Harry Kane left the luxury of the Premier League and adoration of Tottenham Hotspur fans for one thing: to win a trophy.
But somehow, in his first year at Bayern Munich, they are slipping away in the title race, out of the DFB-Pokal and face a deficit to overcome in the Champions League.
Is Harry Kane cursed? Of course he is not really, but as one of the finest footballers England has ever produced, his startling empty trophy cabinet becomes more and more bizarre.
The 30-year-old has had quite a journey to reach the elite levels he stands at today. Originally in the Arsenal academy aged eight, he was released after just a year and would go on to sign with arch-rivals Tottenham aged 11.
Kane went through four loan spells before getting his run of games in the Spurs team under Tim Sherwood and he never looked back after that. Nine years later and not many strikers in the history of the Premier League can touch the numbers Harry Kane has put up.
Tottenham’s record goalscorer with 270 goals in 438 games, the Premier League’s second-highest scorer in history with 213 goals in 320 games, and also England’s all-time leading scorer. Goals, assists and incredible consistency are not a problem for Kane but despite all his outstanding statistics, he has not got a medal to show for it.
Even back before his Spurs days, he was in the Leicester squad that inexplicably crashed out of the play-offs to Watford and Troy Deeney’s iconic late winner. That was followed by five cup finals and five defeats across Tottenham, England and Bayern, with his debut for the latter coming in their DFL-Supercup defeat.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn three finals with Spurs, he lost to Chelsea in the 2015 Carabao Cup final, then against Manchester City in the same competition in 2021, as well ass losing to Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final. He was also a runner-up with Tottenham in the Premier League in 2017, and with England at the 2021 European Championship final.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn the 13 semi-finals or finals Kane was involved in for Tottenham and England, the forward has managed just three goals, hardly a record befitting of the level of player he is. Delivering goals on the big stage has certainly been a problem for Kane.
His task at Bayern Munich will put his ability to the test even further. They currently trail Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga by eight points and are 1-0 down to Lazio in the Champions League while also having been knocked out of the DFP Pokal.
But one thing is for sure, Harry Kane is a world class striker that deserves some silverware to show for an incredible career. Whether he gets it remains to be seen.
Harry Kane’s near misses
2015: League Cup runner-up with Tottenham
2017: Premier League runner-up with Tottenham
2019: Champions League runner-up with Tottenham
2021: League Cup runner-up with Tottenham
2021: European Championship runner-up with England
2023: German Super Cup runner-up with Bayern Munich
