England’s all-time record goalscorer, Tottenham’s all-time record goalscorer and widely regarded as one of the very best strikers of his generation.
Harry Kane has put together an enviable career and his move to Bayern Munich last year felt guaranteed to scratch the one remaining itch.
Major trophies. Probably lots of them.
However, Bayern have already allowed a couple of paths to silverware to pass them by in 2023/24 and they were soundly beaten 3-0 by undefeated leaders Bayer Leverkusen to fall five points off the pace in the Bundesliga with 13 games of the season remaining.
That gap increased to eight after Bayern lost 3-2 at Bochum on February 18 and they dropped more points in 2-2 draw at Freiburg on March 1. The club will part company with head coach Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season.
This situation and the internet being as they are has led to a few mean things being said about Kane and no shortage of mischief-making.
Ladies and gentlemen, meine damen und herren, it’s time to discuss the Harry Kane Curse.
Harry Kane: England and Tottenham goal stats
After turning 30 last summer, Kane ended a career-long association with Tottenham boasting an unimpeachable record and the status of being the most prolific international player from the country that invented football.
In 435 appearances for Tottenham, Kane scored 280 goals, meaning he replaced the great Jimmy Greaves as the top scorer in Spurs' history.
He is also out in front for England and continues to stretch his lead. Starring as the inspirational captain for Gareth Southgate’s talent-stacked side, Kane has 62 goals in 89 international caps.
Tottenham all-time top scorers
| Player | Goals | Appearances | |
| 1. | Harry Kane | 280 | 435 |
| 2. | Jimmy Greaves | 268 | 381 |
| 3. | Bobby Smith | 208 | 317 |
| 4. | Martin Chivers | 174 | 367 |
| 5. | Cliff Jones | 159 | 378 |
| 6. | Son Heung-min | 157 | 393 |
England all-time top scorers
| Player | Goals | Appearances | |
| 1. | Harry Kane | 62 | 89 |
| 2. | Wayne Rooney | 53 | 120 |
| 3. | Bobby Charlton | 49 | 106 |
| 4. | Gary Lineker | 48 | 80 |
| 5. | Jimmy Greaves | 44 | 57 |
| 6. | Michael Owen | 40 | 89 |
Harry Kane goals, stats for Bayern Munich
Kane is giving great chase to Robert Lewandowski's single-season Bundesliga scoring record of 41 in a campaign.
Even if he ultimately falls short of that, Kane is still destined to prove himself a huge success in Germany, with more goals through 10 games than any player in Bundesliga history.
He is the first player to score four hat-tricks in his first Bundesliga season and needs just one more goal to set a new record for a player in their first campaign in Germany's top flight.
| Season | Competition | Games | Goals | Assists | Mins |
| 2023/24 | Bundesliga | 25 | 30 | 6 | 2,221 |
| 2023/24 | UEFA Champions League | 8 | 6 | 3 | 710 |
| 2023/24 | DFB-Pokal | — | — | — | — |
| 2023 | DFL-Supercup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| TOTAL | 34 | 36 | 9 | 2,957 |
Has Harry Kane ever won a trophy?
So, despite all of this, why are some people still making mirth and attempting to paint Kane as some sort of failure?
Again, don’t discount the influence of mischief and meme here, but the striker has never won a major honour at club level in his club or international career. When he's this good. He must be cursed, right?
There have been a couple of near misses. Spurs were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool in the 2018/19 Champions League final. Two seasons later, Aymeric Laporte scored the only goal as Manchester City beat Tottenham 1-0 in the Carabao Cup final.
Less than three months later, back at Wembley, Kane suffered an even more heartbreaking reverse as Italy beat England on penalties in the Euro 2020 final.
Kane’s supreme scoring record has led to a succession of Golden Boot successes. He took home the award after the 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2020/21 Premier League seasons. England’s run to the semifinals in Russia also saw Kane scoop the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot.
The Bundesliga’s Torschutzenkonige prize feels sure to end up in Kane’s collection at the end of this season. In the first week of February, his haul of 24 goals gave him a lead of seven over Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy. As of March 9, he had already hit the 30-goal mark.
Bayern Munich 2023/24 season: Will Bayer Leverkusen win the Bundesliga?
So can Kane finally add a collective prize to his haul?
There was a shot at silverware on his debut in the DFL-Supercup, but Bayern were already well on their way to a 3-0 defeat against RB Leipzig by the time Kane came on as a second-half substitute.
The DFB-Pokal is also off the table and, once again, this wasn’t really Kane’s fault. He was an unused substitute as third-tier FC Saarbrücken stunned a much-changed Bayern with a 2-1 victory in the second round.
Tuchel’s side put their best foot forward in the Champions League, cruising through as winners in a group featuring FC Copenhagen, Galatasaray and Manchester United. Bayern face Serie A side Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico in the first leg of a last-16 tie on February 14.
A 1-0 defeat in Rome came amid a week from hell, in between the crushing defeats at Leverkusen and Bochum. However, Kane inspired a second-leg turnaround, scoring twice in a 3-0 Allianz Arena win.
Bayern have won every German championship since Jupp Heynckes’ treble winners swept to glory in 2012/13. Their bid for a 12th in succession has them on 54 points from 24 games, thanks to 17 wins, three draws and four defeats.
After their most recent setback at Freiburg, they are seven points behind Xabi Alonso’s inspired Leverkusen having played a game more
Leverkusen needed a last-gasp penalty from Exequiel Palacios to snatch a 2-2 draw when they travelled to the Allianz Arena on September 15, a game where Kane opened the scoring.
The England captain was unable to have a similar impact at the BayArena as the hosts ran out convincing winners. After further misery against Lazio and Bochum, talk of the Harry Kane Curse will only get louder.
On the other hand, the sight of Kane seeing off Lazio with his goals sandwiching an effort from Bayern great Thomas Muller showed he is far from the problem in a season that has become messy on and off the field for his club.
