England skipper Harry Kane once named PAOK’s Toumba Stadium as the most intense atmosphere he has experienced, describing Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League trip to Thessaloniki as “unbelievable.”
The comment came from a 2016 interview with ShortList ahead of Euro 2016, when Kane was asked how club football had prepared him for the pressure of playing for England.
He recalled an away trip he made as an 18-year-old squad player, several years before he established himself in Tottenham's first team.
"I remember when Spurs played PAOK in Greece," Kane said. "I was 18. The atmosphere was unbelievable. We walked out more than an hour before kick-off, and the stadium was packed. We got booed and whistled."
"Throughout the game, flares went off, and lasers from the crowd went in your face. It holds you in good stead for international football."
The PAOK Match Behind Kane's Toumba Stadium Comments
Kane was referring to Tottenham's opening group match of the 2011-12 UEFA Europa League, played at Toumba Stadium on 15 September 2011.
He started the game under manager Harry Redknapp in a Spurs side that also included Iago Falque, Jake Livermore and Tom Carroll. Several senior players were left at home for the trip. The match finished 0-0, with Kane booked for simulation.
Several other yellow cards were shown during the game, while reports also noted the intense atmosphere inside Toumba Stadium.
A contemporaneous match report described PAOK's "Gate 4" flags being waved throughout the game, while firecrackers were set off despite UEFA regulations. Whistles greeted Tottenham whenever they had possession.
PAOK's season records also list the fixture as the club's best-attended home match of the campaign, with close to 24,000 fans at a stadium with a capacity of just under 29,000.
Why PAOK's Toumba Stadium Has This Reputation
Toumba Stadium's official capacity is 28,701. The stadium previously held larger crowds, with 45,252 fans attending a match between PAOK and AEK Athens in 1976.
Its capacity was later reduced following changes to safety regulations in Greek football after the 1981 Karaiskakis Stadium disaster. Further seating changes in 1998 and security measures introduced in 2000 reduced Toumba Stadium to its current capacity.
The reduced capacity has not changed the atmosphere at Toumba. PAOK supporters are known for their noise, flags, and pyrotechnics during matches, while the stadium has developed a reputation as a difficult away venue for visiting English clubs.
How The Experience Shaped Kane's International Career
Kane was still years away from establishing himself in Tottenham's first team when he played that match. He had already spent time on loan at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City.
He became Tottenham's regular striker after Mauricio Pochettino arrived in 2014.
By the time he spoke to ShortList in January 2016, Kane had scored 31 goals the previous season and had already made his England debut, scoring 79 seconds after coming on as a substitute.
Kane said the experience had prepared him to play under pressure before he went on to represent England at a major tournament.
Kane left Tottenham for Bayern Munich in 2023 as the club's all-time leading scorer. He won the first major trophy of his career in 2025 when Bayern were crowned Bundesliga champions. He remains England's captain and record goalscorer.
