Sorry, Harry: Why Kane's hat trick for Bayern doesn't count in Germany

Harry Kane put in another dominant performance for Bayern Munich as he scored a hat trick in Saturday’s 7-0 win over Bochum in the Bundesliga … or, at least, he thought he did.

Even Kane himself may have been surprised to learn after his three-goal haul that fans in Germany are slightly fussier than their English counterparts when deciding what can be defined as a “hat trick.”

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Bayern’s new No. 9 has enjoyed a record-breaking start to life in Bavaria. His seven goals are the most that any player has ever scored for the club in their first five appearances in the Bundesliga, surpassing the previous bests of Gerd Müller, Miroslav Klose and Mario Mandzukic — all of whom scored five.

Kane scored three goals in one match for an impressive 19th time during his career, although he hadn’t achieved the feat for club or country since he struck three against San Marino on Nov. 15, 2021.

However, reports from back home eulogising the England captain’s three goals against Bochum as a hat trick were somewhat wide of the mark as far as German supporters are concerned.

So what can be traditionally considered as a “flawless” or “classic” hat trick in Germany?

There’s no argument with the fact that a player must score three goals in one match, but it’s the timing and sequence of the goals that is important.

Crucially, the three goals must be scored one after another without another teammate getting on the scoresheet in between, and all three of the goals must be scored in the same half of the match. Without that, a player’s three-goal haul is considered among German football fans to be a mere ‘dreierpack‘ (literally translated as ‘pack of three’), rather than a bona fide hat trick.

On Saturday, Kane bagged his first in the 12th minute when he arrowed a low strike beyond Bochum goalkeeper Manuel Riemann after the ball fell kindly to him inside the penalty area.

But 17 minutes later the former Tottenham Hotspur man’s scoring sequence was broken just as it was getting started when Matthijs de Ligt leapt highest in the box to nod in Joshua Kimmich‘s corner. Kane’s next two goals, as well as coming in the second half of the match, were interspersed with strikes from Leroy Sané and Mathys Tel — both assisted by Kane.

Needless to say, Kane didn’t seem too disheartened with failing to score a “classic” German hat trick, and he was still able to take home the match ball.

Whether he realised it or not, Kane successfully avoided falling into the trap of referring to his achievement as a hat trick when he posted a photo on social media showing off his new prize.

Kane, 30, has broken numerous records and passed plenty of milestones during his career, but the search for his first “flawless” hat trick in Germany goes on.