Harry Kane’s long wait for a career trophy was extended at the weekend as Bayer Leverkusen were confirmed as surprise champions of the Bundesliga ahead of Bayern Munich.
Given that Bayern had won the last eleven titles in a row in Germany, you can only imagine the jokes doing the rounds on social media about the curse of Kane, who joined from Tottenham last summer surely thinking that winning this league title was an absolute given, even more than it would’ve been for him if he’d joined Manchester City, Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain.
It wasn’t to be, with Leverkusen’s miraculous season leaving Bayern relying on the Champions League to make this an acceptable campaign by their high standards, and, up against a much-improved Arsenal side who’ve been so hard to beat for much of 2024 so far, this didn’t look like an easy goal for Bayern to achieve given their own inconsistencies this term.
Kane had a quiet game at the Allianz Arena, but he won’t care as Joshua Kimmich headed home the winner to give Bayern a 1-0 victory, taking them through 3-2 on aggregate to a semi-final with Real Madrid to look forward to.
These are the games Kane left Spurs to play in, with Bayern now just three wins away from European glory, while Kane could then have the chance to get his hands on international silverware with England at Euro 2024 this summer.
Can Kane win the Champions League and Euro 2024?
Club football will be Kane’s priority for now, and Bayern will probably need to play a bit better than they did against Arsenal to have a realistic shot of winning the Champions League for the 7th time in their history, but it’s within reach now, and beating the Gunners was just the response Kane will have needed after the surprise of missing out on the Bundesliga.
In the months ahead, though, fans with Euro 2024 tickets will be heading to Germany to watch the biggest names in European football, of which Kane is certainly one.
The 30-year-old will surely be a better player for England now with the benefit of the experience he’s had at Bayern, where winning is demanded and expected in a way that isn’t quite the case at Tottenham.
With 39 goals in 40 games in all competitions so far, Kane has clearly not found the step up daunting, so he’ll surely be one to watch for the Three Lions as one of the most dangerous attacking players at this summer’s tournament.
In the end, despite Leverkusen’s shock Bundesliga win, 2024 really could end up being a year to remember for Kane.