Sometimes the scripts write themselves. And then there are times when they seemingly take a turn for the worse and enjoy the perversion of delivering a dark farce.
For 36 hours, many Munich residents had been furious over Harry Kane’s on-off arrival. And here we were at last at Bayern’s own Allianz Arena in Munich, where Kane moved straight into the squad with the chance to win the German Super Cup, pitting last season’s champions Bayern against cup winners RB Leipzig.
We could all see where this was going: thirteen years with Spurs and no trophies. Less than twenty-four hours at Bayern he would have collected his first. Although he started on the bench, after a manic Friday traveling here, the stage was nevertheless set. Because, as we have understood, Bayern just have to show up in Germany to win.
But then RB Leipzig is a fledgling small club that doesn’t pay much attention to the established order, playing in non-league football 15 years ago. And their Spanish striker Dani Olmo was clearly unable to adopt the expected protocol for these occasions.
Scoring his first within three minutes, Bayern made a terrible mess of getting rid of a free kick. His second came in the 44th minute, a nice touch, perhaps unintentionally, that fooled Matthijs de Ligt. Bayern trailed 2-0 and were trained in their own backyard.
Harry Kane made his Bayern Munich debut on Saturday in a 3-0 defeat to RB Leipzig
It came in the German Super Cup, as Marco Rose’s side won the trophy for the first time in their history
Spanish striker Dani Olmo scored all three goals in an impressive display at the Allianz
What you could say was that never was a team more in need of a world-class number 9 than Bayern after 18-year-old Mathys Tel missed chance after chance. He had the unfortunate role of a falconer. But despite the ensuing debacle, it took 59 minutes for the crowd to get really restless. Harry Kane! Harry Kane!’ sounded the cry of the terraces.
Kane sprinted back to the bench from his warm-up and the crowd stood as one, knowing what to expect. Now the entire stadium joined as one. Harry Kane! Harry Kane!’ they begged.
A few minutes later they had their wish. “Ladies and gentlemen,” the MC announced in English. ‘A magical moment. Welcome the new number 9 of Bayern Munich: Harry….”
“Kane!” the crowd roared back.
Unfortunately, the magical moment didn’t last long. Within seven minutes, Bayern’s Noussair put Mazraoui into the penalty area and Olmo confidently converted the penalty. At least we had our hat-trick hero and man of the match.
As for Kane, there was little to report. He tried to flatter his new teammates at 0-3. He encountered some blind allies and was choked by defenders. It was utterly disappointing, far from the excitement generated all day.
That excitement was there in the eyes of the nine-year-old boy with Germanic blond hair, straight from the central casting, who had turned up at the Barmherzige Brüder Hospital on Friday evening to catch a glimpse of his hero.
He had a handmade sign that simply read, “Harry Kane, marked with felt-tip pen, the innocence of the gesture, a throwback to all our eternal childhoods as football fans. He was one of those who cheered and swarmed around Kane’s club Audi before descending late Friday night into the underground car park to complete his medical.
Bayern created enough chances to win the game, but were alarmingly sloppy in front of goal
Kane came on after 64 minutes with Bayern trailing 2-0 and they conceded again within four minutes
It was also evident, in a more businesslike manner, to the club’s store staff, who had surpassed their daily sales target for new shirts within hours of opening, those Kane No.9 shirts flying off the shelves. They had never seen anything like it before, they said.
It was almost palpable in the swagger of the crowd marching to the Allianz Arena, that starship-like stadium, many of them wearing those new shirts with Kane on the back.
It was certainly present in the massive sigh of relief that emanated from Bayern managers on Saturday morning when their media team last posted the news that Harry Kane was a Bayern player.
It was on Joshua Kimmich’s face as he greeted his new team-mate at the famous training ground on Säbener Strasse for morning practice before the game. Kimmich’s grin and hug said it all. They know that they have greatly improved their team. After last night, they also know they need him.
This is the feeling of hope that envelops a club when a big star joins. And this was the moment they had been looking forward to all summer.
Bayern never faltered. Even when England scoffed at their ambition – the Bundesliga? To suggest! – they stood their ground and did not deviate from alternative goals. All summer they expressed quiet confidence – sometimes not so quiet when 73-year-old honorary president Uli Hoeness was let go – that they could strike a deal with Daniel Levy, something the rest of football sees as an accomplishment beyond the mammoth tasks goes beyond.
The England captain failed to make much of an impression on a disappointing evening for Bavaria
Earlier, Kane had spoken about the move. FC Bayern is one of the biggest clubs in the world and throughout my career I have always said that I want to keep improving myself and push myself to be the very best. This felt like the right step to test myself at the highest level.’
That will hurt the Spurs fans deeply, but they know it’s true. Earlier, he had released the Instagram post suggesting that this might not be a goodbye forever. But for now, Kane is playing Champions League football while Tottenham watches TV during the week.
“What do you think of Bayern?” he was asked. “Big, big club,” he replied. “A team that wins a lot of trophies, a good winning culture, year after year.” There will be some merciless souls who will smile wryly at that remark in light of last night. Others will scoff at Kane’s Jonah effect.
It was a bit Spursy, after all, to use the word invented to describe mental vulnerability. It will undoubtedly get better. From the looks of it, Bayern need not only Kane, but an all-round reboot.
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