Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Kane on course for silver summer
BY JOHN CROSS
HARRY KANE went to Germany in search of trophies at Bayern Munich.
But in his new home he could end up winning something far bigger with England this summer.
And if Kane lifts the European Championship trophy at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on July 14, his decision to uproot himself could have been the best of his career.
The Three Lions captain has been a goalscoring phenomenon with Bayern since his £90million move, passing the 40-goal barrier in his debut campaign.
But his club have failed to win the Bundesliga title for the first time in 12 years and only a Champions League trophy can save their season.
A year ago, all the talk was of whether Kane would stay in the Premier League and seek to beat Alan Shearer’s goalscoring record.
Instead, Kane has gone to Germany, taken himself out of his comfort zone and improved.
That can only be good news for England because manager Gareth Southgate always favours players playing in the Champions League and will enjoy watching Kane plus Jude Bellingham tearing it up at two of Europe’s top clubs.
It was interesting that Kane spoke with even more authority around Bayern’s two games with Arsenal in the Champions League.
“Where I’m at in my career, people expect a different level from me in every game,” he said. “That comes with goals and assists but also an all- round performance using my leadership and experience.
“I’m really enjoying my experience in Germany and it was a step I needed.”
Kane is well on his way to establishing himself as a superstar in Germany, something that will benefit him when it comes to the Euros next month.
But forget Baddiel and Skinner – if only – Killing Me Softly by the Fugees was the biggest hit of 1996.
And it might just have summed up Scotland’s fortunes better than the dirge that was played on a loop until football was stopped from coming home with an England defeat on penalties against Germany in the semis.
By then, Craig Brown’s team were back across the border as a nation was left licking its collective wounds and cursing the footballing gods, who had decreed that only misery would be inflicted upon Scotland at a major tournament.
Yet again, the Scots failed to get out of the group stage. Yet again, the Tartan Army saw their team head home, losing even after winning.
If the World Cup exits of ’74 and ’78 had been agonising, Euro 96 brought a whole new level of pain.
For the opener they were pitted against a sensational Dutch side, featuring half the Ajax team that had