Florian Wirtz: German magic waiting to fly high with Liverpool

Florian Wirtz is one of the best players in the world, possessing magical football and confident of conquering glory with Liverpool.

Youth Journey

When arriving at Pulheim train station on the outskirts of Cologne, visitors can easily see the proud sign: “Hometown of Florian Wirtz” .

Wirtz was born at home in the Brauweiler district of Pulheim. “We were brave back then,” says his father, Hans-Joachim. Florian was the youngest of 10 children.

Wirtz's talent was evident from a very early age. Photo: Imago

The generation gap between father and son is more than half a century (his mother is also over 60 years old). Wirtz feels happy that his father is his agent and advisor.

Hans-Joachim started coaching Florian at SV Grun-Weiss Brauweiler, where he is still a member of the board. From the very beginning, he recognised something special in his son.

“Even then, Florian had different qualities compared to his peers. He was simply always happy with the ball, always knowing how to find teammates in better positions,” he said.

For someone who was formally trained, studied sports at Cologne Sports University and became a specialeducation teacher like Mr. Hans-Joachim, the joy of playing football is always the most important thing.

At the age of eight, Wirtz began to attract the attention of scouts across Germany.

“We discussed it and decided to try Cologne for a year,” said Hans-Joachim. “We also considered Bayer Leverkusen . ”

Over the course of nine years, Wirtz emerged as one of Germany's brightest talents, especially when he won the national championship with the Cologne youth team, defeating Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals and final of the 2018/19 season.

In addition to his natural talent, Wirtz developed many Cologne skills. Everything he did seemed natural.

In December 2019, Wirtz caused a stir when he scored after just 5 seconds in U17 Cologne's 10-0 win over Wuppertal.

Wirtz plays with a technique that is considered magical. Photo: Imago

Leverkusen leader and record at Liverpool

Just a few days later, in January 2020, another turning point occurred. “Florian Wirtz, national U17 player, transfers from Cologne to Leverkusen with immediate effect ,” the club announced gently.

Cologne were outraged by this. However, joining Leverkusen was an important step forward in Wirtz's development.

Leverkusen director Rudi Voller said: “We showed Florian the development path, stressing that young players like Kai Havertz, Julian Brandt or Benjamin Henrichs were given opportunities early, even in the Champions League . ”

After just four games for the U19s, he was promoted to the first team. “It’s always special to make your Bundesliga debut, especially at 17 ,” said coach Peter Bosz after using Wirtz in a 4-1 win over Bremen on 18 May 2020.

Exactly 19 days later, he became the youngest player in Bundesliga history to score against Bayern Munich (Youssoufa Moukoko broke the record in 2023).

Wirtz will miss the 2022 World Cup due to a cruciate ligament injury suffered in the Rhine derby against... Cologne.

“I was born in Cologne, grew up there, had good memories, but then I got injured in the match against them and wasn't treated well ,” he lamented.

Overcoming injury, Wirtz continued to improve to become Leverkusen's star, through goals, assists and influence on play.

“People often use the word ‘magic’ to describe him ,” said teammate Jonas Hofmann. “Florian is fast, hard to dispossess, and skillful in even the most difficult situations. He is pure gold . ”

Wirtz confident of conquering Liverpool. Photo: LFC

In the 2023/24 season, Wirtz excelled with 11 goals and 11 assists to help Leverkusen win the Bundesliga for the first time, along with an unbeaten record, even going undefeated throughout the season.

“It's unbelievable. It takes time to fully understand what we've done,” Wirtz said at the time of winning the Silver Plate.

Wirtz's childhood idol is Marko Marin – a former Gladbach player who won the Europa League two consecutive seasons with Chelsea (2012/13) and Sevilla (2013/14).

“I used to have a Werder Bremen shirt with Marin's name on it. I loved the way he dribbled and scored goals ,” Wirtz confided.

Unlike Marin, whose career has not gone as expected, Wirtz is the number 1 star of the German team, becoming the most expensive player in Premier League history when joining Liverpool - total cost 150 million euros.

Wirtz left a huge legacy at Leverkusen despite being only 22 years old. Now, he is confident of writing new pages of history with Liverpool, from the Premier League to the Champions League.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/florian-wirtz-magic-and-strange-stories-liverpool-2413789.html