Can’t stop scoring
©TM/IMAGO
“For me it is a hat-trick,” Bayern Munich star striker Harry Kane said after he scored three times against Hoffenheim last Saturday. “But I know that it is a bit different in Germany.” Indeed, in Germany, a true hat-trick is three goals scored consecutively in one half of a match. Otherwise, it is a Dreierpack, which is what Kane managed by scoring in the 44th, 48th, and 77th in Bayern Munich’s 4-1 win over Hoffenheim. It was Kane’s ninth hat-trick since he joined Bayern Munich two years ago. Kane has managed a hat-trick every 7.4 games or 13.4% of his appearances in the Bundesliga.
“It is incredible what Kane has been doing for Bayern Munich over the last two years,” Bayern’s director of sport, Max Eberl, said when asked about Kane’s goalscoring record. “He is a personality on the pitch. He always wants the ball and supports his teammates. Kane is a true fighter and leader.” Where does his ninth hat-trick rank in Bundesliga history? Former Bayern Munich CEO and club legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge required 310 games to achieve this milestone. The only other player is Dieter Müller, who managed it in 303 games.
Other Bundesliga legends like Horst Hrubesch (seven hat-tricks), Ulf Kirsten (seven), Uwe Seeler (six), or Rudi Völler (five) didn’t manage as many hat-tricks as Kane. Only six players managed more hat-tricks than Kane in the Bundesliga, as the graphic above highlights. On average, Kane scores more hat-tricks than record holder Gerd Müller (32 or one in every 13 games) or his predecessor Robert Lewandowski (16 or one every 24 games).
Hat-trick hero Harry Kane – How does he compare internationally?
When compared to the other top five leagues, Kane’s hat-trick pace also looks incredible. Since the foundation of the leagues in Germany, England (in this case, the Premier League in 1991), Italy, Spain, and France, only two players with 20 games or more have a better hat-trick per game ratio than Kane. As shown in the graphic below, from 1933 to 1948, Isidro Lángara scored 105 goals in 90 LaLiga games and managed 13 hat-tricks—or one every 6.9 games. After joining Monaco last January, Mika Biereth managed three hat-tricks in 21 games, or one every seven games. Cristiano Ronaldo (34 hat-tricks in LaLiga for Real) scored one every 8.6 games, Romário (five for Barça) every 11.4 games, Erling Haaland (eight for Man City) every 12.8 games and Lionel Messi (36 for Barca) every 14.4 games. Except for Romário (57 LaLiga games) all the mentioned players had significantly more league games than Kane.
Last season’s Bundesliga top goalscorer has already scored eight goals in the first four games this season. If he stays fit, the question becomes, can he break Lewandowski’s single-season goal-scoring record of 41 goals, which the Polish forward managed in 2020/21, breaking a record previously set by Gerd Müller (40 goals). Back then, Lewandowski had one goal fewer than Kane in the first four games. Could Kane break Lewandowski’s record? Indeed, what is his limit? Would it be possible for a Bundesliga player to get close to 50, perhaps even 60 goals in a single season?
“I generally don’t set any limits for myself, we’ll just keep going,” Kane said to Sky when asked this question.” Sometimes there are periods where things don’t go as hoped for a striker. But right now, I have the momentum and I’m enjoying it. I feel good. I know I’ll get my chances in this team. Big praise to the boys. I’m working hard for the team, and I know the goals will come.” The hat-tricks have certainly helped and given him a new nickname in Germany, where commentators now call him ‘Hat-trick Harry’. “Hat-trick Harry is what they used to call me in school when I was younger,” Kane said when asked about the nickname.
Closing in on 100 goals for Bayern: Harry Kane soon with another record?
The hat-trick record isn’t the only benchmark Kane has set. The Englishman is also the first player in Bundesliga history to score all 17 of his penalty kicks and the fastest player in league history to reach 70 goals in just 67 games. Another record could soon follow. The England captain just needs two more goals to score 100 goals across all competitions for Bayern. Kane has scored 98 goals in 103 games for Bayern Munich, and the current record for the fastest 100 goals scored by a player for one club in Europe’s top five leagues (since the foundation of the EPL in 1991) is held by Man City’s Haaland and Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid. The two managed to do it in 105 games.
Where would Kane rank in the pre-top 5 league era? As the graphic above highlights, only eight players managed to be faster than Haaland and Ronaldo. We have already mentioned Lángara earlier in the text. The Spaniard got there in 77 games. Just Fontaine managed to score 100 goals in 93 games for Stade Reims, Oskar Rohr managed it in 94 games for Strasbourg, Mariano Martín did it in 99 games for Barça, Ferenc Puskás (Real Madrid) and Gunnar Andersson (Olympique Marseille) managed it in 100 games, Manuel Badenes did it in 101 games for Valencia and finally László Kubala did it in 103 games for Barcelona. The latter Kane could now equalize, setting a new modern-era record. How likely is such a scenario? On Friday, Bayern Munich and Kane will host Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena. Bayern’s recent results against Werder certainly suggest that the record is within reach for Kane.