Video: Harry Kane makes ‘special’ vow as Bayern plot Arsenal downfall; Here is what he said.
There is a joke doing the rounds that the most useful German word Harry Kane has mastered at Bayern Munich is ‘schadenfreude’.
Inevitably, there will be some ‘shameful joy’ at Kane’s expense if Bayern are eliminated from the Champions League by his old rivals Arsenal tonight, leaving the England captain without a trophy in his first season in Bavaria.
When Kane left Tottenham for Bayern in a £100million deal last summer, the perennial Bundesliga champions looked among the safest bets in Europe to pick up more silverware this season. But their run of 11 consecutive titles was ended by Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend, while they were long since dumped out of the German Cup. They even lost the German Super Cup in August on Kane’s debut.
If Bayern are beaten again tonight, should Kane be considered a failure at the club, despite his 39 goals in 38 appearances this term?
Kane acknowledges the club’s campaign would have “failed” if they end up empty-handed, but played down suggestions that he would have fallen short personally.
“A harsh reality in winning and losing [is that] you can do a lot of good things throughout the year and still end up on the losing side,” he said yesterday. “You want to improve as a player individually every year, you want to get better, you want to show the world your capabilities and you want to push yourself to the limits. And then you hope that helps with the team.”
Trophy or no trophy, there is little question that Kane has pushed himself to the limit for Bayern, and probably grown as a player and a person in a new, high-pressure environment. That experience should only benefit England in Germany at this summer’s Euros.
“I’m really enjoying my experience and it was a step I needed in my career for a fresh stimulus, a fresh challenge and new surroundings, new stadiums and new teams,” he said, after scoring in last week’s 2-2 draw in London.
Even Ange Postecoglou, whose exciting project Kane walked out on, believes the 30-year-old was motivated as much by a desire for new surroundings as silverware.
“I don’t think [winning trophies was] the only reason he left,” the Spurs boss said last week. “I think he was pretty clear that he wanted a different experience, and I think there’s nothing wrong with that.
“He was at a point where he stays and becomes a one-club man, which is fair enough, or he can experience something different as a footballer, maybe as a person. But I don’t get this notion that he moved just to win things.”
That said, given Bayern’s status and Kane’s own intense focus on club trophies, his move will never be considered a complete success until he wins something. For Kane, Bayern’s difficult campaign and last week’s return to England has not given him pause over his big move.
“I’m really happy I made the move,” he said. “I know how big the Premier League is, I played there for so many years before and my future is at Bayern. I have a four-year contract. Hopefully I will be able to make something special happen this season, but if not, I’ll be ready to go again in the summer and turn things around.”
