Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane (9) a celebrates after a DFB Cup first round soccer match against Ulm, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Ulm, Germany. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)
The German word for ‘trophy curse’ – Trophäenfluch – has rarely been used for Bayern Munich in the 21st century. Until the last season. The arrival of Harry Kane to the Bavarian football powerhouse brought goals, moments of genius, and the wicked trophy curse. For the first time in a decade, the Bundesliga had a winner not named Bayern Munich. How could that club, with those players, and that manager not just lose the league, but also go trophyless all year? It seemed improbable right until it happened. And, it raised a very pertinent question, does Harry Kane really have the Trophäenfluch?
At Tottenham Hotspur, the club where he spent 14 years, scoring a staggering 317 goals, he had come close. Only to be denied, cruelly. A couple of closely contested English Premier League seasons, a Champions League final, only to see the silverware being lifted from afar. Even with England, back-to-back European Championship finals led to a couple of heartbreaks. There were individual laurels won, sure, but those only left him wanting even more for the team titles.
“As much as this is great, I want to be winning the biggest team prizes,” Kane had said three years ago, accepting the Premier League’s Player of the Year award. “We’re not quite doing that. It’s bittersweet.”
🥇 @HKane wird mit 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗺 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗵 ausgezeichnet!
Alle Infos dazu ➡️ https://t.co/cnOesvbTMh 🔗#FCBayern #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/FSPya5b57b
— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) August 23, 2024
And so when he arrived at Bayern Munich, a club so used to winning, it was only fair to expect a change in his fortunes. An year into his signing, former Bayern midfielder and Germany’s World Cup winning captain Lothar Matthäus however, believes there is as much pressure on Kane, as an opportunity to win his first team trophy.
“When you play for Bayern Munich, you know what you have to do: you have to win. That’s it. It’s easy,” Matthäus said in a select media interaction ahead of the new Bundesliga season. “You have the best life in Bayern Munich, as a coach, as a player. Not only because of the salary. The atmosphere in the club is wonderful. But sure, there’s pressure.”
Matthäus, who made 113 appearances for Bayern across all competitions, added, “We – not only us the ex-players, but also the fans – expect from Bayern Munich not just the titles, but also entertainment. We want to see a good game. We want an attractive football style. We know what the last 40-50 years at the club have been like. As players, it makes us happy to give something back to the club. Because the club gives you so much. You live in a beautiful city. You have good entertainment. You have what most people need as players. You have the best support from everybody. And believe me, they’re all trying to make things easy for a player. But….you need the results.”
Repeat of last season, unlikely
If one looks beyond the Trophäenfluch narrative, Bayern’s inability to win a competition had little to do with their big-ticket striker. Kane, in his first season in Germany, was near flawless in his role. The Englishman returned with a dazzling tally of 36 goals from 32 league games – just five short of Robert Lewandowski’s all-time record.
When asked if he was impressed with Kane’s freshman year in Germany, Matthäus added that it was highly unlikely that the 31-year-old would have similar fortune in front of goal. Not that it would be the latter’s number one priority, he believes.
“I think he will not score 36 goals again,” the German stalwart chuckled. “It was a great season for him as a scorer but not in terms of results. Not with England at the Euros, because as a captain, he wasn’t in the best of conditions. He was injured before the Euros. At Bayern Munich, he didn’t win the title. He was scoring goals, doing what we expect from him. But in the end, the team results didn’t make him happy. I’m sure he was a big ambassador for Bundesliga worldwide, but he’d want to win the titles. He hasn’t won that many in his career.”
Explained
Bayern start favorites, but pressure is on
Last year they had the same quality in the team but communication between the coach and players was not perfect. Vincent Kompany is the coach who can bring that atmosphere back to the team. They have less pressure in Bayer Leverkusen than Munich this season. Leverkusen don’t have to win. Bayern, after their last two seasons, not only have to win but have to perform as well. Now that is pressure,
It’s a harsh reminder. One that’s followed Kane throughout his career. A striker of immense pedigree, who has delivered consistently, been part of some of the most well-rounded teams, and yet, a stranger to a team sport’s most valued experience.
Even Google’s Gemini AI rubs salt to the wounds. “There are slim chances that Harry Kane will manage to win a trophy with England until he retires, as going by the track record, even though he has enormous match-winning capabilities, he still did not manage to win a title with Tottenham Hotspur, or Bayern Munich.”
One has to ponder, how does he pick himself up after another heartbreak, years of them.
Matthäus is confident that Kane can finally end the drought this season, “I’m sure he will be motivated with a new coach, new team, with a new spirit in the club to make it bigger than last year.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Rahul Pandey is Senior Sub Editor on the Sports Desk of The Indian Express. Based out of New Delhi, he primarily writes and talks about cricket and football. You can also find him while surfing through The Indian Express YouTube channel, where he hosts the video offerings from the sports team. Working with the online team on the daily developments in world sports, Rahul holds a keen interest in dissecting the personalities of the game’s many protagonists as well as tracking the big picture trends that affect the game. He started out as a sports radio jockey and previously worked with cricketnews.com, creating content offerings for The Bharat Army, Betway and LiveScore. His passion for sports was kindled by his father’s tales of tuning in to radio for keeping tabs on India’s Test cricket tours as well and FIFA World Cup finals. … Read More
First uploaded on: 24-08-2024 at 21:04 IST
