Former Bayern top transfer Roy Makaay recalls his time in Munich and talks about Munich’s new star Harry Kane.
I remember the days of my move to FC Bayern 20 years ago as exhausting mainly because it took an agonisingly long time to reach an agreement. At La Coruna, I only trained with them and wasn’t allowed to play in the test matches so that I wouldn’t injure myself. When I finally landed in Munich, I had to sit idly in the hotel for five days until the transfer was perfect. At that time, training compensation was introduced and La Coruna wanted FC Bayern to take over that part. In the meantime, my wife was looking for a house and the school for our children. The call from Uli Hoeneß that he was coming to pick me up the next day and we could go was a relief.
23 goals in the premiere season
Unlike Harry Kane, who did the preparation at Tottenham and also test matches, I was not match fit when I made my debut. In Spain, the season didn’t start until the last weekend in August, later than in the Bundesliga. My eligibility to play came too late for the game in Hanover, which gave me an extra week to catch up physically. Bayern even arranged a friendly match during the week against 1. FC Nürnberg so that I could get some match practice. On the 3rd matchday, coach Ottmar Hitzfeld put me in the starting eleven for the 2:0 against VfL Bochum, to my surprise. I lasted 76 minutes, even though I didn’t score a goal at that time. By the end of the season, I had scored 23.
As the most expensive purchase in the club’s history at the time, I didn’t feel any particular pressure, you always do when you play for Bayern. And as a Bayern striker, many goals are expected from you. Players can’t be held responsible for high transfer fees, that’s up to the clubs. But from day one I realised that at Bayern you don’t want to win, you have to. It didn’t worry me that I didn’t score on my debut. I knew that once I was fit to play, the goals would come automatically.
Harry Kane will also be able to cope with the pressure in Munich, which he knows as captain and top scorer of the “Three Lions”. He is an outstanding striker, nobody has to worry. He should also settle in quickly. Almost everyone in the team speaks English, coach Thomas Tuchel has worked in the Premier League. Good players always understand each other on the pitch.
The Expert
Roy Makaay played 183 competitive games and scored 103 goals in his four years – 2003 to 2007 – for FC Bayern. He is currently a coach with the “FC Bayern World Squad”.
