For the better part of his playing career, Harry Kane has been football’s eternal bridesmaid. It has been very jarring to see one of football’s modern-day greats conjure wonders on the pitch but have a barren trophy cabinet to show for it.
Tottenham Hotspur’s record goalscorer? Check. England’s record goalscorer? Check. 100+ goal involvements for Bayern Munich before completing his second season with the club? Check.
Despite all his goals, quality, and records, the one thing that has always eluded Kane is a trophy—one that could satiate the deepest of his heart’s desires and give him that winning feeling he has so desperately wished to experience.
Yesterday, he finally felt what it’s like to be a champion as Bayern’s Bundesliga title win was secured after Bayer Leverkusen drew against Freiburg.
Harry Kane is no longer a nearly man. He’s now the man, who has at long last ended his trophy drought.
Kane’s footballing journey to this point has been forged through several fires of inquest and introspection. The veteran Englishman has been a veritable student of the game, honing his craft, sharpening his skills, and constantly upping the standards of goalscoring with his ingenious, relentless mastery.
An on-song Kane is a beautiful concoction of all the best qualities footballers so dearly seek. An unrelenting No. 9 and an equally masterful No. 10, he’s a player with the grace of a ballet dancer, the build of a pugilist, the art and skill of a painter, and the precision of a dead-eye sniper.
Yet, despite the undisputed acknowledgement of his talent and personal accolades, Kane’s career has been defined by a footnote that is as important as it is trivial: the glaring absence of a major trophy.
The lack of that major trophy has not been down to lack of trying on Kane’s part. With all due respect, being a Spurs player for a major stretch of his career did not help, even though he tried his best. He led the team to two League Cup finals, two FA Cup semi-finals, and a Champions League final to go with a runners-up finish and two third-place finishes in the Premier League, scoring goals throughout, breaking Jimmy Greaves’ longstanding record to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, and winning the Premier League Golden Boot thrice. But even these herculean efforts could not take Spurs over the line.
Then comes his journey with the England national team, with whom his goalscoring exploits continued. He eclipsed Wayne Rooney’s record and is hurtling towards 100 international goals to take his place among hallowed company. But again silverware eluded him. Two Euros finals, one Nations League semi-final, and a World Cup semi-final and quarter-final—again a case of close, but no cigar.
Each time Kane thought that he could reach out and feel the warm embrace of a trophy, the footballing gods found a way to rain on his parade, conveying in their own twisted ways that he wasn’t ready.
People were convinced that silverware was just not in his fate. And so “the Harry Kane curse” was born. He joined Bayern in 2023, with the hopes of finally getting his hands on a trophy. Yet, despite the goals he so routinely scored, Leverkusen went on a historic unbeaten season to end Bayern’s decade-long reign at the top of German football to win both the league and the DFB-Pokal—leaving him trophyless.
Surely the curse wasn’t real? Would he ever win a trophy? Could one of the greatest goalscorers of the modern era retire with nothing to show for his efforts? The talks rumbled on.
But if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that Harry Edward Kane is a man of relentless pursuit. He fell, but he rose again after every setback. He took the hardest punches from the footballing gods, only to stand up back again.
Finally, the footballing gods have relented. As they say, they giveth as much as they taketh away—and giveth they have. Kane now knows the sweet feeling of winning his first major trophy. He will enjoy the beer showers, the guttural roar of the fans, and everything that comes with being a champion.
Whether this translates to a period of sustained winning is anyone’s guess, but Kane will soak in the feeling of being a champion for a very long time.
After all, you never forget your first.
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