Archive for October 28, 2026
Congrats to Harry Kane!
This year’s winner of the Ballon d’Or is the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001. He is the perfect antidote to football’s preening narcissists, writes Oliver Brown in The Telegraph.
Kane’s numbers of the last season are incredible: 65 games for club and country and 73 goals. Plus eight assists (for the judging period – August 3, 2025 to July 19, 2026). That is 61 goals for Bayern and 12 for England. That is a goal less than every 72 minutes. That is beyond elite. That is world class and legendary.
In his speech, Harry Kane (33) said “work in silence”, after fulfilling his lifelong quest to become the finest footballer on the planet. “Let success be your noise.” What a tonic this is to read, writes Oliver Brown. In a culture where narcissism reigns, and where even pre-eminent athletes feel compelled to advertise their greatness in glossy Instagram screeds, the England captain is striking a blow for humility, understatement and that Churchillian credo to “keep buggering on”. That is why his Ballon d’Or triumph is worthy of the widest celebration. Here is a figure whose first thought is to thank not his agent but his family, whose essential decency compels him to acknowledge his wife and “best friend” Kate, and whose instinct is always to let his achievements speak for themselves.
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