Harry Kane under pressure to fix ‘crisis club’ Bayern Munich ahead of Bundesliga return

A heavy Super Cup loss to RB Leipzig, issues in goal and upheaval in the boardroom are overshadowing the start of the Kane era in Munich

To say Harry Kane’s first Bayern Munich game didn’t go to plan would be a gross understatement.

Coming off the bench in a 3-0 Super Cup loss to RB Leipzig, there was no trophy and no goal, three touches and no shots; a baying cauldron of anticipation and expectation rapidly kiboshed by reality. Before the Bundesliga has even begun, he is already under pressure. Welcome to the Munich experience, Harry.

“Kane comes to a club in crisis,” German sports writer Christoph Biermann tells i. “People don’t seem to know why, even within Bayern. Thomas Tuchel was right when he said the Super Cup defeat was like Groundhog Day, the same problems as last season. They’d had reasonable preparation, then they deliver like that. Maybe it won’t be as easy as you’d normally expect.”

Aside from the Robert Lewandowski-shaped void Bayern hope Kane has filled, they still have fundamental issues across the pitch. The most obvious is in goal, where captain Manuel Neuer has suffered multiple setbacks in his recovery from a broken leg. Sven Ulreich is not a comparable replacement, but after Yann Sommer’s departure, finding a starting-quality goalkeeper willing to play second fiddle once Neuer returns is proving incredibly difficult. Tuchel suggested on Thursday they will likely have to trust Ulreich for the near future.

And despite signing Kim Min-jae from Napoli, the Leipzig defeat highlighted Bayern’s ongoing defensive struggles. Tuchel personally pushed to sign Kyle Walker, viewing him as key to solving their transition issues, but he chose to stay at Man City. Midfield lynchpin Joshua Kimmich has also been suffering from serious confidence issues.

Yet while Kane may not provide an obvious solution to most of Bayern’s problems, The Athletic’s Raphael Honigstein explains he may give them necessary breathing room.

“They’re hoping Kane is the missing focal point which will make everything function better, but also as long as Kane is there, maybe they don’t have to play so well all the time,” Honigstein tells i.

“Maybe he will save their backside by scoring a couple of goals from crosses or corners, or winning a penalty, then the fact they had an off day doesn’t matter that much because they still win.”

Bayern’s concerns are not confined to the pitch. CEO Oliver Kahn and Sporting Director Hasan Salihamidzic were sacked directly in the wake of their final-day title win last season, replaced by former finance director Jan-Christian Dreesen and ex-RB Salzburg maestro Christoph Freund respectively.

Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rumenigge were recalled from retirement. This old-new guard have bet the house on Kane ensuring both their job security as well as on-pitch performance.

“At Bayern there’s only ever calmness when they’re winning,” Honigstein explains. “As Thomas Muller once said, you win to be left alone at Bayern and you will only have harmony if Bayern are winning every single game.

“Kane doesn’t solve their problems, but in a way he might. They might become less important. People hope he’s going to make a massive difference to the bottom line, in terms of points and goals, but also in terms of making the team tick. It’s much easier to change things and improve when you’re winning, when you don’t have that sense of crisis.”

Tuchel, who replaced Julian Nagelsmann in March, has also struggled to impose his identity on the squad. He actively pushed to sign Kane, but was less successful in his similarly zealous pursuit of Kyle Walker. Despite agreement from senior club management Kane provided the answer to their goalscoring problems, Tuchel will now provide an easy scapegoat if their significant outlay is not rapidly repaid.

“It looks like they are giving Tuchel a lot of power when it comes to choosing the players he wants,” Bulinews.com’s editor-in-chief Rune Gjerulff says.

“It’s ironic they sacked Nagelsmann because they thought he was too experimental, but Tuchel hasn’t provided stability at all. It’s difficult to see how Tuchel wants to play. The key word for Bayern at the moment is stability.”

Expectation within the club is huge, but perhaps not as great as from fans and German media. Over 10,000 shirts with Kane’s name on the back were sold on the day he signed, before he was raucously cheered when warming up for the Super Cup.

Tabloid Bild, Bayern’s constant critics, headlined last Sunday’s back page with “No title for Kane”. For a league working to combat foreign investment and Bayern dominance, the Bundesliga’s record signing at its perennial champion club will unsurprisingly come under significant scrutiny.

There is also an argument that Bayern have lost perhaps their greatest strength – their aura. Bayern’s 71 points last season was their lowest across their 11 consecutive title wins. As German journalist and author Uli Hesse explains: “Teams were no longer afraid.”

Having lost last season’s title from a seemingly unlosable point, Borussia Dortmund, minus Jude Bellingham, will challenge this season with a renewed steel and maturity.

Leipzig will be bolstered by their Super Cup win and a slew of strong signings, despite key departures. Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen are also in a strong position after finishing last season well. Given Bayern’s weaknesses, there is an overwhelming feeling this could be the best Bundesliga title race in some years.

Kane’s arrival also creates a rare opportunity for the Bundesliga to grow in international markets, something it has largely failed to do. Clubs have rejected two proposals for private investment in their international broadcast rights, although talks are expected to restart shortly.

Yet as Gjerulff explains, perhaps the league’s strongest current selling point is its authenticity.

“The Bundesliga could do a lot more to promote themselves and tell stories about the league, but by trying to commercialise the product too much, you are gambling on jeopardising the identity of German football. You could put the ticket prices much higher, but then you would ruin one of the essential things.

“At a time when more and more businesses, some with pretty suspect intentions, are coming into clubs in other countries, the Bundesliga could take advantage of that and say ‘we’re a lot closer to the qualities that made a lot of football fans fall in love with the game in the first place.’”

“The Bundesliga is not set up to sell itself well internationally,” Honigstein says. “It is still a product for the domestic market. Local fans feel, despite lots of misgivings, that they’re still closer connected to their clubs than they would be if there was an outside investor.

“We’re in a Catch 22 situation where the league would like to attract more money but doesn’t want to change to do so. It’s hard when you want to be different without making any changes.”

Hesse believes the league’s biggest current issue is its lack of traditional clubs. The 2023-24 edition includes a first top-flight appearance for Heidenheim, a city of 50,000 people whose manager Frank Schmidt has taken them from the fifth tier to the first over 16 years. They join provincial sides like Augsburg, Mainz and Hoffenheim, all without significant fanbases or rivalries.

“Germany could easily sell stories every weekend if the right clubs were playing in the top flight,” he explains. “Most of the things people associate with the Bundesliga – the great crowds and atmosphere and fan friendliness – you’ll find more in the 2. Bundesliga this season, with Hamburg, Schalke and St Pauli. We’ve had too many Heidenheims in the Bundesliga.”

Without a Revierderby or Berlin derby this season, the Bundesliga is lacking in saleable narratives, another burden which may fall at Kane’s wonderfully talented feet. Whether in Munich, Heidenheim or Dortmund, Kane must shoulder great expectations from his teammates, manager, club, fans, media and even the league itself.

For the time being, winning a first trophy may be the least of his worries.