Harry Kane makes 'special' promise as Bayern plot Arsenal's downfall; This is what he said |
Video: Harry Kane makes “special” promise as Bayern plans Arsenal's downfall; This is what he said.
There's a joke that the most useful German word Harry Kane has mastered at Bayern Munich is “schadenfreude.”
Inevitably, there will be “embarrassing joy” at Kane's expense if Bayern are knocked out of the Champions League by 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 £100m deal last summer, the Bundesliga champions looked one of the safest bets in Europe to win more titles this season. But Bayer Leverkusen ended their run of 11 consecutive titles at the weekend, while they had long been eliminated from the German Cup. They even lost the German Super Cup in August on Kane's debut.
If Bayern go down again tonight, should Kane be considered a failure at the club, despite his 39 goals in 38 appearances this season?
Kane acknowledges that the club's campaign would have “failed” if they came up empty-handed, but played down suggestions that he would have fallen short personally.
“The harsh reality of 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 limit. And then you hope that helps with the team.”
Trophy or no trophy, there is no doubt that Kane has pushed himself to the limit for Bayern and has likely 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 new stimulus, a new challenge and a new environment, new stadiums and new teams,” he said, after scoring in the week's 2-2 draw. spent in London.
Even Ange Postecoglou, whose exciting project Kane abandoned, believes the 30-year-old was motivated as much by a desire for a new environment as for cutlery.
“I don't think (winning trophies) was the only reason he left,” the Spurs boss said last week. “I think I was pretty clear that I wanted a different experience and I think there's nothing wrong with that.
“He's at a point where he either 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 understand the idea that he moved just to win things.”
That said, given Bayern's status and Kane's intense focus on the club's 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 have not made him doubt his big move.
“I'm very happy I made the decision,” he said. “I know how big the Premier League is, I played there many years before and my future is at Bayern. I have a four-year contract. Hopefully I can make something special happen this season, but if not, I'll be ready to come back in the summer and turn things around.”
