It was 15 years ago that Russell Slade handed a teenage Kane his first game in football and set him en route to becoming the world’s number one player

‘Jose Mourinho, Mauricio Pochettino, Harry Redknapp, Gareth Southgate, Thomas Tuchel… and Russell Slade.'

When Harry Kane collected the Ballon d’Or, he namechecked the managers he owes a debt of gratitude to, albeit not necessarily in that order.

Most of the big name bosses throughout his record-breaking and goal-laden career are obvious. What isn’t so well known is that it was unsung former Cardiff City manager Slade who set Kane on the path to super-stardom, handing the then 17-year-old striker his football debut whilst in charge at little Leyton Orient.

Given the individuals he thanked during his acceptance speech at the glittering awards ceremony, Kane clearly has not forgotten.

Rochdale’s Spotland ground and a League One game in front of just 2,731 supporters is hardly the scene you would associate with setting someone on the path to being crowned best player on the planet and following in the footsteps of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Johann Cruyff and other greats of the beautiful game.

Yet January 15th, 2011 is the day Kane first burst onto the football scene, being sent on by Slade as a substitute for journeyman striker Scott McGleish in a 1-1 draw.

Slade, who was to become Cardiff boss three years on, had already seen enough. He started Kane in the next game, a 4-0 Brisbane Road thumping of Sheffield Wednesday. Predictably the superstar-to-be marked the occasion by scoring, a run of five goals in his first eight professional matches.

The rest, as they say, is history, including 91 England goals in 125 appearances - a tally that is likely never to be beaten.

Prior to his arrival at Brisbane Road on loan from Tottenham, Orient had struggled. Kane helped them go on an unbeaten 14-game streak which saw Slade's side finish seventh and just a point outside the play-offs.

Slade is probably Cardiff owner Vincent Tan’s favourite of the 17 managers he has appointed in the Welsh capital. Despite losing his job amid fans’ criticism, he has never never moved away from the area and still speaks fondly of his time in charge of the Bluebirds.

He was briefly moved upstairs into a Director of Football role - a position Tan has refused to fill since, costing the Malaysian scores of millions as a result of poor player recruitment and several questionable choices of managers.

'I do have an eye for a player'

“One thing I do have is an eye for a player,” says Slade, as was proven by his decision to throw a teenage Kane straight into the fray at Orient. He also gave a young Ezri Konsa, another Three Lions World Cup star, his debut whilst at Charlton.

He takes up the Kane story, recounting: “Back then Orient used to train right next door to Tottenham and I was invited to watch them one day by Tim Sherwood, who was in charge of recruitment and their under-21s.

“Tim wanted players to go out on loan to gain experience and the first time I set eyes on Harry I thought I’d love to work with him. So he joined us, 6ft 1in, probably about 8 stone wet through! Clearly he hadn’t filled out properly yet, but he looked like a really intelligent player.

“Not particularly quick, but his speed was in his head. That, coupled with an excellent technique, meant he could lose you in a telephone box.

“He possessed a real desire to get better and learn, which has remained throughout his career. I remember how after every training session he would stay out and practice penalties. There was no goalkeeper, he would just plant the ball into the net where he wanted to and organise his run-up so he was comfortable with it.

“So when he scores penalties in big games for England, Spurs or Bayern Munich, it is no coincidence. It comes from practice, practice, practice with Harry, right from those earliest days.

“He scored a few for me, was always on the move in the penalty box, had a sixth sense of what position to be in to get a goal. Obviously I couldn’t say at the time he would go on to become England striker, record scorer and ultimately winner of the Ballon d’Or, simply because he was so young.

"But let’s just say I knew he was a darned sight better than League One, was bound to progress and had a huge career in front of him. I could see straight away that Harry was going to be some player.

“I was so humbled when he mentioned me in his speech. It just demonstrates how down to earth Harry is. He never forgets his roots, there is no brashness about him.

“I was absolutely delighted that he won last night. I’ve followed his career so closely since those early days. Same with Konsa. How many managers can say they gave debuts to two key England players at the World Cup?”

Kane’s fifth game under Slade - a 2-2 draw at Huddersfield when, surprise surprise, he scored again - also coincided with the only time he has been sent off during his career. Two yellow cards saw him receive his marching orders that day, with Slade insisting: “It was harsh, he barely touched the guy for the second yellow.”

Even that was part of the learning curve for Kane whose disciplinary record since has been exemplary, despite the roughhouse treatment received from defenders across the world.

Under Slade, Kane also bagged another two goals to lead a 4-1 rout of Bristol Rovers and scored again in a 2-0 win at Walsall, before ending his spell in east London and eventually emerging into the big time with Spurs via further loans at Millwall, Norwich and Leicester.

Kane acknowledges he didn't come via a classical football route and had to work hard for everything he has achieved.

'I look back upon my time with Cardiff with great fondness'

Thus in naming Slade, plus his other managers, the new Ballon d’Or winner said: “Each played a big role in my development at different stages of my career. Without each and everyone of you, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Slade moved to Cardiff after bossing Orient, his two-year tenure seeing the Bluebirds finish eighth and 11th in the Championship, but also associated with Tan asking him to cut several millions off a bloated squad his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had put together.

“I read something the other day saying ‘Cardiff fans weren’t happy with Slade after they finished mid-table’. We weren’t mid-table, we were just shy of the play-offs - and I think a lot of fans would have accepted that kind of position in recent times,” says Slade.

Of the upstairs Director of Football role he was handed, before leaving to manage Charlton and Coventry, he says: “Quite frankly that was exactly what the club needed back then - and many would say what they have needed since. Every manager needs someone to help out with recruitment of players.

“I didn’t think about it at the time, but clearly it’s been a big void there. But I still wanted to be a manager back then, there was interest in me from one or two clubs so I decided to go.

"But I look back upon my time with Cardiff with great fondness. We have never moved away from the area and to this day I hear positive comments from a great fan base.”