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Harry Kane became the fastest player ever to reach 60 Bundesliga goals on the way to his first title - Reuters/Heiko Becker
For years Harry Kane would have swapped every one of his personal records for a first major trophy, but now the striker has the winner’s medal to go alongside all the milestones, to consolidate his place among his generation’s greatest players.
No longer a nearly man or the first pick in the debate over the best players never to have won silverware, Kane has finally lifted a trophy after Bayern Munich were crowned Bundesliga champions.
The record goalscorer for England and Tottenham Hotspur, Kane has filled the one glaring hole on his glittering CV by adding title-winner.
Walthamstow-born Kane joined his first club, Ridgeway Rovers, as a six-year-old in 1999. Released by Arsenal’s academy, he had a trial at Watford before being given a second chance at Tottenham following an unsuccessful initial trial. There was scepticism from day one. Now, nobody can argue with his place among the elite.
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Kane playing for Ridgeway Rovers, the club he joined as a six-year-old
It is striking that every coach who has worked with Kane says the same thing. Whether it be his first manager at Ridgeway, Dave Bricknell, former striker Bradley Allen, whom Kane’s family credit as the first person at Tottenham to champion him, or serial winner Antonio Conte. No player is more deserving of success than Kane.
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Kane scored 30 Premier League goals in his final season at Tottenham under Conte, who, in an exclusive interview with Telegraph Sportlast year, said: “I think he needed to go and to change, to find another club, another mentality, another situation. It was important for him.
“He deserves to win trophies and we are talking about one of the best strikers in the world. He is one of the best I’ve worked with, for sure. He’s a good guy and a good person, too. He needed this new experience, another chance. Now he is a more complete player than before.”
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Former Tottenham manager Antonio Conte (left) said Kane is one of the best strikers he has worked with - Vince Mignott/Getty Images
Kane lost a Champions League final under Mauricio Pochettino with Spurs. He lost two European Championship finals with former England manager Gareth Southgate. He missed out on Bundesliga and Champions League success in his first season at Bayern under Thomas Tuchel, who is now his England manager. José Mourinho has claimed that Kane would have won that elusive first trophy under him had Tottenham not sacked the Portuguese days before the Carabao Cup final in 2021.
All those managers who went close with Kane are likely to be part of a long list of well-wishers. Yet it may well be messages from two of the men who were there from the very start, Bricknell and Allen, that will be among the most special.
Allen has worked at the Tottenham academy for 20 years, two of which were spent coaching Kane from the under-14s to under-16s, and helping him to practise his finishing.
“I was still a bit fitter back then, so I was able to strike a few balls with him,” said Allen, who scored 27 goals in 81 league games for Queens Park Rangers and is the brother of Clive and son of another Spurs legend, 1961 Double winner Les. “The art of sticking the ball in the back of the net, he embraced that and really had a thirst to improve.
“We still text one another, I’m constantly in contact with him. After every goal that he scores, I text him. That’s a lot of texts…there’s been 60-odd texts since he’s been in Germany! But he always immediately replies, so it’s great. Absolutely, I’ll be texting him and the family. I’m sure that will be a special moment. I may well even call him.
“I’m sure it will mean so much to him. The disappointments of participating in and playing in some of those big games for Tottenham and England without getting over the line. Just to lift some silverware and be a part of something will mean an enormous amount to him. It might just be getting that first and him actually experiencing that to then go on and get a good few more.”
Bricknell initially put Kane in goal for a shooting drill before being gently told that the boy who would go on to be his country’s greatest ever goalscorer was an outfield player.
Asked how he would like to congratulate Kane for lifting his first trophy, Bricknell said: “You should be very proud of yourself, H. You’re a credit to your profession. You thoroughly deserve everything that comes your way.”
Bricknell also coached Kane’s wife Katie, when she played at Ridgeway, and said: “I see Harry’s mum and dad, Pat and Kim, every now and again. Just before Christmas, we went to the Lapland UK attraction. I’m walking around with my grandkids and my son came over and said, ‘Look who’s here’ and it was Kate. She was there with a couple of her and Harry’s kids and she said, ‘I knew you were here Dave, I could hear your voice!’. Kate used to come to my soccer school, as well as Harry, when they were younger.
“Whenever Harry’s done something, I’ve always sent a text to his dad Pat. They’re just a really lovely family and Harry is a credit to them because he’s a model professional. He’s the perfect role model, you never see or hear of him being in any trouble. I don’t know anybody who’s got a bad word to say about him.
“I was gutted for him that Bayern got knocked out of the Champions League because I was desperate for them to win it. I’ve said from day one that I hope he smashes it there. He’s had an unbelievable career, no matter what all these idiots say about him not winning anything, and this should shut them up. To do what he’s done is phenomenal.”
Kane has joined a select list of English footballers to win a title overseas and his adaptation to life in Germany has been impressive. Having spent the first five months in Munich on his own, the 31-year-old was joined by his family, Katie and their four children, Ivy, Vivienne, Louis and Henry, last January.
With his children in school and enjoying weekends skiing, life in Germany away from football resembles Kane’s lifestyle in England – training, playing golf and spending time at home with his family.
Last month, a goal against St Pauli meant that he has scored against all 19 Bundesliga teams he has faced with Bayern and, in April, Kane became the fastest player ever to reach 60 Bundesliga goals, having done so in the same number of games.
“To go to Bayern and do what he’s done, I think it’s been remarkable,” said Allen. “A different country, a different culture, a different language. Yes they are one of the biggest teams in European football, but you’ve still got to do it. Bayer Leverkusen were brilliant last season, but Bayern and Harry have gone again.”
There have been twice-weekly German lessons for Kane to fit in and, by his own admission, learning the language has not been easy. But, never one to rest on his achievements, a club video charting the striker’s progress in the classroom revealed his greatest ambition. During a task in which his teacher poses a question in English to which Kane must reply in German, he is asked: “What is your biggest dream?” Sat with his hands behind his head, the England captain replies: “My biggest dream is to win the Champions League.”
“Come on, Deutsche,” says his teacher. To which Kane, with some prompting, slowly says: “Mein grösser traum ist es, die Champions League zu gewinnen.” Asked why, Kane is then taught in German how to say: “Because I wanted to win it since I was a child”.
That particular childhood dream will have to wait for at least one more season, but Kane will hope that his Bundesliga trophy is one of many, while others wonder if there is one more personal record he will chase.
“I would like to see Harry come back and set the Premier League record,” said Allen. “That, for him, would really put him on a pedestal. He’d be undisputed No 1. Alan Shearer, in my era, was extraordinary, scoring 260 goals. A stunning, stunning record that has stood for so long. But those records are always there to be broken one day.”
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