Florian Wirtz - valuable, simple and the right person

From a boy who was not allowed to watch TV, loved boiled potatoes and played football in the living room, Florian Wirtz became the most expensive contract in Liverpool's history.

Liverpool have just made a historic move by breaking the British football transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz.

Liverpool have just made a historic move by breaking the English football transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz, a young German talent who grew up not with the spotlight, but with… boiled potatoes, living rooms turned into football fields, and a childhood without television. But that is what created a different star, unpretentious, unpretentious, but extremely effective.

A true “backyard genius”

Wirtz was not allowed to watch television as a child. Instead, the boy from Pulheim, a suburb of Cologne, played soccer with his sister in the living room.

No iPads, no games, no cars—the Wirtzes chose bikes, exercise, and soccer. Nothing but a “distraction-free” childhood—and it was fertile ground for a genius.

His father, Hans-Joachim, was the president of the local football club, allowing Wirtz and his sister, Juliane (now a Werder Bremen player), to roam the football field from a young age. His mother, Karin, was the one who “kept” her genius child.

When an agent sent her a gift, she returned it without opening it. To this day, the family still manages his career themselves—without the help of any “super-agents.”

Wirtz is not a story of overcoming adversity. On the contrary, everyone saw that he was special from an early age. In an elementary school assignment, when asked what his dream career was, Wirtz wrote a single line: “Soccer player.” And ever since then, he has done only one thing: play soccer, very well.

Wirtz once set a record as the youngest player to play for Leverkusen, then became the youngest player to score in the Bundesliga.

Once a shining gem of FC Cologne’s academy, Wirtz caused a stir when he moved to rivals Bayer Leverkusen in 2020 – a move that was said to have broken the “tacit agreement” between the two clubs not to compete for young talent. But Leverkusen could not ignore it at that time: Wirtz was too good, too different.

After a few weeks at the academy, Wirtz was promoted straight to the first team by coach Peter Bosz - who had led Ajax and Dortmund. "He was 16 years old, he didn't lose the ball once in training, every difficult tackle was solved with just one touch. I was amazed. I said right away: This kid will win the Ballon d'Or," Bosz recalled.

Wirtz set a record as the youngest player to play for Leverkusen, then became the youngest to score in the Bundesliga. Barring a serious knee ligament injury in 2022, his career has been almost a straight line to the top. In 2023/24, Wirtz was the Bundesliga player of the season, leading Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen to their first national title, and was voted Germany’s most impressive player by 216 of his fellow players.

Players of the modern system - and classic hearts

In terms of stats, Wirtz has impressive statistics: 34 goals and 35 assists in the last two seasons. But his real value is not in the numbers. It is the feeling of security every time the ball comes to his feet. It is the intelligence in moving, the sophistication in every touch, the flexibility in tactical thinking.

Wirtz is a rare breed of player: a dribbler with an artistic touch, a presser with a mechanical touch. He has the most dribbles in the Bundesliga in 2024/25, and also the most possession wins in the final third - a stat that shows Wirtz is perfect for the modern football that coach Arne Slot is building at Anfield.

Wirtz is a rare breed of player: dribbling like an artist, pressing like a machine.

No fuss, no outrageous statements, no flashy tattoos. Wirtz's talent lies in simplifying the complex - and sometimes, it's... boiled potatoes. In a viral video , Wirtz chooses boiled potatoes as his favorite food, over chips or snacks.

Fans joked, he responded: "At this point it's not funny anymore." But that naivety only made people believe that this was a real player - no flash, just football.

When Liverpool spent more than £100 million on Wirtz, they weren’t just buying a player. They were buying a philosophy. In an age where football is surrounded by social media, personal branding, and media noise, Wirtz is a breath of fresh air: calm, dedicated, professional.

Wirtz isn’t here to replace Salah, he doesn’t need to be a dressing room icon. He’s here to do what he does best: play football as if it’s instinct, without calculation. And if his journey at Anfield starts as expected, the Ballon d’Or could very well be just around the corner.

From a boy who was not allowed to watch TV, loved boiled potatoes and playing football in the living room, Florian Wirtz stepped onto the big stage of world football - with a humble, but confident demeanor of someone who knew clearly: he was born to play football.

Source: https://znews.vn/florian-wirtz-dat-gia-don-gian-va-dung-nguoi-post1560996.html