by Oliver Trust

BERLIN, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Reigning German champion Bayern Munich is closing in on an iconic Bundesliga record.

While attention remains fixed on next week's second leg of Bayern's Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid, fans will briefly turn their focus to Saturday's Bundesliga game against St. Pauli.

Bayern's 100 goals after 28 matches already represent an outstanding return this season, and it now appears only a matter of time before a 54-year-old league record falls.

Inspired by German striking great Gerd Muller's 40 goals in 34 matches, Bayern set a league record of 101 goals in the 1971-72 season.

With six rounds of matches left this season, breaking that long-standing mark looks increasingly likely, while fans are enjoying the debate over who will score the decisive goal.

Bayern supervisory board member Uli Hoeness has already made his preference clear. "I hope Harry Kane does it and scores the 102nd goal. I would wish it for him," said the 74-year-old 1974 World Cup winner.

The three-time Champions League winner and 1972 European champion praised Kane's achievements in a Bayern shirt and said the club's reported 100 million-euro investment in the former Tottenham striker had been justified.

"If I see who today is said to be worth 150 million euros, then Harry is worth 250," the former Bayern CEO said after Kane reached 10 goals in 11 Champions League games.

Hoeness added that Kane has earned the right to break the record and write his name into history after Bayern's rising 18-year-old talent Lennart Karl scored the club's 100th goal of the season in a dramatic 3-2 comeback win in Freiburg.

Kane currently has 31 league goals in 26 matches, while another landmark, Robert Lewandowski's 41-goal Bundesliga record from the 2020-21 season, also remains within reach.

"We enjoy the chance to achieve something good in the league. I don't want to talk too much about records, but there is this goal record that has stood for a very long time," Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said.

Kompany said he enjoyed his team's hunger, noting that it does not stop when ahead but continues pushing until the final second.

With a solid lead in the league and hopes of a treble still alive, Bayern's focus this weekend briefly returns to domestic business.

Goal-scoring this season has become something "we all enjoy despite our title chances. It's the result of a team enjoying football," the Bayern coach added. ■