When a fresh-faced Harry Kane took his first steps in senior football in August 2011, success was not an immediate companion.
A raw 18-year-old striker still trying to make his way in the game, he missed a penalty on his Tottenham debut in a Europa League qualifier against Hearts at White Hart Lane.
Jamie MacDonald saved the spot-kick as the visitors claimed a 0-0 draw on the night, albeit Spurs prevailed 5-0 on aggregate.
Having spent the previous season on loan at Leyton Orient, Kane would be farmed out on loan once again, this time to Millwall just a few months further down the line.
At that point, Tottenham were unconvinced. Another couple of loan spells would follow to Norwich and Leicester before he finally returned and nailed down a first-team place. The rest, of course, is history.
From being a scrawny teenager who fluffed his lines against Hearts, Kane now has his sights fixed on Scottish opposition once more in European competition.
Harry Kane missed a penalty against Hearts in a Europa League play-off tie in 2011
Kane is fouled by Hearts goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald, who saved the resultant penalty
He’s no longer a rookie trying to make a name for himself. Quite simply, Kane will arrive at Celtic Park tonight as the most lethal striker on the planet.
The England captain has been a revelation since moving to Bayern Munich 18 months ago, breaking all manner of goalscoring records.
Last season, he fired 44 goals in 45 games in all competitions. He has scored another 28 in as many games so far this term.
All in all, 72 goals in 73 games have made him an instant hit in Bavaria. For Bayern, Kane is Der Goal Machine. The name of Robert Lewandowski isn’t really mentioned much in Munich any more.
Indeed, the only time Lewandowski’s name tends to pop up now is to reference the fact that Kane’s goalscoring feats are eclipsing many of the records set by the former Bayern and Poland hitman.
For context, Lewandowski scored 67 goals in 100 games across his first two seasons with Bayern. Kane has already obliterated that total – and still has four months of the campaign left to run.
The single-season scoring record set by Lewandowski stands at 55 goals in 47 games, a feat he achieved in Bayern’s Treble-winning season of 2019-20 under Hansi Flick.
If Bayern can go deep in this season’s Champions League, as many expect them to do, Kane could yet go close to that mark.
Erling Haaland’s record has also tumbled. Last November, a hat-trick against Augsburg saw Kane become the fastest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals. That was in 43 games compared to Haaland’s 50 games for Borussia Dortmund.
Other records and personal milestones have fallen. When Bayern battered Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 last September, Kane’s four goals saw him become the top English scorer of all-time in the Champions League.
England striker Harry Kane is the toast of Bavaria thanks to his goalscoring prowess
Harry Kane trains ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League play-off first leg against Celtic
Rooney scored 30 goals in 85 games in the tournament. Kane had beaten Rooney’s record having played only 45 games.
He was also the first English player to score four goals in one game in the competition, while Bayern became the first team ever to score nine.
And yet, despite all of this, despite the fact Kane is tearing up the record books, there’s still no trophy to show for it. Right now as things stand, Kane is perhaps the greatest player in history never to actually win anything.
On his Bayern debut in the German Super Cup in August 2023, Kane and his team-mates lost 3-0 to RB Leipzig.
With Bayern having won the previous 11 Bundesliga titles in a row, surely Kane would finally get his hands on some silverware at the end of the campaign? Not so.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Invincibles produced one of the greatest seasons in the history of German football, going unbeaten as they claimed a league and cup double.
It looked like Kane’s trophy curse had followed him from north London to Bavaria. The England captain had also played in two major finals with his country, at Euro 2020 and 2024, yet had never managed to get over the line.
Now it’s surely just a matter of time before Kane finally gets his hands on some silverware. With Bayern currently eight points clear of Leverkusen at the top of the Bundesliga table, it would take a monumental collapse from here.
However, at a superpower like Bayern, it is in Europe where players are ultimately judged. Kane will know that a Champions League triumph is the benchmark for anyone wishing to attain iconic status in Munich.
Speaking just last month, he was asked about the need to win trophies and how it would compare to the many personal accolades he has collected over the years.
‘I start each season with the aim of winning collective trophies, I am not satisfied with being distinguished only on an individual level,’ said the 31-year-old, who joined Bayern for a fee of around £86million plus add-ons.
‘I am only 31 years old. At one time, at that age, it was starting to be the end. Today, the way things are going, we almost reach our prime at 30.
‘I think that the best is yet to come. I am very confident about that and very confident about the fact that the second part of my career, the one that is opening now, will be rich in major trophies.
‘When I hang up my boots, [not winning a trophy] will no longer be an issue. I am extremely proud of what I have achieved in my career so far, but I also know that, of course, I want to have trophies to show for it.
‘I feel like I’m in a real peak in my career and, hopefully, for the next four or five years especially, that will be the case. So there are going to be opportunities.’
Kane’s quest for Champions League glory now brings him back to Glasgow, a city where he broke Scottish hearts in a World Cup qualifer in June 2017.
After Leigh Griffiths had stunned England with two magnificent free-kicks, it was Kane’s last-gasp equaliser that snatched a 2-2 draw at Hampden.
Kane equalises for England in the 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw at Hampden in 2017
England striker Harry Kane has scored 72 goals in 73 games for Bayern Munich
That was actually his first game as captain, and Kane reflected a couple of years ago that the goal remains one of the most memorable he’s scored throughout his career.
Given the red-hot form he’s shown over the past 18 months, it would be no surprise if Kane has a sizeable influence in the outcome at Celtic Park this evening.
Latterly towards the end of his time at Spurs, Kane would drop deep and almost operated more as a No 10 rather than a striker.
With Bayern, he’s playing much higher up the pitch as the focal point and a traditional No 9 in Vincent Kompany’s preferred 4-2-3-1 system.
The results are plain for all to see. Kane is tjoint top scorer across Europe’s top five league this season, along with Mo Salah.
Ticking along at over three goals per game, Bayern’s total of 65 goals in 21 Bundesliga matches makes them top scorers across all major league in Europe.
No player has contributed more to that than Kane. A goal machine born and bred in England, he is now winning the hearts and minds of all in Munich. Champions League glory would only accelerate his journey to being crowned the new Prince of Bavaria.
