Sepp Maier: 'Kane has a bigger influence than Lewandowski at Bayern'

Germany German goalkeeper legend Sepp Maier has praised Harry Kane as a complete player and has made a bigger impact than Robert Lewandowski did at Bayern.

"Kane is performing so well. I'm almost speechless," Maier told German television Sport1 on January 2. "What's special about Kane is that he also supports his teammates and integrates very quickly. Kane is good for the Bundesliga and is much more valuable to Bayern than Lewandowski."

Harry Kane during a training session at Bayern's headquarters in Saebener Strasse, Munich on January 2, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Maier spent his entire career with Bayern from 1962 to 1980 and is considered one of the greatest goalkeepers in football history. He won 14 titles and holds the record for appearances for Bayern with 706. Maier was also a member of the West German team that won the 1972 European Championship and the 1974 World Cup.

From Bavarian Football Works commented that Maier - a legend who has spent his entire career with Bayern - praising Kane, who has not completed the first half of his career with the team, is a remarkable statement.

Joining Bayern from Dortmund on a free transfer in the summer of 2014, Lewandowski scored 344 goals in 375 games, won eight Bundesliga titles, three DFB-Pokals, five German Super Cups, one Champions League, one European Super Cup, one FIFA Club World Cup. On an individual level, he won seven Bundesliga Golden Boots, one Champions League Golden Boot, two European Golden Boots and two FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In the summer of 2022, the Polish striker moved to Barca for a total fee of 50 million USD.

In the summer of 2023, Kane joined Bayern for a total fee of 132 million USD - a record in German football, signing a four-year contract, with a weekly salary of about 525,000 USD - more than double what he received in his final year at Tottenham. The English striker immediately became a key factor with eight assists and 25 goals in all competitions, including 21 in the Bundesliga and four in the Champions League.

In the Bundesliga alone, Kane has scored a goal every 63 minutes. With 1,530 minutes in the remaining 17 matches of the tournament, if he maintains his current performance, Kane will score 24 more goals to end his first season with 46 goals. If this happens, the 30-year-old striker will break Lewandowski's single Bundesliga scoring record - 41 goals in the 2020-2021 season.

Mario Basler, a former midfielder who played for Bayern from 1996 to 1999, believes Kane can set a new scoring record in his first season in the Bundesliga. "Kane will become a Bayern legend, one of the best strikers to ever play for the club," he told British newspaper Sunsport . "Kane can break Lewandowski's record. Bayern's attack is very strong with Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, and the goal machine Kane."

After the winter break, Kane and his teammates will return with a friendly against Basel on January 6 and then play Hoffenheim in round 17 of the Bundesliga on January 12. Bayern are currently second in the Bundesliga with 38 points, four points behind Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen and have played one game less.

Hong Duy

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