As Harry Kane already knows, Jude Bellingham isn’t shy about telling people what he thinks. It is not necessary to call them bad either. The 20-year-old paternalistically encouraged teammates as if he were a senior professional… like, for example, Harry Kane. In most cases, this will infuriate more established players. In Bellingham’s case, that’s only part of the package. As teammates put it, he ‘walks the walk’. Kane has recognized this with England too, where his own approach is quieter and more about leadership by example.
The divergent paths now meet at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday and then at the Bernabeu next Wednesday, to see which of England’s two most influential players will play at Wembley for the crowning game of the club season. The fact that both are seen as potentially making Euro 2024 their own tournament, given their own links to Germany, just offers another layer. It is the highest goalscorer in England history, against the future of the national team, both playing for the present.
And all, of course, for two clubs that are Europe’s established elite. It’s Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals with Kane and Bellingham stars. This is all the more timely as the Premier League has no semi-finalists for the first time in four years. While the meeting of Bellingham and Keane on such a stage usually sparks debate about the English game as a whole, what is more interesting is their differences. Here is the racial difference, a clear example of evolution.
Their careers are admittedly superficially similar.
Both had early seasons in the Championship. Both went to Germany to improve their careers. Both now find themselves playing for major foreign clubs in the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they have become the attacking forces around which a huge semi-final will pivot.
That’s about where it ends, though.
Bellingham almost represents the inevitable result of England’s comprehensive revision of talent production. After a generation of producing technically excellent players, the country is now benefiting from a natural talent that has thrived in this more mature football environment, marrying its talent with aplomb. This is what happens when big football cultures do it. In that sense it’s a numbers game, and no one says that better than a striker who has already scored 21 goals this season. It is for this reason that many see a logic in Bellingham who potentially offers the missing element in Gareth Southgate’s team.
Kane is not really his product. He emerged before England started producing players of that generation, and it was largely down to his own hard work. The pair almost have a Messi-Ronaldo dynamic, not that anyone would want to push the comparison further. A natural talent. The other is self-made. Kane is surely the last person to take that as criticism, given that he has talked about modeling his hard-working style on the tireless work of figures like Ronaldo and Tom Brady. So he left Tottenham Hotspur. He realized that if he really wanted to be a ‘winner’, he had to take these steps.
This is why he had several loan spells in the lower leagues at the start of his career. Spells at Leyton Orient, Millwall and Norwich City were aimed at finding himself, developing his game. Kane would carefully apply every lesson he learned to improve his game, right down to telling Clive Allen that he should take shots early.
Bellingham, by contrast, didn’t go to Birmingham City to find himself. He had already ‘discovered’ all over Europe. Everyone wanted him. Bellingham went there knowing, at just 16 years old, that he would be guaranteed regular football. From there, every career move is carefully planned. He went to Borussia Dortmund because he knew it was the best league club for a youngster to develop into. He went to Real Madrid, right, because he was ready.
There was a romance with it, as Bellingham loved Spanish football growing up and it’s biggest club in the world. This is an admirable international perspective.
There is also a cold career logic. Having played so much football as a teenager, Bellingham will now be enjoying his early twenties in a league that is not as intense or demanding as the Premier League.
Kane didn’t see it that way. This was not planned. This can be seen in his initial attempt to leave Tottenham Hotspur in 2021. They couldn’t, because there wasn’t enough preparation. Kane signed a six-year deal in 2018. Of course, there was an element of romance in this too. Kane would have preferred to win major trophies at Spurs, but even his ambitions could not overcome the financial reality of the game.
Finally he had to make a tough decision. It certainly wasn’t as planned as Bellingham.
Kane knew he had to give himself the best chance to maximize his potential by finally winning trophies. That’s why, for all the jokes and memes, it’s worth mentioning how this Bundesliga season has gone for him personally. It’s not Kane’s fault, given that he played a part in scoring the goals, but his signing has been seen as a “loser” with Bayern’s failure to win the title for the first time since 2012.
This is why this Champions League is even more important. This is hardly Kane’s last chance, but the mere passage of time increases the pressure to make it count.
Not so in Bellingham. This season could be the first of many. Who would bet against him to win the medal series? This career planning, and talent has given him the best opportunity. Bellingham left nothing to chance.
Those working around the England squad say it also points to a generational difference in psychology, which could well shape the future of the national team.
Kane has hope. Bellingham is expected.
One forced his way. There was another way.
It is possible the two could complement each other to complete Southgate’s side at Euro 2024.
Over the next week, they compete, their divergent paths leading them to the same pitch in pursuit of the same great trophy.
Their very roles ensure that they will have a significant say in where it goes. Kane is Bayern’s goalscorer who also drives them forward. Bellingham is a force mover who has become a goal scorer.
Their presence could make this a more standalone game. Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid are a very compelling and counter-attacking team. Thomas Tuchel can often be that in Europe, as Arsenal found.
This could be a more classic tactical Champions League, where both sides wait for key opportunities. They also have two players better at taking those chances, and they represent the modern evolution of English footballers.
Credit : www.independent.co.uk
