Spurs star pays tribute to Pochettino ahead of historical CL match

Dan Butterfield

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino celebrated five years in charge on Monday, and Harry Kane paid tribute to the man who has transformed the club into a major European force.

The 67,000 seater Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid will host the 2019 Champions League final as Spurs face Premier League rivals Liverpool in their first ever appearance at this stage of the competition.

Liverpool on the other hand, play in their second final in as many years and will be hoping to go one better than last year after they were beaten 3-1 by Real Madrid in Kiev.

Jurgen Klopp will be hoping to add his first accolade to the Liverpool trophy cabinet. The German will celebrate four years at the reds in October.

Meanwhile, as Pochettino celebrates fives years in charge of the North London club, he will be praying that he can add his first piece of silverware to his growing reputation.

And Kane – who insists his injury problems are now behind him – was keen to point out the impact that the coach has had.

“He’s been massive,” the striker said. “Since he took over he’s had a plan to become one of the best teams in Europe and now we’re not far away from the biggest game in Europe and in our club’s history.

“He’s done a fantastic job, he’s a great manager. All the players want to fight and play and do everything for him.

“That’s the standards he’s set, you see the way the club is now, the training ground, the stadium, playing in Champions League finals, that was the plan and now it’s to win it, and step on and to go on to win more and more. It starts on Saturday.”