Not a lot of people know this but I’m very good at…
Golf. I’ve been playing for about eight years now and have a handicap of four. It gets me away from football for a while and clears my mind.
My best friend is…
Probably my fiancée Katie. We’ve known each other for a long time.
My nickname is…
H. Not many people call me Harry any more. It’s been like that since school – even my parents use it.
The bravest thing I’ve ever done is…
Become a dad at a young age. Katie and I had a little girl, Ivy, in January last year. We always wanted to be young parents and you learn a bit about yourself in doing so.
My favourite TV show is…
Dexter. It just had me gripped from the start. I love a boxset for when I’m travelling with the team. They’re perfect on long flights and for when we’re stuck in hotels.
My perfect evening…
Would be watching golf, nice and chilled with my two dogs. I don’t drink so I always have a cuppa – milk and two sugars – to end the night.
My first kiss was…
With my fiancée Katie back when we were at school. We’ve known each other for 20 years and been together for about six but she was my first kiss when I was about 14. That was a one-off at a party and although we were always good mates, it wasn’t until after we had left school that we got together properly.
The one thing I’d change about myself is…
Well, nothing really. I try and be the best person I can be and that’s all I can do. The best thing my parents taught me was… to work hard and that has always stuck with me and been my motto in life. I’ve really had to graft to get where I am now and I’ve always thanked them for instilling that into me from a young age. Dad always worked long hours and taught me to do the same.
The last time I cried was…
A long time ago. I’m not a crier. Probably when we lost to Portugal on penalties in the Euros in 2004. I remember a few tears that day. I don’t really cry at films or anything like that. My missus doesn’t like the fact that I didn’t shed tears when our daughter was born but I like to be happy and I don’t see crying as a happy thing.
The first record I ever bought was…
R Kelly’s album Chocolate Factory. I like all music really and when we are travelling, I always take my favourite tunes with me. I can’t dance, though.
It’s not good for my image but I like…
Eating bad food. I always crave the unhealthy stuff but have to keep myself in check, particularly during the season. There will always be times when you have bad things – I love pizza or steak and chips. But it’s important for me to perform at my best, so I only really do it as a treat when I’ve had a good game or gone out with the family for a celebration.
My greatest weakness is…
Probably golf. Whenever I can get the time, I’ll go to the course for a game. It’s probably not the best for my relationship as I don’t actually get many days off.
If I could pass any law, I would…
Make all traffic lights go green for me when I’m driving. I hate getting stuck at red lights.
I drive...
A grey Range Rover.
It’s nice and comfortable and I like to be in a big, safe car.
The shop I can’t walk past is…
The Perfume Shop. I really like my fragrances.
The most expensive thing I’ve ever splashed out on is…
Probably a nice watch. I just treated myself to a skeleton one.
If I had to pick someone to play me in a film, it would be…
Ryan Gosling.
My perfect Sunday would involve…
Having an early game of golf, then going for a long walk with my family and my two labradors.
I love going to the forest for an hour or two for a bit of peace and quiet.
Then I’d come home, have a barbecue and watch the NFL and the golf.
My favourite place in Britain is…
My home. It keeps me grounded.
My last holiday was…
To the Bahamas in the Caribbean with my family.
I love white sand and beautiful beaches.
I’m currently reading…
The New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady’s book How To Achieve A Lifetime Of Sustained Peak Performance.
He’s still doing great things at 40+ and he’s written a guide for athletes to help them do the same.
The best day of my life was…
My daughter’s birth and also my first debut for England.
If I had half an hour left on Earth I’d…
Spend it with my family.
I couldn’t play golf in that short space of time, could I?
To finish this interview we’ve summed up a few things that people might not know about Harry Kane:
He went to the same school as David Beckham
Like Beckham, Kane went to Chingford Foundation School. “Harry was clever, articulate and very humble,” said the English teacher Denis McElligott, who managed one of the school football teams in which Kane starred. “If we were struggling during a game, the tactic would be ‘just give it to Harry’, and he would smash one in from the corner flag.” Also like Beckham he has gone on to captain England and star in ads for men’s fragrances; unlike Beckham he is engaged to an old schoolfriend rather than a pop star and has refused to cover himself in tattoos because “my dad always told me I would regret it when I was older”.
He was rejected by Arsenal for being overweight
As a child Kane played for Ridgeway Rovers, where Beckham and Andros Townsend also began their careers, but was rejected by Arsenal and Tottenham and had an unsuccessful trial at Watford. Liam Brady, who was in charge of Arsenal’s academy at the time, said one of the main reasons they let him go was that he was overweight. “He was a bit chubby,” he said. “He wasn’t very athletic, but we made a mistake.” While at Watford he played so well in a game against Tottenham that their coaches decided to re-sign him. “If you’d have said to me at 11 or even 14, would he go on to have the career he’s had? I probably would have said: ‘I doubt it,’” says David Bricknell, who coached him at Ridgeway.
He has two houses
Kane and his fiancée, Katie Goodland, have a family home in Essex, complete with swimming pool, cinema-cum-golf-simulator room and temporary World Cup-themed viewing tipi, which they share with their daughter, Ivy, and their two dogs. But last year the Tottenham manager, Mauricio Pochettino, revealed that Kane has a second house near Tottenham’s training ground where he stays during the week, allowing him to spend extra hours honing his skills. His work ethic is infamous, though his golden rule of goalscoring is extremely simple: “When you get a clear sight of goal, aim low and hard across the goalkeeper,” he says. “These are the most difficult shots to save.”
He is mildly obsessed with NFL
Since being introduced to the sport by his fiancee’s brother, Kane has become fascinated by American football. One of his dogs is named after the quarterback Tom Brady, whose story of being underestimated as a youth but through a bit of talent and a lot of graft working his way to fame and glory particularly chimes. “He reminded me of me,” Kane said. “Brady believed in himself so much – and he just kept working and working, almost obsessively, in order to get better.” His dream is to become an NFL placekicker when he hangs up his soccer boots. “It depends on how my career goes and injuries and how I age,” he said, “but I’d love to.”
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Life Beyond Sport magazine is a pioneering publication that breaks through the traditional barriers of men’s lifestyle magazines by smoothly combining a man’s love of sport with his passion for the finer things in life. The magazine contains a range of features, interviews and photo-shoots that provide an exclusive insight into the sportsman’s lifestyle. Only in Life Beyond Sport will you find the biggest names from the worlds of Football, Tennis, Formula 1, Golf, Polo and more.
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