![Kai Havertz celebrates scoring a penalty for Germany against Denmark at Euro 2024](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/07/04/TELEMMGLPICT000383925124_17201131712530_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqu1ofUsjYrLOyBNxq1qXM9kfxi1vdxzF7RLWef4XJ_XM.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Kai Havertz culture war has landed in Germany
Coaches keep picking player at international and club level despite him dividing opinion among fans
![Kai Havertz celebrates scoring a penalty for Germany against Denmark at Euro 2024](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/07/04/TELEMMGLPICT000383925124_17201131712530_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqu1ofUsjYrLOyBNxq1qXM9kfxi1vdxzF7RLWef4XJ_XM.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Just outside Dortmund station there is a building-sized poster of Kai Havertz draped from a rooftop, advertising Puma. Across Instagram and TikTok, Havertz is hawking Mercedes cars, Hugo Boss aftershave and Capri-Sun orange juice. Surely he must be a national hero? Things are rarely so simple for Havertz.
This is the Champions League-winning goalscorer who Chelsea were happy to sell to a rival two years later. He was the bane of Arsenal’s attack, then the saviour, then deemed lacking again, all within the space of seven months. Is he a midfielder? A winger? A secret striker? The product of a North Rhine-Westphalia performance art collective, highlighting English football’s hopeless rigidity? No one is quite sure.
Now a portion of Germany fans want him dropped for Saturday’s quarter-final against Spain, a game which has an unmistakable “eventual champions” vibe. This despite two goals in four games so far, albeit both penalties, against Denmark in the round of 16 and Scotland in the group opener. Veteran striker Niclas Füllkrug has seemingly become the sexy option instead, staking his claim with two goals in four appearances as a substitute.
Füllkrug’s boosters point to his excellent return of 13 goals from just 21 Germany games. He only made his national team debut at the age of 29, Havertz won his 50th cap against Denmark but turned 25 only the week the tournament began. For a nation whose football history is heavy on gritty triers, the momentum now is behind the romantic arc of Füllkrug. Never mind Havertz’s undoubted class.
“If you look at it from the outside, a demand for Fülle is understandable, even though Kai comes off much worse in the public assessment,” said Julian Nagelsmann to RTL in Germany. “He has a clear job in many games, which means that he doesn’t have many ball actions because he should create space for others. He did that exceptionally well.
“In the internal assessment, Kai is ranked much higher than in the public. For the striker, it’s not always just about scoring a goal. If you’re substituted and the opponent is already tired, you might have a little more space. Fülle has a good rating, but Kai is an important player for us.”
That is borne out by both the stats and the eye test. Havertz rarely loses the ball, opens up space for team-mates and operates unfussily in a number of roles and areas across Germany’s front line. He tops the tournament chart for expected goals with 3.57, but then his critics would argue that makes his failure to score from open play even worse. His defenders will urge patience and say, with underlying figures that strong, the goals will surely come.
Havertz seems to inspire these sorts of disagreements, a grey-area footballer in a world of black and white. He is a walking culture war. As with his club managers, Havertz is well-liked by Nagelsmann. And yet the option of making a change for the biggest and toughest game of their tournament remains on the table. “We’ll see who starts [against Denmark].”
Havertz fits the profile of a distinct footballing type. The consistent but rarely flashy performer, able to do everything well, beloved by managers but forever vulnerable to the impatience of fans. They often want every player in their team to be the sort capable of a 9/10, and will forgive the days when he is only a five. Consistent 7/10-ers, like Havertz, are the bedrocks of any successful side. Germans calling for his replacement may find out his value only if he is dropped.