Harry Kane names toughest defenders faced including legend who mocked Tottenham

05 December 2023 , 07:28

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Harry Kane names toughest defenders faced including legend who mocked Tottenham

Harry Kane has named Giorgio Chiellini among the best defenders he's ever faced with the Italian previously mocking the striker's Tottenham side.

The Italian is an iconic figure and one of the best defenders of the modern era. He's backed up his success with Juventus by helping his country win Euro 2020, beating Kane and England in the final at Wembley several summers ago.

John Terry is the other player named by Kane, who took on the Chelsea legend when he first broke through at Tottenham. At that point Terry was approaching the end of his career whilst the England striker was beginning to hit goals with regularity, scoring twice in a high profile win over the Blues at White Hart Lane back in 2014.

Kane told ESPN: "The toughest defenders I've faced? Yeah, I faced John Terry early in my career and I thought he was, you know, the reason he is one of the best defenders in the world. Really smart, really intelligent. And then, Chiellini, you know, against Italy, against Juve. He was really tough to play against, again really smart, used his body well, strong, good in the air, so, I'll probably go with them two."

Bayern Munich's main marksman and Chiellini first met in the Champions League several years before their Euro showdown in 2021. Kane, then at Tottenham, was part of Mauricio Pochettino's young side who were looking to dump Juventus out of the Champions League in 2018

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They couldn't convert their half-time lead though. A 2-2 draw in the first-leg in Italy had Tottenham in control courtesy of the away goals rule as Juventus scored twice in quick succession to turn the tie on its head, eventually holding out a late flurry of Tottenham attacks.

Harry Kane has come up against Giorgio Chiellini in some huge clashes

After the contest Chiellini claimed they knew Tottenham had a history of scoring goals but ultimately wouldn't have enough in the tank to see the job through. That accusation has been levelled at the club for years and the defender's comments were seen as particularly damning.

“It’s the history of Tottenham,” said the Italian after the game. “They always create many chances and score so much but, in the end, they miss always something to arrive at the end. We believe in history. Also yesterday in the game between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain [which Real won] – the history it’s important and the experience is important.”

Samuel Meade