Sport
Harry Kane joined Bayern Munich at the wrong time.
Not since 2012 have Bayern Munich finished a season without the Bundesliga trophy in-hand. That was when Jurgen Klopp led Borussia Dortmund to title glory. Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben were Bayern players. Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger still at the club. A footballing lifetime has passed since the Bavarians were last toppled.
It was with this in mind that Harry Kane’s decision to join Bayern Munich last summer appeared a safe bet. The England captain has famously yet to win silverware and so his £100m transfer to the Allianz Arena from Tottenham Hotspur was meant to change this. Now, though, that isn’t such a certainty.
Saturday’s defeat to Bayer Leverkusen left Bayern Munich five points adrift of top spot in the Bundesliga table. Worse than that, it established Xabi Alonso’s team as the ones setting the tone in the title race. It was Leverkusen who imposed themselves on Bayern Munich, not the other way around.
Kane wasn’t a factor in the loss. He touched the ball just 18 times and failed to pose a threat in front of goal. This hasn’t been the norm for Kane in the Bundesliga where he has scored a record-breaking 24 goals in 21 games, but it highlighted the issues that are affecting Bayern Munich in other areas.
Increasingly, it’s becoming clear Kane joined Bayern Munich at the wrong time. The Bavarian club is reaching the end of a cycle which could see the start of a rebuild happen this summer. The likes of Thomas Muller, Joshua Kimmich and Manuel Neuer could be moved on as Bayern attempt to move into a new era.
Thomas Tuchel is another figure at the club whose future is open to debate. The former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss doesn’t seem settled at the Allianz Arena and is struggling to find an identity and approach for the group of players he inherited from Julian Nagelsmann nearly 12 months ago.
It’s not just the individuals within Bayern Munich’s squad that require replacing. To the outsider, there appears to be a culture problem within the dressing room at the Allianz Arena. This was evident in the lack of energy and intensity in the Bavarians’ performance against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
Hansi Flock and Nagelsmann both struggled to operate underneath a Bayern Munich board that frequently seems overbearing. As if the pressure of being the manager of Germany’s biggest club isn’t enough, the several former Bayern players in executive positions prevents managers from imposing their own ideas.
Last season, Bayern Munich got away with all this as Borussia Dortmund fell apart at the finish line. This season, though, the competition has been stiffer. Alonso is a special manager who has built a special team. Bayer Leverkusen are the best team Bayern Munich have come up against in the Bundesliga since Klopp’s title-winning Dortmund.
There are still some reasons for Bayern Munich to be positive about the future. Jamal Musiala is one of Germany’s best young talents. Leroy Sane has shown the sort of form that prompted the Bavarians to sign the winger from Manchester City in the first place. Mathys Tel and Aleksandar Pavlovic have also demonstrated promise at times this season.
Kane, however, didn’t make the move to the Allianz Arena to be part of a long-term project when he was already part of something similar at Spurs. At 30 years old, the English striker is at the peak of his powers. He needs to be in a winning team now and Bayern Munich aren’t currently that team. For Kane’s sake, things must turn around quickly.
