Kai Havertz of Bayer Leverkusen during the Bundesliga match against Mainz. Getty
Kai Havertz of Bayer Leverkusen during the Bundesliga match against Mainz. Getty
Kai Havertz of Bayer Leverkusen during the Bundesliga match against Mainz. Getty
Kai Havertz of Bayer Leverkusen during the Bundesliga match against Mainz. Getty

Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz takes centre stage in German Cup final


Ian Hawkey
  • English
  • Arabic

The prize-givings may have been delayed, by circumstances beyond their control, but Bayern Munich still bring a haste and urgency to their work. The Bundesliga title was seized, with maximum efficiency, once the season resumed. The transfer market has been crowbarred open, with Bayern making Leroy Sane theirs, some 12 months after they first convinced him to swap Manchester for Munich.

On Saturday, the Bayern juggernaut speeds on to the next target, in Berlin, where they are confident of competing a domestic double in a Cup final against Bayer Leverkusen.

For Sane, who will be watching, the event should provide ample evidence that German football is as accommodating a place as any for a young, exceptionally talented footballer to thrive.

On the left flank which Sane, 24, expects to be gliding along for Bayern in 2020-21, he will see 19-year-old Alphonso Davies, the Canadian whom Bayern have channeled with great success into a role as an attacking full-back.

Sane will watch Serge Gnabry, 25, whose career has soared since he exchanged a Premier League apprenticeship – with Arsenal – for the Bundesliga. And if Kingsley Coman, 24, takes his recent form to Berlin, Sane will be reminded that competition for starting places on either wing at Bayern will be stiff next season. Sane will also see his former Schalke 04 colleague, Leon Goretzka, 25, putting on show his enhanced repertoire as an true all-terrain midfielder.

Bayern’s unceasing command of German club football – their latest title was their eighth on the trot; they have been in seven of the last 10 Cup finals, winning five – has long been accompanied by the belief that all the best German players should eventually gravitate to Munich, and that personal ambition and Bayern’s financial muscle will combine to entice them there.

Hence the interest in Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz, the 21-year-old last week found himself on the podium for the Bundesliga’s Player of the Year, behind Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski, scorer of 34 league goals, and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho.

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Bundesliga season in pictures

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Havertz will outgrow Leverkusen, very possibly within the next two months, and while there is a resigned sadness at the club that a homegrown talent is already restless, Leverkusen know the drill.

Julian Brandt left them for Dortmund last summer, Bernd Leno for Arsenal 12 months earlier, both part of a long list that goes back through Toni Kroos to Michael Ballack, who both moved from Leverkusen to Bayern. It is not fanciful to suggest Havertz may become as influential a footballer as Ballack and Kroos.

Nor is it fanciful to imagine Leverkusen might haul in the sort of transfer fee that, in the age of the coronavirus crisis, was thought to be a thing of the past. They value Havertz at a massive €100m (Dh414m), and have been made aware that, beyond Bayern, there are several potential suitors in the Premier League, Chelsea among them.

Leverkusen have also looked at the deal taking Sane from City to Bayern for a fee that might rise to over €60m with add-ons, and calculate that even in a recession, that represents a high benchmark. Sane has been out injured for most of the last year.

In that period Havertz has eclipsed the winger as probably the most thrilling young Germany footballer to watch, two-footed, confident in the excellence of his technique and, head up, eyes forward, a creator with the same knack for seeing the perfect pass as Kroos.

He has a turn of speed, too, and the height and strength to make an impact at centre-forward, though his best role is probably playing off the striker, or attacking from wide positions.

“He has a world-class career ahead of him,” said Rudi Voller, the former Germany striker and head coach, and now a director at Leverkusen.

“You look at the way he was elegantly stroking the ball around and scoring important goals for us since the restart, and you know one of his great assets is how he responds to pressure.”

Leverkusen finished the season in a tight battle to clinch a top four place. It failed only on the last day of the campaign. Havertz, who only turned 21 this month, captained the club several times in the run-in, and scored six goals in his eight league outings after the restart.

Missing out on next season’s Champions League was a blow to Leverkusen, and to the chances of their retaining their jewel of a talent for next season. Voller is keen to emphasise Havertz can still end this campaign gloriously, with a Cup final and a Europa League run. Leverkusen are 3-1 up on Glasgow Rangers from the first leg of their last-16 tie, and Uefa plan to stage the remainder of the tournament next month in Germany. “Things are coming together beautifully for him,” said Voller.

French Touch

Carla Bruni

(Verve)

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RESULT

Bournemouth 0 Southampton 3 (Djenepo (37', Redmond 45' 1, 59')

Man of the match Nathan Redmond (Southampton)

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6.30pm: Handicap | US$135,000 (Dirt) | 1,400 metres

Winner: Rodaini, Connor Beasley (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer)

7.05pm: Handicap | $135,000 (Turf) | 1,200m

Winner: Ekhtiyaar, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson

7.40pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (T) | 2,000m

Winner: Spotify, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby

8.15pm: UAE Oakes | Group 3 | $250,000 (D) | 1,900m

Winner: Divine Image, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

8.50pm: Zabeel Mile | Group 2 | $250,000 (T) | 1,600m

Winner: Mythical Image, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

9.20pm: Handicap | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m

Winner: Major Partnership, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor

SPECS
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'Gold'

Director:Anthony Hayes

Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes

Rating:3/5

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Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

England Test squad

Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts

 
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures

Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)

Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy

Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy

Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy

Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium

UAE squad

Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia

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Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones

3/5 stars

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1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Jumbo-Visma  04:19:08

2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates  00:00:03

3. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers

4. Sergio Higuita (COL) EF Education-Nippo 00:00:05

5. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:06

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 17:09:26

2.  Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:45

3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:01:12

4. Chris Harper (AUS) Team Jumbo-Visma 00:01:54

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MATCH INFO

Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')

Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)

Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

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Racecard

6.35pm: American Business Council – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m 

7.10pm: British Business Group – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,200m 

7.45pm: CCI France UAE – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m 

8.20pm: Czech Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,400m 

8.55pm: Netherlands Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m 

9.30pm: Indian Business and Professional Council – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m  

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Director: Ruben Fleischer

Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed

Rating: 1.5/5

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5