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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Max Rushden

Why Kai Havertz’s dummy was perhaps more pleasing than a Lionel Messi waltz

Kai Havertz high-fives Arsenal fans after the 2-1 win over Chelsea.
Kai Havertz high-fives Arsenal fans after the 2-1 win over Chelsea. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

During Covid, when sport was back but behind closed doors, I hosted a number of strange online shows to fill the void of real life. The highlight was chatting to Darren Gough about a lifesize bronze rhinoceros for 45 minutes to 15 small boxes on a Zoom call. I don’t recall who it was for and where the rhinoceros came from – but it might be in his garden.

I ended up doing virtual pre-match corporate Zoom calls for Heineken before Europa League games. It was the wifi version of Club Wembley: a Q&A happening on stage between a generic host and some random ex-pro while you’re trying to chat to your mate and eat an unidentified square of meat with some dauphinoise potatoes.

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