Harry Kane entered the media amphitheater at the Allianz Arena and took his place on a stage. In front of him, the scene was lit a bright red. It was the red of Bayern Munich, not the red of Manchester United.
As Kane sat and talked about tonight’s Champions League group stage match with Erik ten Hag’s struggling side, it was as if the England captain was the living embodiment of lack of ambition and failures of the recruitment strategy at Old Trafford.
Kane was for sale in the summer and is believed to have been open to a move to United. One of the best strikers in the Premier League, England’s greatest goalscorer, a leader, a consummate professional, was available and United didn’t even try to sign him. Bayern paid £100m to make him their new figurehead, the new face of a big club.
United spent £72million on Rasmus Hojlund, who could enjoy great success but is a relatively inexperienced centre-forward. It’s easy to say now, but if United had bought Kane they wouldn’t be 13th in the league. If they bought Kane, they would be thinking about fighting for the title.
Instead, Kane is part of a club that thrives on consistent success, as United once did under Sir Alex Ferguson. “When you’ve won the title 11 years in a row, you expect to do it again,” Kane said of Bayern. “I don’t want to be the player who doesn’t win it for the 12th season in a row.”
Manchester United will come face to face with their own madness when they take on Harry Kane on Wednesday night.
Kane joined Bayern Munich for £100m and United’s loss is certainly the German side’s gain
The England captain speaks at a press conference ahead of Bayern against Man United on Wednesday.
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Kane, 30, has joined a club that hopes to win titles and hopes to challenge for the Champions League every season. United? Given the way they have started the season, they are already facing a battle to make the top four. When they face Kane wearing another team’s jersey, United will come face to face with their own madness.
“It’s a big thing,” said Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel as he gushed about a player he said the club had been pursuing for years. “We took the English skipper out of England.
“Anyone looking for a 9 would have been happy to have Harry on the team.
“He makes the team better and gives you what you want from a number 9. He can go deep, turn, use the speed of the players around him, he can arrive in the box at the right time, it’s a great finisher and a good penalty taker. I’m not sure what’s going on at other clubs, but we’re more than happy that he finally made the decision and came in to make us better.
“Can he tell the difference? He will always make the difference in any match, not just in goals. Over time, he will make our players around him better, he will learn to make them shine, he will assist and not just score.
Kane (left) is the living embodiment of United’s lack of ambition after deciding not to move for the England skipper.
“There is no doubt that he will be a leader for us. Harry has been doing this for years, he had Tottenham on his shoulders year after year. He did it in his own way: calm, humble, friendly, very impressive.
“That’s how he leads. There is no one leadership style or leader that you must be or emulate. You do this in your own style and he doesn’t shy away from doing it here. He’s the same guy and that’s why we wanted him. When necessary, be calm under pressure, that’s what he does.
United’s defeat is Bayern’s gain. This could also be a win for Kane. He would have made United better, but then again it already feels like he dodged a bullet when United didn’t try to persuade him to move to Old Trafford. Under the dead hand of the Glazers, United is no longer a club where players go to realize their ambitions.
Kane took over in Germany. He has already scored four times for Bundesliga co-leaders Bayern. Some of the questions asked of Kane referred to the rivalry between the two teams and Bayern’s crushing defeat to United in the 1999 Champions League final. Bayern fared much better in the intervening years than their rivals. “There is a reason why Bayern Munich brought me to the club,” Kane said.
The former Tottenham player has had an excellent start to the season after scoring four goals in four games.
“They are obviously keen to win the Champions League again. They feel I can be of great help and I feel I can help the team as well.
“We need to focus on the group stage first and make sure we qualify, and starting well will be important. That’s why I’m here, that’s why I want to compete in these competitions at the highest level – to try to help my team win trophies.
“So although there was a lot of noise around the idea that I wanted to break the Premier League goalscoring record, those individual records were never something I focused solely on.
“It’s the result of hard work and the need to do my best for the team, but ultimately for me it was a question of how can I push myself and how can I improving and wanting to fight for the Champions League and fight for titles every year was the best way to put myself in that situation.