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With the 2022 FIFA World Cup now in full swing, the eyes of England (and the rest of the globe) is firmly fixated on Harry Kane. As the captain of the English national football team, the 29-year old striker is charged with leading his nation to World Cup glory — something that hasn’t happened since they defeated West Germany in 1966.
Kane is up to the challenge. Born and raised in London, he started playing football at 6-years old, inspired by English legends like David Beckham and Jermain Defoe, as well as Brazil’s Ronaldo.
“I love watching things on YouTube and things like that; you could just sit there for an hour or so watching all his best clips,” Kane said of the former Brazilian great in a Sky Sports interview. “He was a striker that I really admired, I think a lot of people did. He was one of the first ones I looked at and thought, ‘Wow. He’s a goalscorer, I want to be a goalscorer’”.
While he initially struggled to find his feet early on in his career, Kane quickly gained the respect of his coaches and team for his relentless drive and always-learning attitude. This trait of his would eventually lead to him becoming a great all-round player.
“I played in different positions as a kid and it helped me learn different parts of the game,” he told ESPN. “Playing alone up front means you have to be good at so much more than taking chances. I know, in a game, I am going to receive the ball with my back to goal, and that the team will need me to link up and bring others into play.”
As his football career has skyrocketed these past few years, Kane is widely considered one of the best players in the sport right now. In a game against Germany during the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League, the Tottenham player scored his 50th international goal, a feat only achieved by one other English footballer.
I’ve got to where I am by working hard. But now I have to work even harder to stay here because there’s that next person who wants to take my position. That’s my mindset: someone is always trying to be better than me, so I’ve got to make sure I work harder than anyone else.
How Harry Kane Became the Leading Light of English and European Football | Men’s Health
Harry Kane’s training routine & diet
Over the course of his football career, Harry Kane has studied NFL legend Tom Brady to learn how to continually get better at his craft. What started as an introduction to NFL by his wife’s brother has evolved into an all-consuming love for the sport — his goal is to become an NFL placekicker after retiring from soccer.
“He reminded me of me,” Kane said of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers player. “Brady believed in himself so much – and he just kept working and working, almost obsessively, in order to get better.”
With Tom Brady as the role model, Kane has been obsessing over everything he can do to become a player. From his training routine to nutrition to recovery, the English football captain is always looking for a way to make incremental improvements to his game.
In 2017, Kane hired a personal chef to make sure he was getting the most out of his nutrition. “You can’t train as hard as you’d like when you have so many games to play, so you have to make the little gains elsewhere,” he told The Guardian. “So, over the last year or so, I’ve made them on the nutrition side.”
Kane’s personal chef is cooking for him throughout the week, from Monday to Saturday, and will leave the fridge stocked up for Sunday when he’s gone. “You could eat healthily all week and then carbs before a game, and that could make your body go into shock because you’re not used to it,” the footballer explained about his nutrition schedule. “So maybe eat higher carbs sometimes, lower other times, making plans around training.”
In addition to focusing on improving his game and optimising his body through nutrition, recovery is another priority for Kane to get the most out of his career. This includes ice baths, stretching, and deep tissue massages, as well as just relaxing at home. “My schedule is all about recovery,” he told Men’s Health. “I think that’s where a lot of footballers maybe get it a bit wrong. They try to do too much, especially at a young age.”
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