Robert Lewandowski set a bar in Bavaria that was supposed to stand for a generation. Forty-one Bundesliga goals in the 2020-21 season, a record many in Germany had long ring-fenced as untouchable after Gerd Müller. Then the Polish striker tore it up.
Nobody has matched that avalanche of goals. Plenty have tried. Harry Kane is as close as anyone in the modern game.
The England captain has rattled in 146 goals in 149 games for Bayern, numbers that would make him a phenomenon at almost any other club in Europe. At the Allianz Arena, they are still measured against Lewandowski’s shadow and Müller’s ghost.
Kane has already ticked off some heavy boxes. The “trophy curse” that stalked him at Tottenham has been buried in Bavaria. His name now runs through the club’s record books, and at 33 he sits just two goals shy of a Bundesliga century. Three straight Golden Boots since leaving north London underline his dominance in front of goal.
Can He Hunt Down Lewandowski's Record?
The next question is obvious: can he hunt down Lewandowski’s single-season record?
Dietmar Hamann, speaking to GOAL in association with ToonieBet, doesn’t duck it. He goes straight back to the scale of the task.
“Well, it stood for 40 years or 50 years and everybody said it's not possible to do it,” Hamann said. “But then Lewandowski found another gear and beat Gerd Muller by one.”
Kane has threatened that gear. He has produced “two, three fantastic seasons”, as Hamann puts it, but still finished “four or five short” of the magic 41. There was a spell, around Christmas last season, when the conversation roared back to life. Kane had surged to “17, 18, 19 goals in the first half of the season” and the maths started to tempt people.
Hamann never quite bought it.
“I said, I think it all depends on the Champions League,” he explained. If Bayern go deep in Europe, the schedule bites. Rotation follows. “There will be one, two, three games where he won't play or maybe come on or doesn't even play at all.”
That, in Hamann’s eyes, is the decisive detail. To chase down 41, a striker needs almost every domestic minute available.
“If you want to beat it, you probably have to play at least 30, probably 32, maybe all the games,” he said. With the expanded Champions League format and Kane now a year older, the margins tighten again.
Hamann sketches out the only realistic route. “If they get knocked out in the group stage, which is not going to happen, I think he probably stands a chance to do it. But they won't because he'll probably go deep in the Champions League again.”
League games wedged between European quarter-finals and semi-finals become a problem. Not for Bayern, but for Kane’s personal chase.
“When you play a league game where you've probably already won the league in between two Champions League semi-finals or quarter-finals, I think the chances are very high that he won't play,” Hamann said. “They don't risk him and that doesn't help him.”
So, is he capable? “Yes, of course he is. I don't think he will do that.”
The record may stay with Lewandowski, but Kane has another target in his sights. If he signs the new contract expected in Munich and extends his stay by a couple more years, he can realistically aim to match Lewandowski’s five consecutive Golden Boots in Germany. That would be a different kind of statement, a long-haul dominance rather than a single-season explosion.
Hamann's Thoughts on Kane's Future
On that front, Hamann is emphatic.
“Absolutely,” he replied when asked if Kane is destined to hit that mark if he stays fit. The admiration runs beyond the numbers. “He's an ambassador. He's great. He's just a very likeable character. And obviously they all appreciate the people, not only the Bayern Munich fans, but they all appreciate having the England captain playing in the Bundesliga.”
Kane’s life off the pitch matters here too. Hamann paints the picture of a player fully at ease with his surroundings. “I think he's very settled there. They talk about a new contract. I think his family and his missus are very happy and settled in Munich. So that's good to hear.”
A settled Kane is a ruthless Kane. Hamann almost shrugs at the idea of another scoring race.
“If he stays fit, then he probably starts with 20 or 25 goals,” he said. Everything beyond that is “probably a bonus”. The baseline is staggering: “I can't see a scenario where he doesn't score 20, 25 goals, which most years wins him that big Golden Boot.”
“He’ll win it again if he stays fit,” Hamann added. “And he's just a remarkable finisher. Obviously, we all talk about his penalty-taking skills. But his finishing with both feet is just... I'm not sure there's been a finisher in the history of football who's more clinical when it comes to chances in front of goal.”
Lewandowski may keep the single-season crown. Müller may remain the eternal benchmark. But if Kane signs on again and keeps walking to the penalty spot, drifting into pockets, and cutting loose with either foot, the Bundesliga may soon belong to him in a different way: not through one freak campaign, but through a relentless, year-on-year grip on the Golden Boot.
