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By PA Sport Staff
Harry Kane says he was inspired to beat former Tottenham striker Jimmy Greaves, who died Sunday aged 81.
Greaves had in May Suffered a stroke in 2015 that resulted in him being confined to a wheelchair and severely impaired speech. He had also suffered from alcoholism and stopped drinking in 1978.
Greaves is the club’s record scorer with 266 goals in 279 appearances and is considered « the best shooter this country has ever seen ».
The English captain Kane is second on the list at 43 behind Greaves and has celebrated the numbers of the English world champion.
RIP Jimmy Greaves. A true legend and one of the great goalscorers. Thoughts are with his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/YYyLdeUHXi
« Terrifying how good he was, the scores he returned, the goals he scored year after year, » Kane told Sky Sports.
« For someone like me, it would be amazing to look at those numbers and try to hit those numbers and hopefully one day break those numbers. «
When announcing the news, Spurs, Greaves, who also works for Chelsea, West Ham and played AC Milan, died at home on Sunday morning.
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The Premier League club said in a statement: “We are very sad to hear of the death of the great Jimmy Greaves, not only Tottenham’s top scorer but also the best scorer this country has ever seen. Jimmy died at home in the early hours of the morning at the age of 81.
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“During his wonderful career, Jimmy’s hit rate has been phenomenal. His Spurs return was 266 goals in 379 games between 1961 and 1970 – 220 goals in 321 league games, 32 goals in 36 FA Cup games, five in just eight League Cup games and nine in 14 European Cup games.
Both Spurs and Chelsea remembered Greaves in their Premier League game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon, which the guests won 3-0, with the players wearing black armbands while former teammates such as Martin Chivers and Steve Perryman were in attendance. p> 266 goals. 379 games. Not only is Tottenham Hotspur’s record scorer, but also the best scorer this country has ever seen. pic.twitter.com/rQxyjBFofH
There was a minute of applause before kick-off in north London and before the other two top games on Sunday – West Ham against Manchester United and Brighton against Leicester.
Greaves scored 44 goals in 57 A games for England – the fourth-highest in Three Lions history. He was a member of the 1966 World Cup winning squad, but as is well known, he did not play in the final victory over the Federal Republic of Germany.
Due to a shin injury, he was replaced in the quarterfinals by Geoff Hurst and although he was fit for the final, he was Alf Ramsey’s decision not to change the winning team was confirmed by Hurst’s hat trick that day.
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