In search of the first trophy of his career after four lost finals, the 30-year-old Englishman will be responsible for guiding Bayern Munich on Tuesday, in the Champions League semi-final first leg against the Merengues.
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Is there really a “Harry Kane curse”? If this theory carried by English supporters on social networks may seem exaggerated, the main interested party, formerly of Tottenham and Bayern Munich, can begin to subscribe to it. At just 30 years old, the English serial scorer – 40 goals in 41 games with the Bavarians on the clock – is still waiting for the day when he will lift his first trophy. To achieve this, it will undoubtedly require a great performance at the Allianz Arena in Munich against Real Madrid on Tuesday April 30, in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League, the flagship competition of the Madrid ogre.
“The most important thing for us is that we always have the opportunity to turn our season into a great season”, estimated Harry Kane before the quarter-final return against Arsenal (final score 1-0). But he and his teammates only have one option left to hope to triumph in a very dull 2023-24 year: the Champions League.
Arriving this summer from Tottenham, his long-time club since his debut in 2011, to finally reach this famous milestone in Bavaria, the native of Walthamstow, north-east of London, suffered a series of disappointments: 3-0 defeat in the final of German Super Cup against RB Leipzig for its first match, elimination in the round of 16 of the German Cup against Sarrebrück (third division club) without even having played, first Bundesliga title which eludes Bayern after eleven consecutive coronations. ..
Used to disappointments in the final
So many national trophies usually easily won by the “Rekordmeister” each season and which escaped Thomas Tuchel’s men during this 2023-24 financial year. The England international, however, refused to talk about“failure“: “Obviously all players and all clubs want to win all the trophies, that’s the goal every season. But it’s a process. From the club’s point of view, this season would be a failure if we don’t win Nothing.” And Harry Kane knows white seasons quite well.
Top Premier League scorer in the 2015-2016, 2016-2017 and 2020-2021 seasons, the former Spurs striker only has failures in the final as a track record: two League Cup finals lost against Chelsea (2015). ) and Manchester City (2021), a Champions League final against Liverpool (2019) and even a “title” of vice-champion of England in the 2016-2017 season.
A bad luck that Harry Kane carries to the selection, where his team failed in the final of Euro 2021 against Italy, at home at Wembley, after a penalty shootout that he had launched by scoring the first penalty (1-1, 2-3 tab).
A duel against Bellingham to find Wembley
After a failed first meeting on home soil, the Briton has a new opportunity to shine in London, if Bayern Munich manages to reach the Champions League final. He even admits to being “overmotivated” with the idea of returning to Wembley, where he received his trophy as top scorer in the history of the English selection in March 2023.
“There would be no better place for me to win this trophy”, he proclaimed to TNT Sports. Whoever is top scorer in the Bundesliga with 33 goals in 30 games and second top scorer in the Champions League with seven goals (and three assists) will have the difficult task of carrying his team against a 14-time champion Real Madrid.
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On his way to the final and the legendary London lair, Harry Kane will come across another English superstar: Jude Bellingham. The two future headliners of Three Lions for Euro 2024 have both chosen to transfer abroad to hope to achieve success with clubs with well-stocked records.
The two English internationals will oppose each other on Tuesday, each being top scorer for their respective clubs, with a theoretical advantage for the one who plays in Bavaria, author of a decisive double on Saturday against Eintracht Frankfurt (2-1 victory), when the other has just come out of gastroenteritis which prevented him from appearing against Real Sociedad on Friday (1-0 victory).