Florian Wirtz: Large radius of action, self-criticism of the ZDF microphone

It would actually have been a good opportunity to bask in the applause of the LFC supporters on this rainy evening in the Frankfurt city forest. After all, the Liverpool FC fans who traveled with us were in a good mood: a show of force on German soil like a 5-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt always feels good for an English champion. And because the new signing from Germany, who was acquired for a lot of money in the heart of Europe, is playing his best game so far in the red dress, Florian Wirtz could have stood in front of the block – instead, the number seven was immediately taken to the sidelines for the first field interview at the final whistle.

“I’ve never done an interview so quickly after the game, so it’s a bit difficult,” the 22-year-old told the streaming service DAZN as the referee team left the pitch behind him. “I think it was a clear game, a clear result. We did a good job today. We didn’t start well, then we pulled ourselves together a bit and turned the game around.” In any case, Crisis wouldn’t have made him nervous with his four competitive defeats in a row: “We know what quality we have in the team. They’re all world-class players.”

The German international also undoubtedly belongs to this category, but criticism of his performances grew almost week by week. The balance before this appearance was zero assists, zero goals in the Premier League and the Champions League. The superstar, who was lured to Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen for 125 million euros plus bonus payments, only managed one assist in the Community Shield – the English Super Cup. A bit low for the price tag.

Now he managed to achieve a double liberation in the Waldstadion: First, Wirtz carefully set up for Cody Gakpo to make it 4-1 (66th), then he gave the cross pass to the outstanding ex-Leipzig player Dominik Szoboszlai to make it 5-1 (70th). Balm for the soul. “It’s no secret that I would have liked to have had more goal involvements. But I can probably evaluate my games best, I’m honest with myself. It wasn’t always as bad as people say,” Wirtz later said on ZDF. Finally a smile crossed his lips, especially since the newcomer was allowed to play through.

In the position in the right offensive midfield behind the attack line with Alexander Isak, Gakpo and Hugo Ekitiké: The ex-Frankfurt player did not celebrate the goal in his splendid sprint to make it 1-1 (35th). The fact that it then took headers and ramming kicks from defenders Virgil van Dijk (39′) and Ibrahima Konate (44′) to pull the plug on Eintracht was of no concern to Wirtz, who was astonishingly self-critical on his own behalf, even though teammates like Andy Robertson immediately described him as “excellent”.

“I know that I still have a lot of room for improvement. That actually makes me happy. We’ve played ten games now, so I’m very relaxed that I’ll be in top form at some point,” he said. “I struggled in the first half. Overall it was okay – I know I can do much, much more.” National coach Julian Nagelsmann may have already experienced the restart as an interested eyewitness in the VIP stand in Frankfurt. Nagelsmann had demonstratively praised his finesse in the World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg (4-0) and Northern Ireland (1-0), although Wirtz didn’t score a goal there either.

But from his point of view, Germany’s Footballer of the Year is not being judged correctly in England: “Flo is the player who prepares the most chances in the Premier League. It’s not his fault if his teammate doesn’t do that, and the statistics aren’t even a third of the truth. He has to get used to the fact that the league is a bit more physical than it is with us.” An important note.

It was no coincidence that the Cologne native thrived against a Bundesliga team. Eintracht fell apart into its individual parts, especially in the second half, and acted as willing helpers. “When gaps open up, there are hardly better players than Florian Wirtz,” said Liverpool coach Arne Slot. What the Dutchman was implying: The next task is to make the difference even in tighter spaces in the harsh everyday life of the Premier League. An example of his deficits was the loss of the ball almost at the corner flag before the 0-1 lead, when new international Nathaniel Brown stole the ball from him and the Hessians celebrated the lead through Rasmus Christensen (26th) with their best move.

What Wirtz was given credit for in the years that followed: his large radius of action, his enormous mileage. Even though he only won two of his eight duels and got stuck with two of three dribbles, he had a good game with his 78 ball contacts (89 percent pass rate). The UEFA officials nevertheless named defense chief van Dijk “Player of the Match”.

So Wirtz would be well advised to deliver again in the league game at FC Brentford (Saturday, 9 p.m.). In the last defeats against Chelsea FC (1:2) and against Manchester United (1:2) he was only substituted on without providing any impetus. Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher then worked on Sky Sports channel not on old star Mo Salah, but on new signing Wirtz: “We haven’t seen much of him yet.” Liverpool’s former coach Jürgen Klopp, of all people, countered such criticism during the week.

“Why isn’t it working yet? Because development takes time. Nobody can change that. People have to find their way, adapt to situations, adapt to things,” he said on the podcast “The Diary of A CEO.” Klopp, who is employed as “Head of Global Soccer” in the Red Bull empire, expects that sooner or later the knot will break with Wirtz. “You will all have to take back your words if you misjudge Florian Wirtz. He is an incredible talent.”

Simon Rolfes, Bayer Leverkusen’s sports director, made a similar statement in the ZDF sports studio. He was “not surprised” by the teething problems because: “He has to adapt to a new country, a new culture, a different style of play, a different team structure.” In Leverkusen the game was very much tailored to the genius, “we prepared the game so that he got the ball in the right position.” He has to earn this standing with the Reds. Rolfes doesn’t doubt that he will succeed: “He has so much quality. I saw him in training almost every day for five years. He is an incredible player.”

Wirtz was the central building block of the Werkself that won the championship and the cup in 2024 undefeated. A magical foot that, together with Jamal Musiala, also shaped the European Championship in Germany until the quarter-finals. In the best case scenario, the highly talented duo will help the German national team go further than just the quarter-finals at the 2026 World Cup. Wirtz still has no footprint on the world stage. He had to cancel the 2022 World Cup in Qatar because he tore his anterior cruciate ligament against his former club 1. FC Köln in the spring of 2022.

The move to the island seemed well prepared this summer; his parents Hans and Karin often visit him in the Beatles’ hometown, where he says he feels comfortable. The transfer fee wasn’t the problem for him, Wirtz said in a Sky interview: “It’s of course not normal for a player to cost that much. Everyone knows that. But at the moment it’s just being paid for.” When asked a month ago when 100 percent of him would be visible, he evaded: “It’s hard to say. I would also like to know, but until you really get somewhere and are settled in and are familiar with everything, it can just take a while.” And he added: “There are sometimes phases when everything doesn’t go your way. I actually haven’t had that that often in my career. But no matter what anyone says: I stay cool. I know what I can do and I know that I’ll get it on the pitch at some point.” In Frankfurt he succeeded to a large extent.