A LOT will be resting on the broad shoulders of Harry Kane at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern Munich’s miserable season to date is on the brink of free-falling should they crash out of the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday – their last stab at a trophy.
Ahead of his summer departure, boss Thomas Tuchel’s legacy at the German giants is in danger of fizzling out should a memorable run to a seventh European title at Wembley on June 1 fail to materialise.
Arsenal fans are gleefully waiting to stick the knife deeper into Kane should the Gunners prevail in the last eight at the expense of the former Tottenham star.
And then there is the continued, unwanted narrative of having never lifted a trophy, something Kane just cannot seem to shift regardless of which club he plays for.
For most players, that expectation, and pressure, would be overwhelming, but not Kane.
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He said: “For sure (it is unfinished business), whenever you reach the final of a competition and don’t quite get over the line there’s always that burning fire inside you to get back there and go that one step further.”
If anything, the fire inside the 30-year-old burns brighter with each demand that is placed upon him. The more unrealistic the better.
In truth, he has nothing left to prove. He is Spurs and England’s all-time record goal scorer and currently has 39 goals in 39 games in all competitions this term since his £104m switch to Bayern last summer.
But ahead of a mouthwatering second leg against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, after a first leg 2-2 draw at the Emirates in which he scored a penalty, Kane said: “I’m the type of player who, throughout my career, has had points to prove along the way.
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“I don’t think that ever leaves you, it’ll always be in my DNA until I retire.
“There will always be a reason to prove someone wrong or to prove to myself I can do something.”
That desire stemmed from the moment he was axed from Arsenal’s academy as a nine-year-old, something that he previously used to galvanise him when coming face to face with them in a North London derby during his Tottenham days. Not anymore.
Kane continued: “‘I know there will be a lot of Spurs fans watching, hoping that Bayern go through, but I can’t focus on that.
“All I can do is try and beat the team in front of us, and that’s Arsenal. It was one of the biggest games of the season for pretty much my whole career.
“It was always a big occasion, big moment. Maybe it was in the back of the mind, being released from a young age, and there’s always a point to prove.
“But for me here, it’s a different chapter, a different moment. I don’t think specifically back to it now.”
Kane has far more important things on his plate, like single-handedly dragging Bayern through one of its worst periods for over a decade.
The Bundesliga title has been surrendered for the first time since 2012, with Bayer Leverkusen now champions with five games to spare, while there was also an embarrassing German Cup exit to third-tier opposition.
In less than 12 months, through all of the misery, Kane has become Bayern’s shining light. The English poster boy at the heart of German football. He brings calm and consistency amid a raging, destructive storm.
Kane said: “Where I’m at in my career, at the stage I’m at, people expect a different level from me in every game that I play and that comes with goals and assists.
“But also, an all-round performance using my leadership and experience that I’ve had throughout my career to help the team.
“I always expect a lot from myself, I always scrutinise myself more than anyone else could and hopefully I can put in a good performance. I’ll be ready for anything that might come.”
Kane is in uncharted territory right now. Finishing second in the league and reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League would be regarded as a successful season at Spurs.
This one will have stung Kane the most… what’s the German for schadenfreude?, says Dave Kidd
By Dave Kidd
OF all the trophies Harry Kane has missed out on, this one will have stung the most.
This was supposed to have been a dead cert. This was nailed-on.
Bayern Munich had won 11 successive Bundesliga titles, so when the England captain signed for the great Bavarian powerhouse last summer, we all said: “Well, at least he’ll finally win something.”
Yet on Sunday evening, there were Bayer Leverkusen — known in Germany as ‘Neverkusen’ because they hadn’t previously won the league thanks to several late implosions — cavorting around, 16 points clear, unbeaten in all competitions and confirmed as champions with five games to spare.
And so the greatest trophy curse in footballing history continues.
And this one really is freakish because Leverkusen’s story is almost as extraordinary as Leicester City’s miracle title in 2015-16 — the season when Kane won his first Premier League Golden Boot and Tottenham ended up ‘third in a two-horse race’ behind Arsenal.
Kane is always the runner-up, always the nearly man, always the fall guy, too often a figure of fun for those taking pleasure in the misfortune of others.
Does anyone know the German word for schadenfreude…?
Click here to read Dave Kidd’s column in full.
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But Kane knows that mindset is no good at Bayern. Instead, it’s a full-blown crisis.
He explained: “From the club’s point of view it will be a failed season if we don’t win anything this year. We’re expected to win.
“We know we have not reached the standards that we need to as a team. We can keep the season alive and keep some hope amongst the fans, hope that we can achieve something special even though it has not been the greatest of seasons.
“But there’s a process into winning, a process into the individual and the team.
“You want to improve as a player every year, you want to get better, you want to show the world your capabilities and you want to push yourself to the very limits.
“All you can do is take that into next year and try to turn that around.”
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That process will be put on hold for now. Briefly in its place is a winning-at-all-costs mantra in what could be one of many last-chance saloon shoot-outs on this Champions League journey for Bayern.
Kane will stand firm and do what he always does, and hope that is enough to down the old enemy of his youth.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
