By winning the Ballon d’Or, Harry Kane has reached another milestone in his career. For a long time, the Bayern Munich forward was overshadowed by other global stars, but now he has been recognized for his outstanding performances. However, there isn’t much time to celebrate: Kane and the German record champions have a DFB Cup match against 1. FC Magdeburg coming up as early as Wednesday.
Aaron Danks, who continues to stand in for Vincent Kompany, confirmed at the press conference that Kane will return to Munich in time for the cup match. However, he has not yet received a message from Kane.
“I haven’t heard from him yet. I watched the ceremony. It’s fantastic for him. He’ll return this afternoon with the other players to train and will be available tomorrow,” Danks explained.
This means, in principle, nothing stands in the way of the Bayern striker playing against Magdeburg. Whether Kane will start or begin the game on the bench, however, remains to be seen.
“I’m really happy for him.”
Danks also spoke at length about the personal significance of the award for Kane. In doing so, the assistant coach hinted that he had some doubts as to whether Kane would ultimately come out on top.
“I can’t say I was overly confident—he had to hold his own against top players. The margins were minimal. We work very closely with him and see how much he puts into it. I’m really happy for him. As an Englishman, I’m not entirely neutral here either,” said Danks.
For FC Bayern, the honor is also a special recognition. “But I see how hard he works every day. I’m happy for him and also for the club—it shows what the club stands for. I’m very proud,” the assistant coach explained.
Kane also made English soccer history: “I’m very happy that Harry is the first to win this for England since Michael Owen. He’ll immediately get back to business in his professional and humble way,” said Danks.
For the Munich team, the focus quickly shifts back to their day-to-day competition schedule. They aim to advance to the next round of the cup against Magdeburg—and Kane could play an important role right away following his major personal achievement.