Harry Kane has blamed the influence of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the lack of current number nines in the game.
He credits the two footballing behemoths for encouraging new players to be wingers rather than taking up the traditional striker role.
Kane has made his own case for being listed among the best in the number nine role. He netted his 50th goal in the Bundesliga in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 win over Augsburg last week, reaching the milestone in just 43 appearances.
It smashed the previous record of 50 set by Erling Haaland during his time at Borussia Dortmund.
“The game is changing a little bit. The way coaching is now [means] a lot of players grow up wanting to be wingers,” Kane told TNT Sport Brazil.
“I think Messi and Cristiano dominated for a long, long time playing off the wings. I think a lot of players wanted to watch them.
“When I was growing up, I had some of the best strikers in the world [to watch], so I wanted to be a number nine.
“That’s just the way football goes. I think, tactically, some managers play with a false nine, or a nine-and-a-half or 10 position.
“But for sure, when I was growing up at number nine, there were some incredible players.”
Kane certainly took note, becoming a complete striker. Of Kane’s 50 Bundesliga goals, 10 have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
He is also the quickest Bayern player to hit 50 league goals for the club, surpassing Robert Lewandowski’s previous record of 64 games by a staggering 21 matches.
The England captain, who is preparing for a Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, drew particular inspiration from Brazilian great Ronaldo.
“I think we’re totally different players in the way we play, but ultimately, the way he used to finish was as good as anyone, as well as the way he moved with the ball,” Kane added.
“His dribbling ability. His movement. I think he was as good as anyone in the world. He had a lot more ability than me if I’m totally honest. He had good pace as well.
“But for me growing up, I tried to watch all the best strikers in the world, and he was in his prime at the time.
“It was a joy to watch him, and it’s been nice to score a few goals myself and take a few bits from his game.”
Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain were set for a heavyweight tilt and, boy, did they not disappoint.
The first half was played in a frenzy and the second half seemed like it was on pace for more of the same, but some silly play from PSG doomed the visitors and let the Bavarians coast into a victory. Let’s not waste any more time, here are some quick hitters on the match:
The only mild surprises with the starting XI were with the wingers. Kompany opted for Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman over Michael Olise. In reality, it was not thoroughly shocking, but it does show that the coach might now be moving to embrace more movement at the position. Or…maybe Sané jumped over Olise in the pecking order. Either way, things are changing. Otherwise, Coman and Gnabry is pretty much like flipping a coin, though Coman was not good last weekend against FC Augsburg.
PSG came out with a lot of life — they were aggressive and all over Bayern Munich.
Leon Goretzka was in a great spot for a quality chance in the 4th minute, but his touch betrayed him.
For as energetic as PSG was, Bayern Munich matched the intensity. Musiala ripped an attempt in the 7th, but it was saved by Matvey Safonov.
Speaking of Safonov, you could slide him into any environment. Comic book convention, biker bar, carnival, IT department…dude has a versatile look to him.
Konrad Laimer set up Sané for a decent look in the 11th minute, but Safonov was there again.
Laimer was covering all kinds of ground early on.
Coman and Achraf Hakimi had quite a battle on the left flank. In the 28th minute, Coman did some amazing dribbling to set himself up for a great chance, but he airmailed it.
It was okay, because seconds later Warren Zaïre-Emery returned the favor by shanking a fairly easy chance.
Manuel Neuer made a massive save on Ousmane Dembélé in the 32nd minute. Clearly, the attacking groups were starting to wear down each team’s defense.
Finally, in the 38th minute, Kimmich lofted a beautiful ball into the box off of a corner, which Safonov misjudged with his punch, somehow landed in front of the net, and bounced straight up and was headed home by Kim Min-jae. Musiala should get some credit for being in the way of Safonov, without making contact.
The shame of it for Safonov is that he made quite a few key saves before that error and played a pretty solid game.
Seconds later, Coman got a step on Hakimi and barrelled down on Safonov, but lifted the ball over the net. The man needs to work on his finishing. It was not an easy chance by any means, but Coman is not shaking that perception of his game any time soon.
As far as entertainment value goes, the first half was straight fire. The pace was so frantic, though, that it made viewers wonder if the teams could possibly keep it up.
PSG started the second half with a real sense of urgency as Bayern Munich looked like it was reeling.
Dembélé, though, lived up to his spotty reputation and picked up a second yellow card with a totally unnecessary foul on Alphonso Davies. It was Dembélé’s second yellow of the match, which meant PSG was a man down for the rest of the match.
That was just the break that Bayern Munich needed as the Bavarians could play a much more methodical style.
In the 66th minute, Neuer made an insane run up to midfield to receive a back pass from Kimmich (definitely not intended for him), which ultimately resulted in Kane setting up Coman for another great attempt…which he sent over the crossbar.
Musiala hit the post in the 74th minute, which would have put the game out of commission, but this was not Bayern Munich’s best shooting performance.
Not to be an alarmist, but Thomas Müller looked like he was lumbering. This was the same way he looked during the EUROs. That jump that he had in his to start the season for Bayern Munich is gone. Unfortunately, this was the first time since the EUROs where Müller really did not look like himself. He looked like he had lost two steps.
In the 85th minute, PSG had its best chance to pull off a miracle when a ball landed right at the feet of João Neves, who sent his shot wide of the mark.
Overall, the game was really fun for a half, but instantly shifted fully over to Bayern Munich thanks to Dembélé’s senseless foul on Davies. This was the win that Bayern Munich wanted, but it did lose some luster given that turn of events. Bayern Munich was, indeed, the better team, but PSG when really testing the Bavarians before the red card. Bayern Munich will take the win and run, though, and that is all that matters.
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