Bayern Munich is no stranger to being snubbed by France Football in the past. The much hyped Ballon d’Or has been evasive despite some blockbuster performances in the previous decade by the Bavarians.
With a stellar start to the season already, Harry Kane is looking to change things as he sets his eyes on the Golden Ball.
Speaking to the Guardian, Harry Kane outlined his ambitions for the what many consider the pinnacle of individual recognition in football. “I would love to win the Ballon d’Or. Essentially it is a team trophy that the best individual from that team wins, so it is going to be a Champions League winner or a World Cup winner … It would be an accumulation of doing something great individually and as a team. It would be almost the perfect season,” said Kane, highlighting both, collective and individual targets for the season.
Kane’s summary of the winning criteria matches the recent winners who come from UCL winning teams — Rodri of Man City and Dembele of PSG. But this was not always so.
Footballing merit or Popularity contest ?
Bayern as a club stand below giants from Spain and England in popularity. And France Football has often been criticized for reducing the prestigious award to a popularity contest, especially during the time of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite scintillating performances and winning apex competitions like the UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup, players like Franck Ribery and Manuel Neuer were snubbed in the past. Robert Lewandowski was another unfortunate player to have missed out on the Golden Ball as FF axed the entire award due to the pandemic.
The last person to win the Ballon d’Or as a Bayern Munich athlete was Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981. This time with the British and German PR behind him, can a continental victory aid Harry Kane in bringing the Golden Ball to Munich after a wait of 45 years ?
Germany was in need of a good performance and Luxembourg was the right squad for the moment.
The team spirit appeared to be much higher than the last international where the German were flat and the renewed energy helped power the team to a 4-0 victory. An early red card played a massive role in the outcome, but Germany likely would have rolled easily even without being a man-up for three quarters of the match.
Let’s dive into all of the details from the match on this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show! This is what we have on tap:
- A look at the starting XI as Julian Nagelsmann made some interesting selections.
- A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
- Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.
Also, be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.
