Bayern star breaks record
Uwe Seeler question leaves record man Harry Kane perplexed
February 3, 2024, 7:28 p.m
The numbers speak for themselves: Harry Kane is having an outstanding season for FC Bayern. Against Gladbach he caught up with the legendary Luca Toni and is now chasing Uwe Seeler. The Englishman has to admit that he doesn’t even know the icon of Hamburger SV.
Harry Kane had to admit that he didn’t know one of the greatest strikers in German football history. “No, no,” the Englishman replied when asked whether the name Uwe Seeler meant anything to him. But he certainly believes in his record. Seeler scored 30 goals in his first Bundesliga season, which was also the first Bundesliga season ever: 1963/64. “Uns Uwe” entered the history books of the new (then still West) German elite class as the first top scorer. A title that Kane hardly seems to be taking away anymore.
In the 3-1 (1-1) win against Borussia Mönchengladbach, FC Bayern’s target player scored his 24th goal of the season – on matchday 20. The confidence that Seeler’s record can at least be attacked seems absolutely justified. If Kane maintains his quota of 1.2 goals per Bundesliga game, he will score his 30th goal on matchday 25 and break the mark set by the Hamburger SV icon 60 years ago on matchday 26. Even Robert Lewandowski’s absolute record of 41 goals is within reach for the captain of the England national team.
Meanwhile, Kane has already set another record with his opening goal against Gladbach: that of Luca Toni. The Italian with the legendary ear-screwing celebration got the ball over the line a total of 24 times in the Bundesliga in the 2007/08 season – more than anyone else in his first year at FC Bayern. Toni, however, needed 31 matches to achieve this, while Kane now still has 14 match days to raise the record and claim it for himself.
Looking at the statistics, it would be a sensation if Kane failed. Across all competitions, he has 28 goals in 27 games, with the four other goals all coming in the preliminary round of the Champions League. However, he failed to score in the DFL Supercup against cup winners Rasenballsport Leipzig; on the 100 million euro man’s debut, FC Bayern suffered a sensational 3-0 defeat there in August. In the DFB Cup, Kane was neither used in the 4-0 win in the first round at Preußen Münster nor in the embarrassing 1-2 defeat in the second round at third division club 1. FC Saarbrücken.