Harry Kane had a rest at the weekend but it did not last as long as Vincent Kompany might have hoped. He was pressed into action with Bayern Munich three down to Mainz at half-time. Shortly afterwards, the England captain scored the winner to make it 4-3.
It was goal number 33 for the Bundesliga season. Kompany’s sparing use of the striker has all but ended hope of breaking Robert Lewandowski’s all-time scoring record for a single Bundesliga season but Kane will still finish as top scorer for a third year running.
That will mean only Lewandowski and Gerd Muller will have been Bundesliga top scorer more times than Kane in the competition’s history. It is absurd that Kane’s record is rivalling these out-and-out strikers given that he brings much more to this Bayern side.
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Highlights as Harry Kane helped turn the game around for Bayern Munich against Mainz
In a recent interview in El Pais, de facto Bayern chief Uli Hoeness articulated this perfectly by setting out what makes Kane different to the rest. “If I look at Bayern over the years, we have always had number nines who scored goals,” explained Hoeness.
“When I look at Kane now, I see a number nine like I have never seen before. He defends, organizes, assists, scores goals. Gerd lived in the box. Harry has shifted the number nine’s role beyond the box, without neglecting the essence of scoring goals.”
It is extraordinary, really. Kane has had twice as many touches of the ball inside his own half than he has within 30 yards of the opposition net. And yet, he is still nine clear in the race for the European Golden Boot in a competition with fewer matches in it.
His creativity is astonishing. Kane ranks third in the Bundesliga for big chances created from open play and third for successful through-balls. His passing range puts him on a par with the game’s great deep-lying playmakers, a key aspect of Bayern’s success.
Sometimes you need to be in the stadium to appreciate Kane’s vision. There was a pass in Cologne in January that drew gasps from the press box when he identified that Luis Diaz was in space. He had to contort his body to hook it forwards but Kane found a way.
At his best, he plays as if he has the same view from up in the stands and Kompany understands this. There is no urging him to stay in the box and wait for service. Unleashing Diaz and Michael Olise is not mere decoration but a core part of his duties.
It makes him a dual threat. Watching Kane in the Bernabeu recently, his radar was a little off but he still scored what turned out to be the winning goal with an unerring finish. Like cricket’s great all-rounders, he is always in the game one way or another.
That was a big moment. Kane needs more of them.
In last season’s Champions League, Bayern fell to Inter in the last eight. The season before, Kane’s first, he had been hooked before Joselu’s sensational double turned the semi-final around for Real Madrid in the Bernabeu. Kane has had too many near misses.
For England, while he was top scorer in 2018, Kane’s only goal in two World Cups at the quarter-final stage or later came four years ago from the penalty spot against France – a match better remembered for the spot-kick that he blazed over the bar soon afterwards.
At the last European Championship, fitness issues saw him substituted with the result in the balance in the semi-final and the final. The hope is that he is better placed now to seize the moment, whether that is for club or country, in the coming weeks and months.
If he does so, Kane’s status will change. While the Ballon d’Or is viewed by some as a sideshow, it is a useful barometer for how the very best players are perceived among their peers. Kane has consistently been on the list. But never higher than tenth place.
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Tim Sherwood assesses the ‘Ballon d’Or level’ form of Harry Kane
It does not adequately reflect his abilities, as Hoeness suggests. But it is a product of not being the main man when the biggest matches roll around. Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning champions of Europe, in a heavyweight semi-final sure falls into that category.
Will Kane edge out Ousmane Dembele as he did Kylian Mbappe in the last round? Maybe crush Arsenal’s dreams in the Champions League final in Budapest next month in a moment Tottenham fans would savour every bit as much as the Bayern supporters?
Kane’s trophy drought is already a thing of the past and Bayern are one game away from completing the domestic double. But it is the Champions League, with a World Cup to follow, that shapes legacies. It is Kane’s chance to get the global credit his game merits.
