The standards at Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich are very different, but you already knew that. In case you didn’t, Spurs club legend Harry Kane has put it all out there. Kane, who completed a £100 million move to Bayern about a month ago, is off to a rip roaring start in Munich. With three goals in three Bundesliga fixtures so far, the face of the England National Team is feeling it right now in Germany.
While Bayern is a trophy producing machine of a club, both domestically, and on the continent, the Tottenham trophy drought (since 2008) continues.
Harry Kane said it bluntly- the expectations in North London just aren’t crazy high; like they are in Bavaria.
It’s definitely a different pressure compared to what I felt at Spurs,” he said at a media session ahead of England’s Euro 2024 qualifier versus Ukraine today.
“Of course we wanted to win things at Spurs but if you went a couple of games without winning then it wasn’t a disaster. The feeling at Bayern is that you have to win every game. We won the first two games 4-0 and 3-1 and there was still talk about not being too happy about the way we played. That’s part and parcel of being at one of the biggest clubs in the world.”
Kane then said the obvious- despite all that he has achieved during his decade long career, he’s still in search of that first trophy.
“Of course, there is no hiding the fact it [silverware] is the one thing missing from my career at the moment and when you have got players in the [England] squad who have won things you want to be part of that as well and have those experiences as well,” he continued.
“Just the experiences of having title runs and cup runs and hopefully a Champions League run will only add, hopefully, to handling pressure in certain situations. If we are going to win anything with England we are going to have to deal with that. Me, being captain, I want to put myself in that position as much as possible.”
Kane then discussed what is expected of him and his teammates at Bayern, one of the biggest and most successful clubs in the entire world.
“With Bayern Munich sometimes we expect them to win because they have won [the Bundesliga title] for the last 11 or 12 years or whatever it has been,” he added.
“But in my short period there is still a lot of pressure to win these trophies. We have not won the cup for a few years and we have not won the Champions League for a few years, so there is definitely a lot to gain and a lot of pressure to take. Time will tell, but at the moment I am enjoying that feeling.”
While Tottenham is off to a nice start this season, surprisingly so, their supporters must remain cautious with their optimism. Life has conditioned them to be this way. Meanwhile the supporters of the Mia San Mia know that silverware is always coming soon. It’s a world of difference indeed.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.