Kai Havertz has already won the championship with Arsenal FC. Now he is in the final of the Champions League and then the World Cup awaits. It could be an unforgettable summer for him.
The pictures from the Estadio do Dragao Kai Havertz will remember Porto again these days. It was almost exactly five years ago to the day that he was in the final of the on May 29th, 2021 Champions League experienced perhaps the greatest moment of his football career.
Great memories of the 2021 final
Havertz stayed just before half-time after a pass from Mason Mount Ice cold in front of the Manchester City goal and scored the only goal of the evening. He won the Champions League for his club at the time, Chelsea FC.
Now, half a decade later, he is back in a Champions League final, this time with Arsenal FC, this time against in Budapest on Saturday Paris St Germain. The last time the Londoners were in the final was 20 years ago; unlike Havertz, they have never won the Champions League.
Kai Havertz celebrates his golden goal in the 2021 final.
Long period of suffering
The Aachen native would like to change that. He got fit again in time for the season’s highlights and can fully participate. This was not foreseeable for a long time. After all, the year 2025 was pretty bumpy for the 26-year-old, at least in terms of health.
A knee injury kept Havertz out of action in the second half of the year. In February he had to take another break due to a muscle injury. And in April there was great shock when Havertz grabbed his thigh in the league game against Newcastle United and was out again.
“I have to be honest, there were days where I was definitely in a dark phase, but I woke up every morning and just tried to work hard to get back as quickly as possible”said Havertz at last.
Man for the decisive moments
At the end of the season, the long striker proved once again that he can be the man for the decisive moments. In the penultimate game of the season he scored the Gunners victory against Burnley FC with his goal, which was half the battle on the way to the final championship. Even if this victory was overshadowed by a serious foul from him on opponent Lesley Ugochukwu.
Havertz had already demonstrated his executioner qualities in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Sporting Lisbon when he scored decisively in the first leg. Arsenal coach Mikael Arteta immediately emphasized the special importance of the German for his team. “The team knows how important Kai is to us and how he can help us to become significantly better and reach a new level”said the Spaniard about his important man.
Kai Havertz (from) with the Premier League trophy
Nagelsmann’s favorite comes later
Julian Nagelsmann doesn’t see it much differently. The former Leverkusen player also seems confident with him. In March, in the 4-3 win against Switzerland, the national coach’s favorite celebrated his comeback in the DFB team after a year and a half break. He also started again against Ghana (2-1) a few days later and sank a hand penalty to make it 1-0.
Nagelsmann: “You are incredibly important to us”
“You’re outstanding on the pitch. Incredibly important to us. Stay healthy, clear your head and get started.”said Nagelsmann, who plans to have Havertz as a regular player, most recently in the emotional nomination video: “You have everything we need to have a top scorer up front.”
Should Kai Havertz actually win the Champions League and World Cup after the championship in England, he would move into a very elite circle: The legendary FC Bayern sextet with Gerd Müller, Sepp Maier, Uli Hoeneß, Paul Breitner and Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck not only won the national title, but also the European Cup and the World Cup.
DFB team still meets without Havertz
This Wednesday, the current national team meets in Herzogenaurach, the crucial phase of the World Cup preparation begins. Kai Havertz is not there yet. Julian Nagelsmann will be able to cope with it, especially if his protégé takes the next step towards his title treble with the Champions League title next week.
