Elias Havel: From marginal note to crowd favorite at LASK

Elias Havel came as a side note – his 20-year-old arrival at LASK now dictates the headlines. “He is a great striker who we will have a lot of fun with,” said coach Thomas Sageder.

When LASK announced Liefering’s free transfer to Linz on June 27th, it was only additional information about the transfer of Moussa Kone. The 26-year-old has long since had to line up behind Havel in the race for the Leiberl in the black and white attack.

Sageder knew from the start that he could cut a diamond in the rough. He started as an assistant coach in Liefering last season. Given the competition in the center of the attack with Marin Ljubicic, Ibrahim Mustapha and Moussa Kone, it was not foreseeable during the preparation that Havel would get many competitive minutes.

First goal after 23 seconds

“He is a promising player with great potential,” LASK sports director Radovan Vujanovic praised the entry when the contract until 2027 was signed. “I showed that I can be more than just that,” said Havel after his Bundesliga debut. He took advantage of his first chance – 23 seconds after being substituted on: In Tyrol he scored the 1-1 with his first Bundesliga contact with the ball. Against Lustenau he provided the assist as a joker to make it 2-0; against Klagenfurt he was in the starting line-up for the first time and scored to make it 3-0.

Sageder had struggled for a long time with whether Havel was ready for the starting eleven. “I don’t make it easy for myself with any of my players. With Elias Havel, I’ve thought long and hard about how I can integrate him so that he helps us, gets into the team and doesn’t get burned out,” explained the coach. But in the end there was no way around Havel, and U21 team boss Werner Gregoritsch included him in his squad for the first time at the start of the European Championship qualification.

Unbridled pull towards the goal

Havel’s great strength, in addition to his speed, is his irrepressible drive towards the goal. Against Lustenau, for example, he duped goalkeeper Domenik Schierl with a “Ferserl” – the goal ultimately didn’t count because it was offside, but it showed his determination in finishing. “If you stand with your back to the goal, two central defenders behind you, and there is no one there to throw off – as a striker you then try to get the ball onto the goal somehow. Unfortunately it didn’t count,” explained Havel with a matter-of-factness . “In the end we won 2-0, that’s the most important thing.”

The way the LASK colleagues celebrated the attacker for his delicacy before the video referee stepped in to stop the fun showed that Havel had already reached the athletes. The talent remains humble. Havel: “I’m new, I’m young, I have to prove myself, I have to give it my all in training and in every game and earn the minutes. I enjoy every minute that I’m on the pitch.” The LASK fans also share this feeling. It didn’t take Havel long to storm into their hearts.

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