The contrasting perfection of Mbappe and Kane in the eyes of coach Pochettino

*England - France: 2pm on Sunday 11/12, on MetaSports.

One of the turning points in Kane's career came a few weeks after I started my first season at Tottenham. At that time, I let Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado start. They are veteran players, talented and deserving of respect. Kane is only allowed to play in the Europa League.

On September 18, 2014, we faced Partizan Belgrade and Kane were helpless in a goalless draw. Three days later, I didn't even give him a substitute against West Brom in the Premier League. Then that weekend, Kane approached me and the coaching staff to express his desire to play more.

We showed Kane how he was wrong, with the specific evidence from the footage and the numbers. We show him everything we can find: from the parameters to the location of the kick... if a player plays bad, he also needs to understand why the manager thinks that. We showed Kane how much he needed to improve. He's headed in the right direction, but he still needs to be patient and prove himself better than the players are kicking himself. It's a very heavy trade, but it's useful. The players don't like to hear the truth and even Coach won't be easy to point out the wrong of the students. But it was a very valuable meeting between me, assistant of Jesus Perez and Harry.

The most important thing for me and my associates is to choose exactly when Kane - or any other young player - is ready to play for Tottenham. It is an extremely important decision to choose the right time, not to burn the stage. Because if you try to do it when they are not ready, their performances will be unsatisfactory and bring many risks. When presenting a player, the coach needs to support that player in every game, to give him experience and confidence, and also to let the player know that he is supported even when he makes mistakes.

In September 2014, we didn't see Kane ready. We had only seen him a few months then. Remember when I first arrived at Tottenham, Kane was 20 years old. Kane has been loaned 4 times and has only scored 3 goals despite playing a number of Premier League matches. But my team likes to work with young players. We love discovering what it takes for them to get to the top. I don't want to sound arrogant, but we really have the ability to pan the sand for gold and see the potential of the gems in the rough.

From the first time we spoke with Kane, we saw and felt that he has the potential to become one of the best strikers in English football. We see determination and passion when Kane talks about football and how he understands the sport. We see the ability to learn and grow psychologically, as well as some technical aspects such as the way Kane touches the ball, finishes.

But seeing potential is one thing, achieving it or not is a story of persistent effort. We spent time with Kane to convince him that he could achieve the potential ceiling we envisioned. We improved Kane's fitness with field and gym workouts. Thankfully, Kane is intelligent, knowing himself with his strengths and weaknesses. He knows he needs to take care of himself. Heavy exercises help Kane get stronger, more durable, in better shape, more muscular and faster. Thanks to that, he can participate more in the game and put pressure on the opponent.

The decisive moment came a few weeks later, on November 2. Under me, Kane has scored 169 goals, but the last-minute free kick that sealed a 2-1 victory at Villa Park is still my favorite goal, because it means a lot to both the team and the individual. Kane.

Before that game, we had only 11 points in the first 9 games. It was a very difficult moment. But after that goal from Kane, things went smoother. Everyone gradually understood where the team was headed. For me, it was a defining moment and every time I see Kane again, I still thank him for saving my career. That goal calmed us down and made people believe in our project.

Since that moment, Kane has risen to the level we expected and showed in every game why we believe in him. Very, very quickly, Kane has become one of the best strikers in the Premier League, and he deserves it. Thanks to his talent, fighting ability, constantly pushing himself to break the limits, Kane is now one of the best players in the world.

Opponents need to know how to put pressure on Kane to pass, because he has the ability to see the space behind the defence. So if Kane gets down and turns with the ball, the defense needs to move back quickly, before he punishes them.

At Tottenham we always wanted to see Kane in the box, where he was the killer. Sometimes Kane's deep drop is also a problem, because that's when he wants to hold the ball instead of just waiting in the box to score. Therefore, the coaching staff needs to determine the tactics and game plan in advance. For me, Kane is most useful when playing in the box.

He's Harry Kane, not Christian Eriksen. He has to focus on scoring goals, instead of aiming to be a playmaker.

Of course Mbappe has an ego, but in a positive way. What great player doesn't have an ego? And it's hard to deal with that much pressure at a young age, but it's important to know that Mbappe is a very nice guy. He's arrogant but in the best possible sense. He has an ego, but it doesn't control him like many players do at the beginning of their careers. Mbappe knows how to control his ego, and that's very important.

At PSG, I understood that if Mbappe makes a mistake, I can explain it to him so that he tries to improve every game. The media may portray a different image, but in reality he is a very nice player to coach. On the pitch, he usually works on the left wing and unlike Kane, Mbappe doesn't need to touch the ball to feel a presence on the pitch. He can stand still for 5 or even 10 minutes, not affecting the game, but suddenly come up from the ground, do something amazing and bring the victory.

I know Mbappe sees Ronaldo Nazario - who I faced 20 years ago - as a role model. And if you can find any player from the past who resembles Mbappe, Brazilian Ronaldo is one of them. Both to have the ability to accelerate, the technique to dribble past the opponent and score goals.

Mbappe likes to watch and talk about football. There are very talented players who aren't interested in tactics, organizations and how the team works. They're more interested in putting beautiful wins on it. But the Mbappe likes to talk about strategy and understand the game. Before Champions League nights when PSG doesn't rock, Mbappe will text me and ask me about tactical situations. I used to ask him to come to my office the next morning to talk more carefully, argue why a team plays with three or four men, how to organize the line, pressing roads from the bottom. Mbappe has always been so passionate about football, and that's what Kane and Mbappe: both love the football.

Sometimes, the big players love to play but don't love football. Two of my former students are passionate about football, tactics and possess great minds that understand football. So it would be great if they play together. It will certainly be a good match, like how Kane connected with Son Heung-min at Tottenham. That combination will be extremely great and the two can talk about tactics and moves.

That scenario will probably never happen. When I was at PSG, I knew Tottenham would never sell Kane. And I will never do anything to affect Tottenham because I love this team. But maybe one day in the future, if I am at another team and Kane decides to leave Tottenham, maybe I will try to sign him.

And if you asked me which two attacking players could pair well together, the answer would be Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.