<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/bayern-munich/">Bayern Munich</a> have long been synonymous with Bundesliga dominance, but last season saw a seismic shift as Bayer Leverkusen claimed the league title. Now, a Bayern legend has weighed in on <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/harry-kane/">Harry Kane</a>’s so-called “trophy curse,” humorously noting, “He joins Bayern in his first year, and Leverkusen wins!”



Harry Kane, one of the most prolific goal scorers in world football, earned a reputation as a Premier League icon during his time with Tottenham Hotspur. Despite winning three Golden Boots and the PFA Player of the Year award in 2016-17, major silverware consistently eluded him in North London.



In the summer of 2023, Bayern Munich splashed $125 million to sign Kane as a replacement for Robert Lewandowski. While the English forward delivered an exceptional debut season with 44 goals in 45 matches, his arrival coincided with a rare trophyless campaign for Bayern. Xabi Alonso’s <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/bayer-leverkusen/">Leverkusen</a> claimed the Bundesliga title, ending Bayern’s streak of 11 consecutive league triumphs.



Reflecting on Kane’s debut season, club legend <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/javi-martinez/">Javi Martinez</a> expressed hope that the striker’s fortunes would soon change. “The Bundesliga still has to be fought for. Obviously, they are the big favorites. Hopefully, that will be the case, and Harry Kane can finally win the title that has eluded him. It’s incredible. After 11 consecutive Bundesligas, he joins Bayern in his first year… and Leverkusen wins! We’re all hoping he can get his first title and break that curse,” he said to Marca.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20250104_WST_547090_Javi-Martinez-Bayern-Munich-1200x675_5627359b.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-547092" srcset="https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/04154454/Javi-Martinez-Bayern-Munich-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/04154454/Javi-Martinez-Bayern-Munich-300x169.jpg 300w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/04154454/Javi-Martinez-Bayern-Munich-768x432.jpg 768w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/04154454/Javi-Martinez-Bayern-Munich-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/04154454/Javi-Martinez-Bayern-Munich-740x416.jpg 740w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/04154454/Javi-Martinez-Bayern-Munich-490x275.jpg 490w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/04154454/Javi-Martinez-Bayern-Munich-250x140.jpg 250w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/04154454/Javi-Martinez-Bayern-Munich.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



The Spanish midfielder, a cornerstone of Bayern’s golden era from 2012 to 2021, won 23 trophies with the club, including nine Bundesliga titles and two UEFA Champions League trophies. Now, Martinez is optimistic that Kane’s second season in Munich will be more fruitful.


 <div class="wp_fsn_relatedlinks" id="WST#/news/bayern-jewel-flirts-with-barcelona-with-lionel-messi-and-neymar-admission-amid-real-madrid-and-premier-league-links/"></div>


<h2>2024-25: A golden opportunity for Kane to end the curse</h2>



Despite his remarkable goal tally last season, Kane’s first year in Munich fell short of expectations in terms of trophies. Bayern suffered a string of setbacks: a 3-0 loss to RB Leipzig in the German Supercup, a shock DFB Pokal exit at the hands of third-division Saarbrucken, a Champions League semifinal defeat to Real Madrid, and a third-place finish in the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tag/bundesliga/">Bundesliga</a> behind Leverkusen and Stuttgart.



However, the 2024-25 season presents a fresh opportunity for Kane to reverse his fortunes. Under new coach Vincent Kompany, Bayern have rebuilt with a clear vision, currently leading the Bundesliga as the league’s most prolific scorers and least conceding defense. While the team was eliminated from this year’s DFB Pokal after a narrow loss to Leverkusen, Bayern remain strong contenders for domestic and European glory.

'He joins Bayern in his first year, and Leverkusen wins': Club legend addresses Harry Kane's trophy curse

'He joins Bayern in his first year, and Leverkusen wins': Club legend addresses Harry Kane's trophy curse - World Soccer Talk

destacadas

<div id="attachment_3359" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/05/Spanish-National-Team-Euro-20081.jpg"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div></a>Vicente del Bosque hopes his team will continue its trophy-winning ways at World Cup 2010.</div>
Yesterday, <a href="http:\/\/www.laligatalk.com/vicente-del-bosque-announces-spains-provisional-30-man-squad-for-fifa-world-cup-2010-part-one/3348">the goalkeeping and the defense were discussed</a>, and while the three goalkeepers contending for the final goalkeeping spot will state their cases to Vicente del Bosque on and off the pitch, they will have little to no chance of participating in the World Cup.&nbsp; The players who will compete for the final midfield spots, however, will more likely have a chance to run onto the field in South Africa.
Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, and Cesc Fàbregas, stalwarts in Spain’s midfield, have had chronic injury concerns throughout the second half of the season.&nbsp; Iniesta might be back for FC Barcelona in their final match against Real Valladolid after a hamstring tear six weeks ago; Xavi continues to play with a muscle injury in his leg that could jeopardize his World Cup ambitions; and Fàbregas is still in rehabilitation after cracking his fibula against Barcelona in the Champions League in April.&nbsp; While all three will be on the squad, there is no guarantee that they will be able to play in every World Cup game.
Besides the aforementioned midfielders, Xabi Alonso, David Silva, Sergio Busquets, and Marcos Senna seem to be locks for the plane to South Africa, so the last four midfielders will be competing for the last two spots: Juan Mata, Jesús Navas, Santi Cazorla, and Javi Martínez.

Juan Mata, in tandem with David Silva and Pablo Hernández, contributed significantly to Valencia’s attacking midfield as the fourth-best offense in La Liga.&nbsp; While Mata has had a tendency to drift in and out of matches, he rose to the call nearly every time that Valencia needed him.&nbsp; Nine goals in thirty matches in La Liga from the left wing position, a relatively healthy campaign, and three goals in seven international matches for Spain are an abundance of accomplishments that sees his inclusion into the Spain squad a near formality.
Jesús Navas’ anxiety problems due to clinical homesickness have been well documented, but his commitment to fight this issue as well as stellar play for Sevilla has reassured Vicente del Bosque that selecting Navas into his squad will not become a detriment to the team.&nbsp; More than what he has done on the pitch, the courage and perseverance necessary to overcome his psychological problems shows that the crushing pressure of a World Cup will not get the best of Jesús Navas.
Flying down the right wing for Sevilla all season, he became the linchpin for Sevilla’s attack because of intermittent injuries to Luís Fabiano and Frédéric Kanouté.&nbsp; Many times during Sevilla’s inconsistent season, he was the only player that had any sort of capability to bother the opposition because of his speed and guile.&nbsp; Because Spain does not have a true right winger in the squad, Navas will likely earn a seat on the plane to South Africa.
Santi Cazorla is the only player that could oust Navas from the World Cup squad.&nbsp; Equally competent on either wing, Cazorla has been a mainstay on the Spain squad since his surprise inclusion into the UEFA Euro 2008 squad, where he came in as a substitute in five of their six matches.&nbsp; The injury bug bit Cazorla all season with inveterate leg and back issues, and Villarreal missed his influence considerably, as they mired in mid-table for a majority of the season.&nbsp; Cazorla is starting to regain his fitness after he came back from injury in mid-April, but unless he stars in the Spain training camp and exhibitions, his lack of game action will be the sole reason he is left off the squad.
Javi Martínez of Athletic Bilbao was one of the surprise selections by Vicente del Bosque into the thirty-man squad, but if one has watched La Liga all season long, Martínez would not be that much of a revelation.&nbsp; Only twenty-one years old, Athletic saw him as such a talent that they paid Osasuna €6 million when he was only seventeen.
More than a typical Bilbao rugged midfielder, his dribbling and shooting skill is unquestioned, <a href="http:\/\/www.youtube.com/watch?v=56OirGsPiJY">as shown here in one of the most spectacular individual moments of the season</a>.&nbsp; His box-to-box energy throughout the season kept Athletic in the hunt for a European berth, and without his industry in their midfield, Gaizka Toquero and Fernando Llorente would not have enjoyed the freedom to focus on the final third.&nbsp; Nearly every World Cup squad includes one player from left field, and although del Bosque has a glut of central midfielders, Javi Martínez should not immediately be dismissed as one of the seven that will not make the final 23-man roster.
Tomorrow, this column will focus on the battle for the final spot in the forward position.
Vicente del Bosque’s Provisional 30-Man Squad
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, Víctor Valdés, Diego López, and David de Gea
Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Álvaro Arbeloa, Raúl Albiol, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila, and César Azpilicueta
Midfielders: Xavi Hernández, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Juan Mata, David Silva, Marcos Senna, Santi Cazorla, Jesús Navas, Javi Martínez, and Cesc Fàbregas
Forwards: David Villa, Fernando Torres, Fernando Llorente, Pedro Rodríguez, Dani Güiza, Álvaro Negredo

Vicente del Bosque Announces Spain's Provisional 30-Man Squad For FIFA World Cup 2010 Part Two - World Soccer Talk

Vicente del Bosque Announces Spain's Provisional 30-Man Squad For FIFA World Cup 2010 Part Two

<div id="attachment_1892" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div>Pictures of famous Athletic Bilbao players at San Mamés. Photo courtesy of Nicholas McGowan.</div>
Athletic Bilbao would have no problems with the proposed UEFA plan of mandating eight homegrown players in the squad of eighteen for every match or the theoretical 6 + 5 rule, where six players of the starting eleven would have to be eligible for the national team of their club’s country.&nbsp; Athletic Bilbao refuses to sign anyone not of Basque heritage.&nbsp; This policy seems out of touch with modern times, as top European teams and minnows of UEFA try to sign the best players within their means, regardless of country or province of origin.&nbsp; As their record of accomplishment indicates of always staying in the top flight of Spanish football, Bilbao is doing something right.&nbsp; In the past four years, however, Bilbao finished in the bottom half of the table, including a last gasp win in the final round of the 2006-2007 season to stave off relegation.
Forsaking the cantera plan never entered the minds of the Bilbao boardroom.&nbsp; These local players from the Basque gelled together in the past few years, taking the best shots from La Liga and many times plummeting onto the canvas.&nbsp; Under the leadership of manager Joaquín Caparrós, Athletic Bilbao is now in a position to finish in the top half of the table and compete for European places.
Because of their amazing Copa del Rey cup run to the finals, Bilbao earned a spot in the Europa League.&nbsp; After narrow escapes against Swiss team Young Boys in the third qualifying round and Norwegian outfit Tromsø in the playoff round, they commenced their voyage in the Europa League group stage with a 3-0 thrashing of Austria Wien.&nbsp; In La Liga, Athletic won their first two matches, narrowly defeating Espanyol at San Mamés 1-0 and dispatching newcomers Xerez 0-1 at Chapín.&nbsp; Bilbao’s first real test came Sunday against a Villarreal team who was searching for their first win in La Liga after two 1-1 draws with Osasuna and Mallorca.
Both Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal played in the Europa League on Thursday, so they were on equal footing when it came to a quick turnaround.&nbsp; Villarreal was used to coping with midweek European matches along with their Spanish league responsibilities since they played in European competitions for the past six seasons.&nbsp; It was Athletic, though, who looked like the fresher of the two teams from the outset.&nbsp; Villarreal’s intricate passing and possession football were overmatched by Bilbao’s more physical and direct style of play.&nbsp; Being that Bilbao’s roots derived from immigrant English steel and shipyard workers, Bilbao’s physical style and use of whipping deep crosses and a strong, tough target man should be of no surprise.
Bilbao created most of the first half chances, and they converted on two of these opportunities, giving them a 2-0 lead at halftime.&nbsp; Villarreal did not have an attempted shot until the 36th minute, and by the end of the half, the Yellow Submarine had two shots total with none of them on goal.&nbsp; Central defenders Diego Godín and Iván Marcano could not handle the brute strength and the technical skill of Bilbao talisman Fernando Llorente; Gaizka Toquero and David López ran rampant on the wings in support of Llorente; and Igor Gabilondo’s wicked crosses and free kicks created opportunities for his teammates and kept the Villarreal fullbacks in defense rather than making overlapping runs in the attack.
Villarreal manager Ernesto Valverde made a conscious decision to become more direct in the second half to counter Bilbao’s dominance.&nbsp; This strategy paid off in the 49th minute when Cani scored to cut the deficit in half.&nbsp; Joan Capdevila’s cross traveled deep into the penalty area, where Joseba Llorente headed the ball into Cani’s path, and Cani smashed it home from twelve yards out.&nbsp; Despite this development, Bilbao was unfazed and eventually regained their two-goal advantage when Javi Martínez headed in the third goal from a Gabilondo corner in the 59th minute.&nbsp; Athletic eventually won the match 3-2 and kept their 100% record.
Only La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid share a perfect three for three record with Bilbao, and while no one claims that Bilbao will keep pace with them for the remainder of the season, the swagger is back with this Bilbao team.&nbsp; Iker Muniain and Isaac Aketxe, both 16 years old, made substitute appearances, 21 year old Javi Martínez scored a goal, 24 year old central defender Fernando Amorebieta effectively phased out Giuseppe Rossi and Joseba Llorente for the most part, and 24 year old Fernando Llorente showed the form that made him a strong candidate for inclusion into the Spanish national team for the 2010 World Cup.
Joaquín Caparrós constructed a team that stayed true to their origins with their direct play while incorporating the highly technical football necessary to compete successfully in La Liga.&nbsp; Even if Athletic were relegated for the first time in their history, their supporters would not want Athletic to renounce its cantera policy and sell out for some extra wins.&nbsp; The Basques want their club to be represented by their own, and the young talent that Caparrós brought into the fold promises a budding future for Los Leones.&nbsp; While the economic inequities between Real Madrid and Barcelona and the rest of La Liga may prevent Athletic Bilbao from consistently challenging for titles as they did in the 1980’s, the Euskaldunak have a team of which they can be proud not just for their heritage but also for their football.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Javi Martinez"

News

'He joins Bayern in his first year, and Leverkusen wins': Club legend addresses Harry Kane's trophy curse

Andres Iniesta

Vicente del Bosque Announces Spain's Provisional 30-Man Squad For FIFA World Cup 2010 Part Two

Athletic Club

Athletic Bilbao Maintains Perfect Start and Basque Heritage