Harry Kane Interview: His First Trophy, Oktoberfest and the Joy of Lederhosen – “They’re Actually Very Comfortable”

Since moving to Munich two years ago, the Kane family’s wardrobe has added a few new additions: lederhosen (the leather breeches worn by men in southern Germany) and a collection of dirndls (an outfit consisting of a blouse, bodice, skirt and apron originating from the German-speaking regions of the Alps).

“They’re actually very comfortable,” Kane says of the leather pants he first wore to Oktoberfest, an annual beer festival held in Munich, in 2023, and then when his new team, Bayern Munich, celebrated winning the 2024-25 Bundesliga in May.

“When I first saw them, I thought they were going to be horrible (to wear), but they’re more comfortable than they look. It’s a big tradition here. I have one that I bought at the club, but my wife has her dirndls – a few different ones now – and she’s totally into it.”

The 32-year-old wears a more conservative black tracksuit when meeting Athletics on a football field belonging to the amateur team SV Heimstetten. He is here as an ambassador for STATSports, which is launching the STATSports Academy, a training tool for young players who are not part of a professional youth set-up.

Days earlier, Kane scored a hat-trick in Bayern’s 4-1 win over Hoffenheim – the ninth hat-trick of his time in Germany’s top division and his second this season. The Bundesliga champions are unbeaten this season, thanks to crucial contributions from Kane (11 goals and three assists in the league).

For England, Kane scored his 75th and 76th international goals against Latvia on Tuesday, as Thomas Tuchel’s side became the first team from Europe to qualify for next summer’s World Cup.

Kane describes leaving Tottenham Hotspur and London – a club and city that had been his home for so long – as “a big step from a professional and personal point of view”, but he has no regrets about it. Speaking on the same day that Spurs head coach Thomas Frank said the England captain would be “more than welcome” back in north London, Kane makes it abundantly clear that he is happy in Munich and that the additions to his wardrobe are here to stay, for now.

On the day we meet, this year’s Oktoberfest has been going on for two days, with Kane and his teammates only scheduled to make their annual visit on the last day. The festival takes him back to his first months in Germany, where every day brought him new experiences.

“It’s a big event here, you can feel how lively the town is; there are so many people and lots of beers. I really enjoyed my first experience. But I didn’t drink, so maybe I’ll have to go one year when I can and experience it that way.”

Before arriving in Munich, Kane didn’t know what to expect from living in Germany. “Until you’ve experienced something, it’s hard to really judge what it’s actually going to be like.

“I think there’s a perception that Germans are maybe a little grumpy and a little cold. But they have a great sense of humor and are really down-to-earth people who love hard work and humility.”

However, he knew how big Bayern were. “Here, everyone supports Bayern Munich,” he says. “Everyone talks about football, loves football. Even when I’m on the road or picking up the kids from school, everyone compliments me when I score goals. It’s like a big community.”

He laughs as he describes his experience at the school gates: “There are a lot of kids there who are excited to see me and my kids. Mine find it quite funny that everyone is asking for photos. I’m just trying to get them in and out.”

Kane had spent his entire playing career in England before leaving Spurs for Bayern in August 2023. It has become increasingly common in recent years for young English players to continue their development abroad, but the path is less clear for senior players.

Kane says the move has been extremely positive: “From a professional point of view, it’s been great to experience and show my talents to more people around the world. It’s helped me become an even better and bigger player. The Premier League is probably the biggest league in the world, so you don’t realize how big the other leagues are and how big their fans are. Every stadium we go to is full. The atmospheres are incredible.”

He tries to learn the language – “When I’m in class, I’m fine. But when I’m outside of class and I hear them speaking correctly and quickly, I’m nowhere near there” – but he is humiliated by his children, who are in an international school and are learning it quickly. “But I try these things, I try to integrate and understand different cultures – it’s great from a personal point of view.”

Some things, however, don’t change, no matter where you are in the world. Spending time with his wife Kate and four children in the local park or on walks with his dog in the forest remains a priority when he is not playing or training. His eldest daughter is passionate about horse riding, while his eldest son is already obsessed with football. “He crushes the ball everywhere,” Kane says. “As they get older, they take up more time and we don’t have a lot of free time, so I try to spend as much time with them as possible.”

His passion for golf is well known (he plays to a handicap of around three) and it remains a favorite pastime when the children are at school. But even though the courses are good in Munich, the winter weather makes play difficult for half the year. “The snow falls pretty early,” says Kane. “From October to April, the courses are almost closed because of the snow. Whereas in England, you can play most of the year.”

Aside from his friends and family, Kane says he misses few things about home. If pushed he would say the golf courses – “Just the different types and the privacy in some of the clubhouses” – but he gets a round every time he comes back to England. He also apologizes, saying he’s not a big fan of coffee in Germany: “I miss a good flat white with oat milk.” »

The locals will probably forgive him, given that he scored 44 and 41 goals in his first two seasons at Bayern, and is averaging 1.8 goals per game this season. After the disappointment of a third-place finish in his debut season, Kane played an important role in regaining the title (the 12th in 13 seasons) last year – the first major trophy of his career.

Kane with his wife Kate after winning the Bundesliga in May (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

“Obviously it took a while,” he said. “There was a lot of hard work from the beginning of my career until that point. A lot of ups and downs, a lot of close moments. As the years go by and you get closer, it just motivated me to cross the finish line and make sure I won the first trophy.

“It was a special feeling. We took over a restaurant and got drunk and celebrated together. Then to lift the trophy at the Allianz in front of the fans and to be on that side for once was really special. I had my family there, my kids on the pitch afterwards.

“It’s those moments that make it worth it. You work really hard throughout the year, you’re away a lot, you practice a lot. To not have had a celebration like this in the 10 or 12 years I’ve been playing… it was nice to have that feeling.”

A moment like that can transform an athlete. After British tennis player Andy Murray won his first Grand Slam tournament – ​​the US Open in 2012 – his personality seemed to change, relieving a burden that had been weighing him down and pushing him towards greater success.

“Winning is almost like a drug,” Kane says. “You want to do it, you want to achieve it. When you achieve something like that, maybe you can think, ‘OK, I’ve done what I wanted to do and relax a little bit.’

“But I took the opposite route and said: ‘OK, I want to do even more now. I want to experience this with bigger trophies, on bigger occasions. Can I improve and get there?’.”

With less than 250 days until the start of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the England captain says he is excited about the tournament.

Kane was part of the Bayern squad that played in the Club World Cup this summer, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. The competition provided a preview of next summer.

“The heat is going to be a big factor,” he said. “I didn’t realize how hot it was going to be, especially with the noon and 3 p.m. kick-offs. There’s a big difference between playing a lot of evening games here in Europe. Travel is also going to be difficult to manage.”

Yet these challenges are all things that make a World Cup special, he adds. “I feel like every game is an away game, with the English support. They just have a special feeling about them.

“It’s going to be a huge tournament, because in America everything is huge. They’re not going to let this one go by without making it one of the best tournaments in the world. I’m excited and I think we have a good chance.”

Until then, Kane wants to bring more success to a city that has become his home – and put on those leather pants at least one more time.