As the 2024/25 season approaches, all eyes are on Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, whose trophy cabinet remains frustratingly bare despite his prolific goal-scoring exploits.
The England captain has an impressive array of individual accolades and is considered one of the most prolific strikers of his generation, but the glaring absence of silverware in his cabinet remains a persistent narrative.
Not even a move to the Bundesliga giants was enough to offer the Englishman some reprieve as he went trophyless in his debut season at the Allianz Arena.
As he approaches the twilight of his career, the clock is ticking for Kane to add a major trophy to his list of accolades and finally take his place among the greatest strikers in the game.
Whether he will finally end his trophy drought next season is anyone’s guess, but fans are welcome to buy Bayern Munich tickets from seatsnet.com to watch the Englishman live in action next term.
Kane at Tottenham Hotspur
After coming through the youth ranks at Tottenham Hotspur, Kane established himself as a first-team player in 2013, and the rest is history.
With 280 goals in 435 appearances for Tottenham, the England international cemented his place among the elite strikers in world football.
Despite his impressive goal-scoring prowess, Kane could not help Tottenham end their 16-year title drought. The North London outfit have failed to bag silverware since their League Cup triumph back in 2008.
While at Tottenham, Kane lost two League Cup finals to Chelsea in the 2014/2015 season and to Manchester City in 2020/2021.
Spurs also lost the Champions League final to Liverpool in the 2018/19 season and finished as runners-up in the Premier League in 2016/2017, seven points behind eventual winners Chelsea.
Kane holds an unwanted record of scoring the most Premier League goals without winning the title (213), taking home the Golden Boot three times during that run.
With the prospect of silverware not forthcoming in north London, the 30-year-old joined German juggernauts Bayern hoping to buck the trend finally, but it hasn’t panned out as he expected.
Kane at Bayern
Kane decided to call time on his Tottenham career last summer when Bayern came calling. He joined the Bundesliga giants in a £100 million move and wasted no time showcasing his devastating goal-scoring prowess.
Kane was handed a chance for silverware in his first game as a Bayern player. However, his hopes were quickly dashed as Die Roten suffered a 3-0 defeat to RB Leipzig In the DFL Super Cup.
A shocking DFB Pokal second-round elimination at the hands of third-tier side Saarbrucken followed.
Bayern then finished third in the Bundesliga standings, a staggering 18 points behind Champions Bayer Leverkusen.
The Champions League represented their final chance at winning silverware, but their European campaign also ended in disappointment.
Kane and Bayern were eliminated by eventual winners Real Madrid in the semi-final courtesy of a stunning Joselu-inspired comeback from the record Champions League winners.
Despite being the most successful team in German football history, Bayern finished the season without a trophy for the first time in over a decade.
Kane scored a staggering 36 goals in the Bundesliga, winning the European Golden Shoe for the first time in his career.
His brilliant campaign also concluded with a Champions League top scorer award, sharing the stage with former Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe (eight goals each).
Kane showcased a stellar individual performance, netting 44 goals in 45 games across all competitions, but it wasn’t enough to end his frustrating trophy drought.
The national team drought
Only a handful of nations across the globe can match England’s prowess in terms of producing world-class talents.
However, since winning the 1966 World Cup, the national team has gone nearly six decades without a major international trophy.
Kane came close to helping England end their trophy drought, scoring six goals in the 2018 World Cup as the Three Lions reached the semi-final of the global showpiece for the first time in nearly three decades.
England also reached the final of the 2020 European championship for the first time in their history three years later.
However, none of these landmarks resulted in a title win as they crashed out of the World Cup semi-final against Croatia before losing the 2020 Euros final to Italy on home soil.
They had also finished third in the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League and were subsequently eliminated from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar during the quarter-finals.
Kane and England are keen to right the wrongs of the previous tournaments by winning the ongoing Euro 2024.
They already have one foot in the knockout round, having picked up four points from their opening two games, although their performances have been lacklustre.
Southgate’s side have to avoid defeat in their final group game to advance to the next round as group winners, but they must step things up in the knockouts if they want to make it to the showpiece.
England have all the talent in the world, yet somehow, Southgate has failed to galvanise the team and often relies on individual talent to bail him out.
Kane is already off the mark at the Euros, netting in the 1-1 draw against Denmark. He’d be determined to lead the Three Lions to glory in Germany, but there’s still a lot of football to be played.
Can Vincent Kompany help Kane end his trophy drought?
Bayern and Thomas Tuchel parted ways after a disastrous campaign which saw the Bravarians go trophyless for the first time in 12 years.
After scouring the market for a potential replacement for the Champions League-winning manager, Bayern somehow landed on former Burnley head coach Vincent Kompany.
Kompany’s appointment sent shockwaves throughout the continent, given the 38-year-old’s limited experience in top-level management.
He had also just come off the back of a hugely disappointing campaign with Burnley, where they suffered relegation to the Championship.
Under Kompany’s leadership, Burnley recorded just 24 points, managing just five wins from 38 Premier League games and finished the season eight points from safety.
How Bayern deemed him to be the ideal manager to replace Tuchel is beyond anyone, but he’ll be in the dugout next season, aiming to wrestle the Bundesliga title back from Leverkusen.
There’s no doubt Kane will be key to Kompany’s plans. The Belgian manager will rely on Kane’s exceptional goal-scoring ability to fire the team to glory next season.
Whether Kompany can take Bayern back to the top remains to be seen. Perhaps we will get to see the true potential of his brand of football with the quality of players now at his disposal.
Nevertheless, Kompany is expected to win at least one trophy next season, and Kane will be particularly eager to help the manager achieve his objectives.