Friday 4th June 2021
“Wants to be a regular”
Champion Havertz wants to play at EM
His goal against Manchester City secured Chelsea victory in the Champions League final. Now Kai Havertz has arrived at the national team and is looking for his place. “There are enough systems,” he says and is not afraid of Thomas Müller.
Kai Havertz hammered a penalty into the corner at the end of the game, the final hero had already pocketed the balls at will while playing on the mini-goals. After his shot into luck in the Champions League final, the national player demonstrated his self-confidence in the first session at the EM training camp in Seefeld / Tyrol. Competitor Thomas Müller was able to convince himself of this up close in the joint exercise group. “That was a very important goal for me personally, for the club, for my family. It will last my life,” said Havertz, and of course the golden goal strengthened him. “I need self-confidence, then I’ll play the best. That’s how I’ll start into the European Championship,” he emphasized.
But in what role? With the return of Müller, the offensive places in the starting line-up against world champions France on June 15 will become increasingly tight. “There are enough systems that you can play in which have several attacking midfielders on the field,” said the 21-year-old calmly: “I think anything goes.” So Havertz with Müller too. In any case, he tasted blood with his winning goal in the final against Manchester City. “I’ve played a lot of positions in the club. I’m flexible,” said Havertz and made it clear: “I want to be a regular, that’s the way it is in football.”
“I’m only 21”
However, the former Leverkusen man will not be in a bad mood if he were to play the joker role with national coach Joachim Löw: “Thomas is an outstanding player who has shown that for years, we are competitors. But if you don’t play, you wish the other one the best.” The “common goal” is in the foreground, “you have to put your own ego aside,” said Havertz, who had only arrived in Tyrol on Thursday evening.
The DFB greeted him with “Welcome, Champion”. And as such, he has big plans for the EM. He hopes to “contribute with good actions that we win games and get far in the tournament,” said Havertz, who described himself as a “creative player who lives on instinct”. The newfound serenity after successful weeks in England was clearly evident. Havertz struggled for a long time on the island, the record fee for a German player of up to 100 million euros seemed like ballast. However, there were reasons for his stuttering start. Adjustment problems, injury concerns, system change, change of coach, corona disease – Havertz was beating down a lot.
Then there was the notorious English press, which was not always squeamish about him. “Especially as a young player it always goes up and down,” said the twelve-time national player. Therefore it is important to “do your thing”. He did better and better at Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel. A praise like that of the “legend” Günter Netzer, who had attested him to be “world class”, is also a pleasure for him, Havertz admitted, “but I’m still only 21, so there is still a lot missing to make it world class. I have to pass several levels Show years and prove myself. ”
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