Tottenham supporters have been fortunate enough to witness many legendary footballers represent the North London club.
Despite their lack of silverware in recent decades, Tottenham Hotspur remain one of the most successful teams in English football history.
Therefore, naturally, a host of legendary figures have represented the Lilywhites at one point or another, and supporters will no doubt have fond memories of these iconic figures who have taken to the pitch in North London, whether it be at the old White Hart Lane or the brand-new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Harry Kane
Spurs’ greatest ever goal-scorer, and a player desperately unfortunate not to lift a trophy with his boyhood club.
Kane rose through the ranks and made his senior debut for Tottenham in 2011. The striker spent several years honing his skills on loan with various clubs in England before establishing himself as a first-team regular under Mauricio Pochettino.
And the rest, as they say, is history. Kane would become one of the most prolific strikers in Europe and a key part of the Spurs side which competed for the Premier League title on multiple occasions and reached the UEFA Champions League final in 2019.
After Pochettino’s departure in 2019, Kane showed no signs of slowing down under the likes of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, before completing a switch to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023, just months after he had become Spurs’ all-time record goalscorer with a goal in a 1-0 Premier League win against Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Unlike the other legends on this list, Kane is still very much an active player and arguabl
Bill Nicholson
Nicholson is perhaps the most legendary figure in Spurs’ history.
Having joined the club as a member of the groundstaff in 1936, Nicholson would go on to represent Tottenham as a player, coach, assistant manager and manager over the next 38 years, during which time he won nine major honours, one as a player and eight as manager.
However, his contributions didn’t stop there, as Nicholson would return to Tottenham in 1976 and spend a further 21 years with the Lilywhites unearthing future talent behind the scenes, with his greatest find perhaps being Gary Mabbutt, who captained and made more than 600 appearances for Tottenham, winning the FA Cup in 1991.
Nicholson remained local before sadly passing away on 23 October 2004, aged 85.
With more than 50 years of service to Tottenham, it is only fitting that Nicholson, or ‘Mr Tottenham’, would top the list of most legendary players to have pulled on the famous Lilywhite strip.
Jimmy Greaves
One of the greatest strikers to ever grace English football, Greaves broke countless records during his playing career and spent decades as Spurs’ record goalscorer, until that tally would be surpassed by a legend further down this list.
Beginning his career with Chelsea, Greaves scored 132 goals in 169 appearances for the Blues before a brief spell in Italy with AC Milan, where the forward netted nine times in 14 appearances.
Greaves was brought back to English football by Nicholson and signed for Tottenham for a fee of £99,999 in December 1961. Of his 266 goals, a few of those would come in finals, as Greaves found the back of the net in the 1962 FA Cup final as Tottenham defended the trophy, while also grabbing a brace in the European Cup Winners Cup final against Atletico Madrid, as Tottenham became the first British team to taste success in Europe.
As well as his impressive goals tally for Spurs, Greaves’ record for England wasn’t too bad either, with the striker netting 44 goals in 57 games and winning the World Cup with the Three Lions in 1966.
Greaves passed away on 19 September 2021, but will always be remembered among the Spurs faithful as arguably the club’s greatest ever striker.
Glen Hoddle
Perhaps the most exciting player to ever feature for Tottenham, Hoddle was capable of producing magic on the pitch, which captured the attention of many across his 12-year stay with Tottenham.
Those who were fortunate enough to see the midfielder play would be able to effortlessly recount a variety of memorable goals scored by Hoddle, with the midfielder a key component of the great Tottenham team of the early 1980s.
Hoddle scored the winning goal in a replay against Queens Park Rangers as Tottenham retained the FA Cup in 1982, and although injury ruled him out of the final, Spurs wouldn’t have won the UEFA Cup in 1984 if not for the contributions of the legendary playmaker.
After calling it a day on a wonderful playing career, which saw him make 53 appearances for England and feature at two World Cups, Hoddle spent time as a manager, taking the Three Lions to the World Cup in 1998 before managing Tottenham between 2001 and 2003.
Hoddle now enjoys a career as a pundit, and often features on the coverage of Tottenham games for TNT Sports.
Ledley King
King is perhaps the most popular player to have ever featured for Spurs.
A Tottenham academy graduate, King was a one-club man and arguably the greatest ever defender to pull on the Tottenham shirt. Unfortunately, a persistent knee problem limited the impact King was able to make and forced him to retire at the age of 31.
However, had it not been for these persistent injury setbacks, it is the opinion of many that King would have gone on to become one of England’s greatest ever defenders.
King was named Tottenham captain in 2005, a title he held until his retirement in 2012, and was the last captain to lift a trophy for Spurs, the League Cup in 2008. King was also a crucial part of the team which helped Tottenham qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the 2010/11 season.
He was selected for England’s World Cup squad in 2010. However, injury disaster would strike once again in South Africa, as the Englishman’s career began to wind down.
Since hanging up his boots, King has continued to demonstrate his love and loyalty for Tottenham in his role as Club Ambassador.
y the greatest striker in Europe, and Tottenham supporters will no doubt dream of ‘One of their own’ one day returning to North London.
