Harry Kane wins 1st career title as Bayern Munich becomes Bundesliga champion
The 'curse' has been lifted.Harry Kane can finally celebrate his first career title after Bayern Munich became Bundesliga champion with a little help from Freiburg on Sunday.Freiburg drew with second-placed Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 to leave Bayern an unassailable eight points clear of the 2024 champion with two rounds of the German league remaining.
Kane had never won a title in a career of runner-up finishes and individual top scorer awards with Tottenham and England, leading some to speak of a 'curse' against a player considered one of the world's best forwards.advertisementKane was ready to celebrate Saturday when Bayern looked set to win 3-2 in Leipzig. But Yussuf Poulsen equalized with the last kick of the game for Leipzig to draw 3-3 and postpone Bayern's party for one day at least.'Next week, Harry!' teammate Thomas Mller wrote on Instagram.He didn't have to wait that long.Leverkusen played without conviction in Freiburg, knowing that second place was already secured and that it only had a mathematical chance of defending its title with Bayern having a far superior goal difference.Maximilian Eggestein fired the home team ahead before the break and an own-goal from Piero Hincapie after it put Freiburg firmly in control.Leverkusen had to wait till the 82nd minute for Florian Wirtz to pull one back with his team's first shot on target. Jonathan Tah equalized with the next in stoppage time, but it made no difference for the new league champion.advertisementIt's Bayern's record-extending 34th German championship including the first for the club in 1932. All the others came after the Bundesliga's formation in 1963.Champions League fight heats upFreiburg's draw kept it fourth in the final place for Champions League qualification, just a point ahead of a resurgent Borussia Dortmund and two ahead of Leipzig.Only the top four teams qualify for Europe's premier club competition.Earlier, Holstein Kiel boosted its hopes of avoiding the drop with a 3-1 win at Augsburg. It moved Kiel one point behind Heidenheim, which occupies the relegation playoff place. Kiel next plays Freiburg, then Dortmund.Eintracht Frankfurt played at Mainz later Sunday.Must Watch
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
3 hours ago
- NDTV
Club World Cup Riches Await Four African Challengers
The four African qualifiers for the revamped Club World Cup in the United States are set to become much richer, no matter how they fare in the 32-team tournament. By securing places, Al Ahly of Egypt, Esperance of Tunisia, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco are each guaranteed $9.55 million (€8.4 million) appearance fees. The bonanza is the equivalent of Sundowns winning nine league titles in South Africa, the African country with the richest football prize money. A win in the group phase will add $2 million, a draw $1 million, and a top-two finish and qualification for the knockout phase $7.5 million. Winners of the premier African club competition, the CAF Champions League, receive $4 million for playing 14 or 16 matches. No side will play more than seven matches in the Club World Cup. Here, AFP Sport looks at the African contenders, all of whom have competed in the Club World Cup when it was an annual seven-club affair. Ahly Spaniard Jose Riveiro will make his competitive debut as coach of the Cairo Red Devils when they face Lionel Messi-inspired Inter Miami in the tournament opener on June 14. "The best way to contain Messi is to stop the ball reaching him, but we also have a plan for him when he does receive possession," said Riveiro. He left Orlando Pirates in South Africa in May after a three-season stint in which he won five domestic knockout trophies and reached the 2025 Champions League semi-finals. Ahly have been busy in the transfer market, signing former Aston Villa striker Mahmoud 'Trezeguet' Hassan from Turkish outfit Trabzonspor and winger Ahmed 'Zizo' Sayed from arch Cairo rivals Zamalek. Esperance The Blood and Gold from Tunis will be coached by one of their former stars, Maher Kanzari, after Romanian Laurențiu Reghecampf was axed in mid season having been in charge for only four months. Kanzari delivered a domestic league and cup double, but they made a timid exit from the Champions League in the quarter-finals. Esperance boast a star striker in Algerian Youcef Belaili, whose seven goals placed him second in the Champions League Golden Boot race. The four-time African champions have struggled in previous Club World Cup appearances, finishing fifth twice and sixth once. Sundowns Sundowns are a club under a cloud after losing 3-2 on aggregate to Pyramids recently in a Champions League final they were expected to win. It was the second successive Champions League final loss for Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso, who was in charge of Esperance when they lost the 2024 final to Ahly. Many Sundowns supporters were unhappy that Cardoso did not use fit-again veteran midfielder Themba Zwane in either leg of the title decider. Sundowns are captained by goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who created history at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations by saving four shootout penalties to take South Africa past Cape Verde in a quarter-final. Wydad The Casablanca outfit sacked South African coach Rulani Mokwena as the Moroccan season drew to a close after he failed to secure a 2026 Champions League slot for the three-time continental champions. He was replaced by local Mohamed Benhachem, who transformed a team that had drawn six consecutive domestic league matches into one that ended the campaign by winning three in a row. Wydad have signed Burkina Faso midfielder Stephane Aziz Ki from Young Africans of Tanzania and Dutch defender Bart Meijers from Bosnia and Herzegovina club Borac Banja Luka. They are the only African contenders who will not face a Brazilian club in the group phase, but are not expected to advance from a section including Manchester City and Juventus. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Club World Cup riches await four African challengers
The four African qualifiers for the revamped Club World Cup in the United States are set to become much richer, no matter how they fare in the 32-team tournament. The bonanza is the equivalent of Sundowns winning nine league titles in South Africa, the African country with the richest football prize money. A win in the group phase will add $2 million, a draw $1 million, and a top-two finish and qualification for the knockout phase $7.5 million. Winners of the premier African club competition, the CAF Champions League, receive $4 million for playing 14 or 16 matches. No side will play more than seven matches in the Club World Cup. Here, AFP Sport looks at the African contenders, all of whom have competed in the Club World Cup when it was an annual seven-club affair. Spaniard Jose Riveiro will make his competitive debut as coach of the Cairo Red Devils when they face Lionel Messi-inspired Inter Miami in the tournament opener on June 14. "The best way to contain Messi is to stop the ball reaching him, but we also have a plan for him when he does receive possession," said Riveiro. He left Orlando Pirates in South Africa in May after a three-season stint in which he won five domestic knockout trophies and reached the 2025 Champions League semi-finals. Ahly have been busy in the transfer market, signing former Aston Villa striker Mahmoud 'Trezeguet' Hassan from Turkish outfit Trabzonspor and winger Ahmed 'Zizo' Sayed from arch Cairo rivals Zamalek. The Blood and Gold from Tunis will be coached by one of their former stars, Maher Kanzari, after Romanian Laurentiu Reghecampf was axed in mid season having been in charge for only four months. Kanzari delivered a domestic league and cup double, but they made a timid exit from the Champions League in the quarter-finals. Esperance boast a star striker in Algerian Youcef Belaili, whose seven goals placed him second in the Champions League Golden Boot race. The four-time African champions have struggled in previous Club World Cup appearances, finishing fifth twice and sixth once. Sundowns are a club under a cloud after losing 3-2 on aggregate to Pyramids recently in a Champions League final they were expected to win. It was the second successive Champions League final loss for Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso, who was in charge of Esperance when they lost the 2024 final to Ahly. Many Sundowns supporters were unhappy that Cardoso did not use fit-again veteran midfielder Themba Zwane in either leg of the title decider. Sundowns are captained by goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who created history at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations by saving four shootout penalties to take South Africa past Cape Verde in a quarter-final. The Casablanca outfit sacked South African coach Rulani Mokwena as the Moroccan season drew to a close after he failed to secure a 2026 Champions League slot for the three-time continental champions. He was replaced by local Mohamed Benhachem, who transformed a team that had drawn six consecutive domestic league matches into one that ended the campaign by winning three in a row. Wydad have signed Burkina Faso midfielder Stephane Aziz Ki from Young Africans of Tanzania and Dutch defender Bart Meijers from Bosnia and Herzegovina club Borac Banja Luka. They are the only African contenders who will not face a Brazilian club in the group phase, but are not expected to advance from a section including Manchester City and Juventus. dl/as
Hindustan Times
6 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Auckland City's amateurs take unpaid leave for Club World Cup adventure
The revamped Club World Cup starting on Saturday brings together some of the most celebrated teams and players in global football. And Auckland City. In a tournament boasting $1 billion in prize money and featuring superstar multi-millionaire players including Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, the New Zealand side are a striking anomaly. Auckland City are an amateur club, their players balancing football with university studies or full-time jobs as teachers, real estate agents and sales reps. They don't earn a salary for playing. Their first game at the Club World Cup in the United States brings them face-to-face with German champions Bayern Munich and their prolific England striker Harry Kane. Benfica and Boca Juniors, two other storied heavyweights, come next. Auckland City striker Angus Kilkolly cannot wait. "It's probably our dream group," he told AFP by telephone as he made his way to training from his day job in sales. "For us to be able to experience playing against those teams is a dream for us. To be actually on the same pitch is a little bit crazy." The 13-time Oceania Champions League winners have been an almost constant presence at the Club World Cup since 2006. The Navy Blues finished third of seven sides at the 2014 edition, beaten by Argentina's San Lorenzo in extra time in the semi-finals. The tournament this time is a different beast after FIFA pumped in huge resources and made it a 32-team competition that includes Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Inter Milan. Kilkolly describes Auckland City as "a family club where everyone's welcome, you know everyone, you see the same people at every game". Their picturesque Kiwitea Street ground is nestled in a residential area in New Zealand's biggest city and matches typically take place in front of crowds of between 200 and 2,000, Kilkolly said. "We've got a nice boutique club room and everybody enjoys a drink after the game," said the 29-year-old, who averages a goal every other game in his nearly 140 appearances for the club. Auckland City are currently third, four points behind leaders Birkenhead United AFC in the amateur 12-team Northern League. So against the highest level of opposition they have ever faced, what would represent success against Bayern and the rest? "If we can leave there and say, 'we played our style, we've done our best', I think that's a positive outlook," said Kilkolly. "If we leave there with regrets, going 'we didn't do all we could', that would be a sour feeling." He says the team will stick to the club's "DNA" of attractive possession-based football and playing out from the back. "We don't concede a lot of goals in New Zealand so obviously we're aiming not to concede too many goals at the Club World Cup as well," he said. Kilkolly's typical week day is a busy one and he has not taken a proper holiday for three or four years because football eats up all his leave days. A manager in sales for a power tools firm, he is in the office at 7:30 am, does a day's work, trains three or four times a week, home by 9:00 pm, off to bed, repeat. He does not receive a wage for playing football. Rather, there is a cap of 150 New Zealand dollars a week for amateur footballers in the country covering basic expenses such as gym membership. The Auckland City players will be in the United States for nearly a month thankfully Kilkolly's boss is understanding and likes football. "It's not easy, it's four weeks' leave, but I don't have four weeks' annual leave so there's unpaid leave going there," Kilkolly said. "But it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Playing at the World Cup gives us the ability to compete on a world stage and have that feeling of being a professional footballer, without being one." As a forward, Kilkolly will have eyes on Kane's number nine jersey after their game at the 26,000-capacity TQL Stadium in Cincinnati. "I think he earns more in a week than I earn in a year working," he said with a laugh. pst/as SPORT LISBOA E BENFICA - FUTEBOL
