I HAVE A DREAM OF LIFTING THE CHAMPIONS’ LEAGUE, SAYS HARRY KANE

England national team captain and Tottenham striker, Harry Kane has told uefa.com that he has the lofty ambition of lifting the UEFA Champions League this season.

He has been a childhood Spurs fan and has also spent his entire career at club.

He never dared to dream – until relatively recently – that he might get the chance to play for them in a UEFA Champions League final.

However, after a season of unending drama, he will get that chance on Saturday. Spurs’ 25-year-old marksman spoke to UEFA.com ahead of the all-English Madrid decider against Liverpool00:00

He said that winning on Sunday would mean everything to him. “Over the last four, five years, with [Mauricio Pochettino] here, we’ve had a plan to become one of the best teams in Europe.

“To now be in a Champions League final, it’s truly special. [The feeling is] hard to describe.

“You try not to think about it too much; you don’t want to let the emotions become overwhelming, but of course it will be massive. It’d be out of my wildest dreams, as a Spurs fan growing up.

“Even coming through the academy it was nothing that we would’ve ever expected to do.” remarked Kane.

He also said there are lessons to be learnt as the final match approaches. “The whole campaign has gone right down to the wire. There’s been so many ups and downs. [The way we came back in the Ajax game] shows great character, great motivation; it shows you’re never out of a game and that’s what we’re taking into the final.”

He had to watch the semi-finals from the side-lines owing to injury.  He said it was tough to have found himself in that situation.

“When you’re playing, of course you have the pressure but once you’re on the pitch you’re free and you’re not thinking about it too much, but when you’re watching you’re like a fan in the stands and obviously you can’t do anything about it – you just have to watch.

“After the last game against Ajax, I sprinted down to the pitch [to celebrate], which people saw, and let a lot of emotion out.”

He however found it strange that the 2019 edition turned an all-England final. “We’re obviously used to the Premier League feel, but at the end of the day, it’s just another top team that we have to play.

“We’ve played them a couple of times this season already, and of course they got the better of us [winning 2-1 in London and Liverpool].

“But, I think over the last few years we’ve had some good battles. It’ll be a tough game, but we know that if we play like we can and get everything right, it’s a game that we can win.

“Everyone knows that Liverpool have a great history, but I think when it comes down to it, it’s one game – it’s 90 minutes or 120 minutes to give it everything, to leave it all out on the pitch and really try and make history.

“And as a club, five, ten years ago this wouldn’t have even been in our dreams, and now we’re here it’s an opportunity that we really have to grab with both hands.

He believes that the reason the Spurs team is having a good run at the moment was the fact that the players had been together for a long time.

“There are times when things aren’t going so well and you start to look around and,

[you remember]

you’ve known each other for a while, you’ve been through tough times together before so it’s no different.

“For sure, there will be times on Saturday where we’ll be under the cosh a bit, and we’ll have to dig deep. That’s the family we’ve created here. We’re there for each other and we’ll fight for each other until the end.

“Everyone knows that we haven’t bought a player in the last couple of transfer windows but, in a way, that’s been our strength because it’s brought us closer together.

“We’ve had injuries where people have stepped in and done a job. That’s what our season’s been like, but whoever’s played has performed and given it everything they’ve got. That’s all you can ask for.