HARRY KANE is enjoying his best ever start to a season after ditching… ice cream.
The Bayern Munich forward has become the first ever Bundesliga player to score 11 goals in his first six matches although his record in all competitions is even more extraordinary.
He has struck 18 times in ten games for Bayern although make that 19 for club and country. Kane grabbed the first in a 5-0 win over Serbia last month, the best performance so far under Thomas Tuchel.
Maybe this could be at the start of the England striker’s greatest ever campaign. But if he is to win next year’s Ballon d’Or, which has always been one of his ambitions, the 32-year-old accepts he must win either the Champions League or the World Cup.
So, no pressure then.
Yet Kane does seem to be in a genuinely good place and he was in a relaxed mood yesterday when he spoke to the written media at St George’s Park, having made his annual trip with the Bayern squad to the Oktoberfest in Munich 24 hours earlier.
Although Kane allowed himself a solitary stein, which is one litre, he has never been one for beers and kebabs.
Yet in the summer, he decided to eat even healthier and is now avoiding pizzas in the dressing room after games while cutting out other stuff.
Kane, preparing for Thursday’s friendly against Wales and a World Cup qualifier in Latvia, said: “You have to drain as much as you can from your career. In terms of nutrition, recovery and working in the gym, I’ve stepped it up more this year.
“And obviously getting the rewards for that as well in the numbers that I’m producing.
“I do eat clean anyway. It’s just whether I have the ‘cheat’ meals after games. Also not having as much ice cream when you’re out with the family. Just things like that.
“Small details, but I think at the highest level, a one per cent change, or even half a per cent, is going to make a big difference.
“As we know, the most important months are the latter stages of the season, the February to May and then obviously the World Cup. I want to make sure I’m in the best condition going into those moments.”
Kane is in fearsome form and his goal in the 3-0 win over Frankfurt was a spectacular drive which took a vicious swerve.
It is easy to forget that he went five Premier League seasons at Spurs without scoring in the month of August before finally striking against Fulham in 2018.
Smiling, he said: “I didn’t score in August for a few years. So, I think it’s my best start now. It’s also the best start from a team point of view – ten wins out of ten.
“So to have 19 goals already is obviously an incredible feeling. I’m going into games knowing I’m going to get chances and I’m going to finish them off.”
Kane is in the third season of his adventure in Germany and won his first major trophy last season, while his family also appear settled.
Asked about his trip to the Oktoberfest, he added: “It was a good few hours there with the team. I had one beer which was enough in those big glasses. So that was a good day, especially after the win on Saturday.
“I’m pretty used to wearing lederhosen now. Even the kids have a day at school where they wear it, and my girls wear the dirndls (Bavarian dresses) and all that.
“It’s becoming just part of our life and it’s just a nice part of the culture. I think Bavarians are very proud of their culture, and especially when Octoberfest is on, so it’s been nice to be a part of it.”
Although Kane is enjoying a terrific season, he has still got only one more than Manchester City’s Erling Haaland. So could this become a major goals race this season?
Kane added: “I’ve seen that he’s been scoring although Mbappe has also had a great start to this season.
“I think those kinds of comparisons come from the outside, more obviously from social media now. From me, not so much. I know there’s some amazing strikers in Europe and I try to focus on myself.
“Obviously, I would love to win the Ballon d’Or. Essentially it is a team trophy that the best individual from that team wins so no matter how you do in a season unless you win the biggest competitions it is going to be a Champions League winner or a World Cup winner this time around.
“Especially when you are this early in the season it is impossible to talk about it. I would love to win it for sure, it would be an accumulation of doing something great individually and as a team.
“It would be almost the perfect season. The opportunity is there when you are playing at a club like Bayern – who are always one of the favourites to win the Champions League.
“With England we are going to be one of the favourites to win the World Cup.”
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