Kai Havertz facts for kids
Havertz with Germany in 2019
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 11 June 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Aachen, Germany | ||
| Height | 1.93 m | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder, Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Arsenal | ||
| Number | 29 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2009 | Alemannia Mariadorf | ||
| 2009–2010 | Alemannia Aachen | ||
| 2010–2016 | Bayer Leverkusen | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2016–2020 | Bayer Leverkusen | 118 | (36) |
| 2020–2023 | Chelsea | 91 | (19) |
| 2023– | Arsenal | 57 | (21) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2014–2015 | Germany U16 | 6 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Germany U17 | 16 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | Germany U19 | 8 | (7) |
| 2018– | Germany | 55 | (20) |
† Appearances (Goals). |
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Kai Lukas Havertz (born on June 11, 1999) is a German professional footballer. He plays as an attacking midfielder or forward. Currently, he plays for the Premier League club Arsenal and the Germany national team.
Kai Havertz started his journey in football at Bayer Leverkusen's youth academy. He made his first team debut in 2016. He became the club's youngest player to debut in the Bundesliga. The next year, he also became their youngest goalscorer. Havertz holds records for being the youngest player to reach 50 and 100 league appearances in Germany's top football league.
His amazing skills caught the eye of many big European clubs. In 2020, Chelsea signed him for a large fee. With Chelsea, Havertz helped the team win some major trophies. He scored the winning goals in the Champions League and Club World Cup finals. In June 2023, he moved to another London club, Arsenal.
Havertz also played for Germany's national youth teams. He made his senior international debut in September 2018. He was the first player born in 1999 to play for the German national team. He has played for Germany in two UEFA European Championships (2020 and 2024) and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Early Life and Start in Football
Kai Lukas Havertz was born on June 11, 1999, in Aachen, Germany. He grew up in a place called Mariadorf. His family later moved to Aachen. His father, Ralf, is a police officer, and his mother, Anne, is a lawyer.
Youth Football Journey
Havertz started playing football at age four with a local club called Alemannia Mariadorf. His grandfather was the chairman of this club. In 2009, he joined Alemannia Aachen, a club in the 2. Bundesliga. He stayed there for only a year before moving to Bayer Leverkusen at age 11.
During his time in the youth teams, he faced challenges from growing quickly. In 2016, he scored 18 goals for Leverkusen's U-17 team. He was then given the silver U-17 Fritz Walter Medal, which is a special award for young German players. Soon after, he joined Leverkusen's main team.
Club Career Highlights
Starting Strong at Bayer Leverkusen
Kai Havertz played his first game for Bayer Leverkusen on October 15, 2016. He came on as a substitute in a match against Werder Bremen. At 17 years and 126 days old, he became the youngest player to debut for the club in the Bundesliga. This record was later broken by Florian Wirtz in 2020.
In February 2017, he helped his teammate Karim Bellarabi score the 50,000th goal in Bundesliga history. A few days later, he started his first Champions League game. He scored his first goal for the club on April 2, 2017, in a 3–3 draw with VfL Wolfsburg. This made him Leverkusen's youngest-ever goalscorer in the Bundesliga. In his first season, he played 28 games and scored four goals.
On April 14, 2018, Havertz became the youngest player in Bundesliga history to reach 50 appearances. He was 18 years and 307 days old. He finished that season with 30 league games and three goals.
He continued to shine in the next season. By the middle of the season, he was the only player who had started every game for the club, scoring six goals. In September 2018, he scored his first two goals in European competitions in a game against Ludogorets Razgrad. In January 2019, he became Leverkusen's youngest player to score a penalty. The next month, he became the second-youngest player to reach 75 Bundesliga appearances. On April 13, he scored in his 100th game for Leverkusen. This goal was his 13th of the season, making him the youngest player since 1967–68 to score 13 goals in a single league season. By the end of the season, he had scored 17 goals, becoming the highest-scoring teenager in a single Bundesliga season.
At the start of the 2019–20 season, Havertz scored in Leverkusen's win against Paderborn. This made him the second-youngest player ever to score 25 Bundesliga goals. In December, at 20 years old, he became the youngest player to reach 100 Bundesliga appearances. In the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, Havertz scored against Porto and Inter Milan.
Moving to Chelsea
On September 4, 2020, Havertz signed a five-year contract with the Premier League club Chelsea. The transfer fee was very high, making him one of Chelsea's most expensive signings. He made his Chelsea debut on September 14 in a league game against Brighton.
On September 23, Havertz scored his first career hat-trick (three goals in one game) for Chelsea in a big 6–0 win against Barnsley in the EFL Cup. He scored his first Premier League goal against Southampton on October 17. In November 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19.
On May 29, 2021, he scored the only goal in the 2021 UEFA Champions League final. This goal helped Chelsea beat Manchester City and win the Champions League for the second time. Later that year, on August 11, Havertz won the UEFA Super Cup with Chelsea, beating Villarreal on penalties. On February 12, 2022, Havertz scored the winning goal from a penalty in the 117th minute of the FIFA Club World Cup Final. This helped Chelsea win 2–1 against Palmeiras.
Joining Arsenal
On June 28, 2023, Havertz joined another London club, Arsenal, for a reported fee of £65 million. He played his first game for Arsenal on July 13 in a pre-season match. Six days later, he scored his first goal for Arsenal in a 5–0 victory in the 2023 MLS All-Star Game. On August 6, he made his official debut for Arsenal against Manchester City in the Community Shield, which Arsenal won.
On September 30, Havertz scored his first goal for Arsenal from a penalty in a 4–0 win over Bournemouth. On November 25, he scored his first goal from open play for the club, which was the winning goal in a 1–0 victory against Brentford. Four days later, Havertz scored his first Champions League goal for Arsenal in a big 6–0 win over Lens.
On February 24, 2024, Havertz scored and assisted in a 4–1 win over Newcastle United. On March 9, he scored the winning goal against Brentford, becoming the first German player to score in four straight Premier League games. On the last day of the 2023–24 season, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Everton. He ended his first season at Arsenal with 13 goals and seven assists in the Premier League.
On October 5, 2024, Havertz equalled Robin van Persie's record of scoring in 7 consecutive games at the Emirates Stadium.
International Career
Playing for Germany's Youth Teams
Havertz first played for the Germany national under-16 team on November 11, 2014. He played in all five of Germany's matches in the 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He scored one goal before Germany was knocked out by Spain.
After a break from youth international games, Havertz debuted for Germany's under-19 team on August 31, 2017. In October 2017, in only his third game for the under-19 team, Havertz scored four goals in a 5–1 win against Belarus. He later became the captain of the under-19 team.
Representing the Senior German Team
On August 29, 2018, Kai Havertz was called up to the Germany's senior team for the first time. He made his international debut on September 9, 2018, coming on as a substitute against Peru. Germany won 2–1. He was the first player born in 1999 to play for the national team.
In May 2021, he was chosen for the German squad for the UEFA Euro 2020. On June 19, 2021, he scored Germany's third goal in a 4–2 win over Portugal. He also scored a goal in the final group game against Hungary, which helped Germany qualify for the next stage.
In November 2022, he was part of the squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. On December 1, he scored two goals in a 4–2 win over Costa Rica. However, Germany did not move past the group stage.
Havertz was also in Germany's squad for UEFA Euro 2024. In the first match on June 14, Havertz helped set up one goal and scored another from a penalty kick. Germany won 5–1 against Scotland.
Player Profile
How Kai Havertz Plays
Havertz is known as a very skilled attacking midfielder. He is good with both feet and also strong with his head. When he was younger, people compared his playing style to other German players like Mesut Özil. Havertz himself said that Özil was a player he admired.
As he got older, people started comparing him to former Leverkusen players like Michael Ballack and Toni Kroos. Some even called him an Alleskönner, which means a player who can do everything. He has also been compared to Thomas Müller, because both are good at finding open spaces and making smart runs. However, Havertz is often described as a more elegant and skillful player.
Havertz often plays in a "false nine" role, which means he plays like a forward but also drops back to help in midfield. He is very comfortable playing in different positions, especially as a central forward.
Personal Life
Kai Havertz has been in a relationship with German model Sophia Weber since 2018. They got engaged in July 2023 and were married in July 2024.
Havertz looks up to several famous footballers. He admires Toni Kroos, his former teammate from the German national team. He also looks up to former Barcelona players Ronaldinho and Andres Iniesta, and former Real Madrid players Zinedine Zidane and Kaká.
Honours
Bayer Leverkusen
- DFB-Pokal runner-up: 2019–20 (finished second)
Chelsea
- UEFA Champions League: 2020–21 (won the top European club competition)
- UEFA Super Cup: 2021 (won the match between Champions League and Europa League winners)
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2021 (won the world club championship)
- FA Cup runner-up: 2020–21, 2021–22 (finished second)
- EFL Cup runner-up: 2021–22 (finished second)
Arsenal
- FA Community Shield: 2023 (won the traditional curtain-raiser to the English football season)
Individual Awards
- UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2016
- Fritz Walter Medal U17 Silver: 2016 (award for young German players)
- Fritz Walter Medal U19 Gold: 2018 (award for young German players)
- Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2018–19
- kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2018–19
- Bundesliga Player of the Month: April 2019, May 2019, May 2020
- UEFA Champions League Breakthrough XI: 2019
- UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2019–20
- Arsenal Goal of the Month: August 2024
Images for kids
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Havertz with Germany in 2019
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Havertz with Bayer Leverkusen in 2018
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Havertz playing for Chelsea in 2020
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Havertz with Germany in 2019
See also
In Spanish: Kai Havertz para niños
