The other day, Harry Kane went for the nuclear option. The Bayern Munich forward watched Oppenheimer at Museum Lichtspiele, a cosy 113-year-old cinema that specialises in original-language screenings. The Rocky Horror Picture Show would also have been available; they’ve been showing that cult schlock musical every weekend since 1977 there. But a film about the man who created the biggest bang ever somehow feels like a more fitting choice.
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Three and a half months into Kane’s spell in Bavaria, his impact has indeed been earth-shattering but, luckily, in an entirely peaceful way.
“It’s too early to say whether Kane is or will be the best Bayern centre-forward there ever was,” Der Spiegel wrote after his double-scoring performance in the 2-1 win over Galatasaray last Wednesday. “There’s Gerd Muller, there’s Robert Lewandowski. But indications are that Kane will go down as the most complete and most varied centre-forward of all time in the club’s history.”
Overblown rhetoric? Maybe. But it is hard to overstate the 30-year-old’s overall effect on a side that was desperate — €100million desperate — for goals, personality and leadership before his arrival in August. Kane is on course for overdelivering in all those aspects and beyond.
You’ll know about the goals by now, 17 in 11 league games. You’ve read about the three hat-trick match balls that take pride of place in the living room of his Mandarin Oriental suite. The numbers are only part of the story, however.
On the pitch and off it, “King Kane” — as the tabloid Bild refer to him — has become instant Bavarian royalty.
There’s his willingness to drop deep, to help Bayern defend and to create space for the wide players running beyond him; the key to the team’s proficiency in attack. But perhaps even more importantly, his unselfish 50-metre runs towards his own goal mark him out that rarest of breeds: he’s a superstar player, happy to work and toil like a run-of-the-mill player for the benefit of the team.
A source close to the dressing room, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their relationship, says team-mates are “in awe of Kane: he combines unshakable self-confidence with genuine humility.”
Lewandowski, the source adds, was just as important for the team in terms of his goals. “But you always got the sense he’s doing it for himself, not the club. For Kane, it’s all about the team winning. He’s the perfect role model for everyone else with that kind of attitude.”
Kane is also one of the few players Thomas Tuchel consults about tactics. “He doesn’t talk that much but when he does, people listen,” the source says.
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Another staff member describes him as “incredibly nice and easy-going”. Kane, he says, never turns down a fan request to pose for selfies or a signed shirt, and doesn’t mind doing a dozen post-match interviews for TV rights holders every single week.
Interestingly for a man who carries himself with such assuredness and who always supremely looks unhurried, employees have also noted his boyish excitement when things go well for him. After winning the man of the match award against Galatasary, Kane proudly showed off the trophy long after the final whistle to everyone he bumped into, with a huge smile on his face because he had never won that accolade in the Champions League before.
Off the pitch, Kane keeps a low profile. He likes to go golfing in Strasslach, a south Munich suburb, with the former Bayern Munich and Chelsea forward Claudio Pizarro. Thomas Muller, another keen golfer, is one of his best mates in the dressing room, alongside Leroy Sane, with whom he has struck an excellent understanding during matches.
Theresa Grill, just across from the university, is one of his favourite restaurants, as is Matsuhisa, a Japanese restaurant inside his hotel. He hasn’t yet started driving the company car — a left-hand drive Audi e-tron SUV — and prefers getting chauffeured around by his personal driver who doubles up as security. Kane’s entourage also encompasses a PR person and someone looking after his sponsorship deal. Bayern have given the Kanes their own little lounge at Allianz Arena to hang out before and after games.
Father Pat and brother Charlie spend most of their time in Munich with him; wife Katie and the four kids visit once a month or so. They’re expected to move over in December, into the villa of a former Bayern player who’s since gone to play for a foreign club.
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Tuchel expects the forward’s performances to become even better once his loved ones join him permanently. “He’s a real family man, you can feel the difference when they’re around,” the manager said a couple of weeks ago.
If that’s true, things can only get worse for Bayern’s opponents come the second half of the season.
(Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for Paulaner)
