Kane explains 'misconception' of his style of play
Eurosport · Ben Morse · 2026-09-08T08:47:25+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Harry Kane on 'misconception' of his dropping deep style of play which has Bayern Munich star in Ballon d'Or contention - 'So easy to get man-marked'
By Ben Morse
React to this story
Harry Kane is not like many modern-day strikers. While most elite No. 9s look to play on the shoulder of the last defender, you will often find Kane dropping deep and working from a different area of the pitch.
Kane's unique style of play - often receiving the ball near the centre circle, and linking the play between midfield and attack - can lead to criticism that he is too far from goal.
But it is clearly working for the England captain. Last season, he scored a remarkable 73 goals for club and country, 61 for Bayern Munich and 12 for England.
The only player ever to score more goals in a single season was Lionel Messi with 82 in 2011/12.
Transfers
Bayern CEO gives Olise update, Milan planning Endrick swoop in January - Euro Transfer News
And speaking to TNT Sports' Owen Hargreaves about how he has found success on the pitch - an interview set to air on HBO Max on Tuesday, March 8 at 17:15 BST - Kane explained that his way of playing presents different challenges for opposing defences.
"There's a misconception sometimes of: 'You're dropping deep or you're too far away from the goal,'" he told Hargreaves. "And yeah, that has an element of truth if you're not willing to then arrive into the box.
"But when you play as a No. 9, sometimes it's so easy for you to get man-marked out of the game or you're waiting for everyone to find you.
"You're playing against two centre-backs most of the time, sometimes you're not going to touch the ball and you're just being marked.
"And sometimes the higher you stay, the easier it is for [the defenders]. You think you're staying out the way of the team, giving space for the No. 10s to play, but actually, you're being marked out the game."
With Kane firing on all cylinders, Bayern won the Bundesliga and German Super Cup last season, before the 33-year-old scored a hat-trick against Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal final and claimed the European Golden Shoe for a second time.
- Exclusive: Kane 'happy' to be in Ballon d'Or contention, 'amazed' to enter Messi territory
- Barcola, Gordon, Diomande - 11 new signings who could light up the Champions League
Kane is the favourite for this year's Ballon d'Or as a result of his performances.
The space offered to Bayern's other attackers - most notably, Luis Diaz and Michael Olise - through Kane vacating the traditional No. 9 position allowed them to flourish, and they both have claims for the Ballon d'Or too.
The former Tottenham Hotspur striker explained that defenders can "push you, can manipulate you" if he is playing further forward.
And he expanded on how he likes to get his Bayern team-mates involved from deep.
Kane said: "The amount of times last season where I was able to get it in a deeper area, almost in a No. 6 position, and a lot of the time I'd like to play a forward pass to Lucho [Luis Diaz] or Michael [Olise].
"But sometimes it would just be a half-forward pass to the full-back and then as the play's developing on that side, I arrive late into the box - which is hard to mark because the midfielders don't know whether to fully track me, the defenders are focussed on someone else and don't see me coming in.
"I actually get more chances arriving from deep than when I just stand in the box."
The Breakdown: Harry Kane premieres on TNT Sports 2 from 17:15 BST on Tuesday and will be available on-demand via HBO Max
Add TNT Sports as a preferred source here to enjoy more content like this.
Stream the Premier League, men's and women's FA Cups, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
Related Topics