There is room for improvement for Harry Kane in one crucial area despite the Bayern star having the best season of his career, writes MATT BARLOW
The last time Harry Kane reached this stage in the Champions League he was injured and unable to contribute in the usual way.
With Tottenham leading 3-0 on aggregate at Ajax, Kane came down from his seat in the stands to the dressing room to give a pep talk at halftime.
Whether the inspiration came from him or boss Mauricio Pochettino, who also spoke, or neither, Lucas Moura responded with a hat-trick.
Spurs qualified for the final in Madrid and Kane, after two months out, declared himself fit. Moura returned to the bench. Liverpool won 2-0.
Favorite for Tottenham who did not expect to win the Champions League but began to wonder if their name appeared on the cup.
Harry Kane has had a prolific debut season with Bayern Munich, scoring 42 goals so far.
The England captain was on double duty on Saturday as Bayern beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1.
Kane found himself on the losing side when Tottenham were beaten by Liverpool in the 2019 final.
This was not the case. This is rarely the case these days.
Five years later, Kane is still waiting for the major trophy that no one will begrudge him after a decade of pure excellence.
Ten successive seasons scoring 24 or more goals for his club.
It’s his first at Bayern Munich and it’s his best in terms of goals. He came to life in Germany, picking up performances from Gerd Muller and Karlheinz Rummenigge as he was deployed between two lightning-quick wingers.
Two goals in a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday took him to 400 senior goals for club and country, and 42 for Bayern for the season, beyond his previous best tally in club of 41 for Spurs in 2017/18. .
It was undoubtedly his finest campaign in the Premier League. The one in which Pep Guardiola dubbed them The Harry Kane Team, much to the chagrin of Pochettino.
Kane’s goals lifted Tottenham into third place behind the two Manchester clubs despite being hosted at Wembley.
He was beaten to the Golden Boot by Mo Salah, who also won the FWA Footballer of the Year award with Kane third behind Kevin De Bruyne, but the England captain became the top scorer at the World Cup in Russia .
It still seems remarkable that he won neither Footballer of the Year nor PFA Player of the Year while scoring more Premier League goals than anyone except Alan Shearer.
Kane with his Premier League Golden Boot after scoring 23 goals for Spurs in 2020-21
His reliability worked against him. Kane scores again. What’s new? Scoring again when each team he plays against comes up with a tailor-made plan to stop him. Goals with headers, volleys, left and right feet, tap-ins and screamers. Self-confidence never wavers.
We took it for granted. As a role model and leader as well as center forward.
FWA members have become accustomed to voting for someone who has won the title. Seven of the last nine winners have come from champions. Only Salah bucks the trend in 2018 and 2022.
This year’s winner will be revealed this week. Kane cannot win because the prize is reserved for those playing in England, although the German version of the same prize is open to Germans playing abroad as well as anyone in German football.
Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan won it last season.
To win the title of German Footballer of the Year, Kane will have to beat the heroes of Bayer Leverkusen who ended Bayern’s 11 years of domination in the Bundesliga, still undefeated with another equalizer in the 97th minute and in pursuit of the Cup of Germany and the Europa League.
The brilliance of Bayer Leverkusen deprived Kane of a first league title in his first season.
Although there was domestic disappointment for the £86 million, he could still conquer Europe.
The trophies will surely go to Kane at Bayern despite the misadventures of this season.
Like Teddy Sheringham, who left Spurs for Manchester United in 1997 and won nothing in his first year to the amusement of those left at White Hart Lane, then clinched the treble in his second.
Kane would prefer to end the wait and get his hands on the Champions League at Wembley in June. This would justify his decision to settle in Munich in search of great honors.
For Bayern, that would justify spending £86million, and they will expect him to lead them to a draw against Real Madrid, even if his record at the end of the cup competition is disappointing.
He failed to score in three finals for Spurs. In eight semi-final matches for them, he scored twice, including a penalty.
There was a winner for England in their Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark, when he converted the rebound from another penalty.
Kane celebrates the goal that saw England beat Denmark and advance to the Euro 2020 final
Kane helped Bayern beat old foes Arsenal to reach the Champions League semi-finals
For all his brilliance and ability to influence results, three goals in 14 semi-final and final appearances leaves room for improvement.
What a time to change this personal narrative. To lead his team to a final at Wembley before the Euro in Germany. To address the regrets of 2019.
PS England still well represented in the last four
No English clubs in the last four of the Champions League but five English players (Kane, Eric Dier, Jude Bellingham, Jadon Sancho and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens), as many as those who appeared at the same stage last season (Kyle Walker, John Stones). , Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Fikayo Tomori).
Roma thrive in post-Mourinho brilliance
Daniele de Rossi’s Roma advance to the Europa League semi-finals with a taste of a team in the golden afterglow of José Mourinho.
They possess all the best habits of any Mourinho team, well-organized and ruthless, but with top players freed from the shackles of his tactical demands and critical eye, and supporters energized by the return of a club legend and more expansive football.
There are parallels with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United, riding a post-Mourinho high with a sudden deluge of goals and that night in Paris.
Roma celebrate one of their goals as they beat AC Milan in the Europa League quarter-finals
Club legend Daniele De Rossi transformed the mood after Jose Mourinho’s departure
There comes a time when this balance shifts, when the residual effects of a strong coach fade and the relaxed atmosphere becomes a problem rather than an advantage.
The trickiest part for the new boss is recognizing this moment when it arrives and handling it skillfully.
De Rossi seems to be handling the situation well. Xabi Alonso’s collision with Leverkusen will be one to savor.
Istanbul revisited in Asian final
The Asian Champions League final has a bit of an Istanbul feel.
Harry Kewell’s Yokohama F Marinos, from Japan and part of the City Football Group, against Hernan Crespo’s Al Ain, not part of the City Group but from Abu Dhabi.
Kewell and Crespo both started the 2005 Champions League final, although both were absent at the time Liverpool won the shootout against AC Milan.
Goals but no glory
The EFL’s Golden Boot winners have all come from the lower strata of their league.
Charlton’s Alfie May won the League One award with 23 goals while finishing 16th.
Macauley Langstaff scored 28 for Notts County, who finished 14th in League Two.
Sammie Szmodics is flawless in the league with 25 goals while Blackburn languishes in 19th.
Charlton’s Alfie May with his League One Golden Boot award on the final day of the season
Farnham are the Invincibles!
Farnham Town, a regular in this column for their exploits in the Combined Counties, finished the season unbeaten, beating Tooting and Mitcham on Saturday, their 35th victory in 38 matches.
Welsh champions TNS can also boast of being Invincibles. Inspiration for Alonso and Leverkusen.
