan spell at Leicester where he and future England team-mate Jamie Vardy struggled for regular starts.
After four loan spells in three seasons, Kane spent the entire 2013-14 campaign with Tottenham. It was not until April, after Andre Villas-Boas had been sacked and replaced by Tim Sherwood, that a 20-year-old Kane was handed his first Premier League start for Spurs, scoring his first top-flight goal in the process against Sunderland and also netting in the following two games against West Brom and Fulham.