Pacos de Ferreira coach Jorge Simao said he was ‘in awe’ of Harry Kane as the returning striker fired Tottenham Hotspur into the UEFA Conference League group stages, while speaking to MaisFutebol.
Don’t call it a come back.
The Spurs supporters must have wondered if they would ever feast their eyes on such a wonderful sight again: Harry Kane drilling a shot ruthlessly into the bottom corner before celebrating with his trademark jump-and-punch motion.
But just 24 hours after confirming that he would not, after all, be turning his back on the club he loves so dearly, Kane showed everyone in North London (as if they needed reminding) just what he brings to this talented yet underachieving side.
Manchester City’s loss is Nuno’s gain
Thursday’s game was just 20 seconds old when the captain beautifully controlled an Alderweireld-esque diagonal from Cristian Romero before narrowly missing the target.
But Tottenham didn’t have to wait long for Kane’s first of the season – or, indeed, his second.
Set up by the elegant Bryan Gil, Kane slotted home a deserved opener with typical class before overturning a 1-0 aggregate deficit later in the first half following some fine approach work from a revitalised Giovani Lo Celso.
“The first goal repulsed the team and, even before that, Kane’s move, at 20 seconds, left us in awe,” admitted Jorge Simao, whose Pacos side couldn’t deal with the speed and movement of a Spurs team playing their best football of the Nuno Espirito Santo era.
“Harry Kane is one of the best strikers in football, there’s not much more to say.”
The rousing reception that greeted Kane’s second-half substitution spoke volumes. It will take more than a public transfer saga to ruin this magical relationship between the Spurs supporters and their homegrown hero, the finest player to wear that iconic white shirt in generations.
He is, and remains, one of their own.
