Daniel Kane is looking forward to a new challenge in 2025 as he tries to help a historic heavyweight of American football in Germany back to the top of the pyramid.

The Inverness native has forged a career in the professional game since leaving the Highland Wildcats, playing on either side of the Atlantic.

A year in Canada with the Okanagan Sun was sandwiched by seasons in Germany with the New Yorker Lions and the Berlin Rebels.

Now, he has signed for the oldest American football club in Europe, the Dusseldorf Panthers, who won six national titles across the 1980s and 1990s – also becoming European champions in 1995.

However, financial problems saw the bubble burst in Dusseldorf in the early 2000s, and they went from national contenders to battling relegation.

That is where they would say for years, until a new coaching team were installed last year and led the Panthers to the second-tier title in dominant fashion, only losing their opening match of the campaign and winning the rest.

Hopes are high, then, that this is the dawning of a new era for the Panthers, and Kane is keen to play a big part in their resurgence.

“They’ve only just gone back up to the Prem, but they’re one of the biggest teams historically,” Kane explained.

“They’ve been on an incredible recruiting trail, so they’re going to be a top three team this year.

“I don’t think there’s a single guy starting from the previous year, there are that many new guys who have come in.

“What helps is that my girlfriend is German, and she lives in Dusseldorf. I’m super happy with her, so that was a massive factor.

“I would never have gone if I thought it was the wrong football decision, but when they contacted me, I knew it would work out.”

In Germany, there is a mix of homegrown and overseas talent populating professional American football.

Different clubs take different approaches, but Kane has been impressed by the moves being made by the Panthers – and naturally delighted to be a part of it.

“I have spoken to some of the other imports in the team this year and they are really good – the club have done a really impressive job of bringing in new players,” he reasoned.

“The three most successful teams currently are Potsdam Royals, the New Yorker Lions and Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns.

“I played for the Lions, and they have a few imports. The Unicorns have quite a few, but nowhere near as many as the rest because they have incredible homegrowns, and then Potsdam – who have won the league for the last couple of years – is basically all imports.

“I was on the Berlin Rebels last year, and we had 14 imported guys which is quite a few. Potsdam had about 35, so you’re talking every guy on the field having been brought in, which is quite difficult to compete with.

“If a guy gets hurt, the guy that comes in to replace him is also imported, but that’s just down to them having a great situation. For the rest of the league it’s probably a bit annoying, but if you’re them you’re probably pretty happy.

“It’s quite different depending on who you are, there’s not one formula that has won a championship, but certainly more money tends to give you more.

“I’m just very excited. I think it’s going to be an incredible team this year, and I’m super excited to be a part of that – and super honoured that the coaches believe in me enough to sign me.”

Although having established a career in the sport, at 23 years old Kane still feels like he has a long way to go before reaching his peak.

Having lined up beside some of the top European stars of American football in recent years he understands the levels he has to hit to be truly considered in the same bracket.

However, he also feels like he is getting closer all the time as he gains more experience in the professional game, and would love to one day be considered in that upper echelon of talent.

“Each year you end up looking back and thinking you’ve improved so much,” he said.

“It’s one of those sports where there is so much room to grow all the time, and you can really progress.

“I’ve gone from university life where I was playing football, studying, working and everything else to just living American Football, and you can get so much better when you don’t have anything else to worry about.

“This last year was my best year by miles, so it has been quite a good uphill trajectory this last little bit, but I’ve still got miles to go.

“I’ve had the privilege of playing with some of the best players in Europe over the last 10 years on the offensive line, so I always try to hold myself to their standards. Occasionally I have to bring myself down from that, because they are so good.

“In sport there is always a bigger fish to fry. There’s always a level you can be at that’s bigger than your current one.

“I’m always thinking that I want to be able to do this or that, and my expectation for myself is to be one of those top guys by the end of my career. That’s where I want to be, so you are constantly asking yourself what you are doing to get closer to that goal.

“I can by quite cynical at times with myself as a result of that, and be hard on myself, but I think that’s just part of sport. If you’re competitive you’re just going to be like that in life.”

While Kane holds himself to high standards, he is undoubtedly flying the flag for the Highland Wildcats.

He is the first Wildcats alumnus to turn professional, something that does not escape attention whenever he returns to Inverness to help bring through the next generation of talent.

Kane is conscious, though, that he can make a genuine difference by opening doors for younger players in a way he was never able to benefit from.

“The Wildcats have such a good set-up, and the reason they are so good is because they have so many people there who care about it,” he added.

“Everyone really sees it as their baby, so it just keeps getting so much love put into it which keeps propelling the club forward more and more.

“It’s funny, because it’s been generations since I played for them, but all of the kids always know who I am because of what I’ve gone and done.

“I remember getting introduced to the team as a professional, and they said I was the only professional athlete the Wildcats has ever had, which did make me groan.

“What is quite nice is that a few of the players have said that they want to do similar things to me.

“When I was there, nobody really knew playing in Europe was a thing. I scoured for it, and found these massive leagues in Europe that we didn’t know about in Scotland.

“My main thing is trying to help give those kids opportunities. You can see in the current team that there are a lot of great stand-outs. They have a lot of incredible players right now, more than when I played, and you want to make sure you give those kids a bit of help.

“The thing they have that I didn’t have is that I can reach out to coaches for them if they get to the right levels, and coaches know who I’ve played for. Nobody could have done that for me at the time, so there is some help now which I think is the main thing.”

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