‘One of our own’: how and why Germany has taken to Harry

Bayern players past and present, fans and even hotel staff talk about the striker’s positive impact in Munich

The Tottenham fans celebrated Harry Kane as “one of our own”. After his first season at Bayern Munich, in which he scored an incredible 44 goals in 45 appearances for the Bundesliga giants, the question arises: has Kane also become one of Germany’s own?

The expectations around Kane after his £100m switch from London to Bavaria were enormous. Following the striker’s first game, against RB Leipzig in the German Supercup, Max Eberl, Leipzig’s sports director at the time and now fulfilling the same role at Bayern, said: “I think it’s almost too much that Harry Kane is being burdened with here. It’s like a messiah walking on water.” To an extent it was – with the 30-year-old failing to help Bayern win a single trophy last season, in turn meaning they failed to win the Bundesliga for the first time in 12 years.