Florian Wirtz is in good shape. However, Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso warns against too early and too high expectations.
Florian Wirtz was able to return to the pitch before the Christmas break. Now he has capped his comeback with a nice solo dribbling goal. Xabi Alonso calls the fact that he reports back like this the “magic of the special players”.
In the upcoming second half of the season, Leverkusen will be able to rely on Florian Wirtz again. Last year he tore his cruciate ligament, which put him out of action for a long time.
If he was able to take his first steps on the pitch before Christmas and also appear in a friendly, he came back on Saturday with a goal worth seeing – also in a friendly.
He scored the interim 1-0 lead (2-1) against FC Venezia by dribbling out of several opponents in the opponent’s sixteen and then still having the nerve to put the ball in the goal. While the fans were happy about the successful action and for their returnee, hope grew at the same time to be able to trust in his abilities again in the second half of the season.
Alonso is happy about Wirtz’s progress – but urges patience
Xabi Alonso is also visibly happy about the comeback of the 19-year-old. His solo made the Werkself coach rave (via table football): “That’s not my job, that’s the magic of the special player, that’s his talent. You often need a special action in the game. And Flo is capable of these actions.”
“We hope he can do it in competitive matches,” Alonso continued. Leverkusen, which was at times on the relegation zone, wants to start catching up in the second half of the season. The team will come out of the break in twelfth place in the table.
But Alonso also warned not to ask too much of Wirtz too soon: “It’s a process until he’s in top shape. I keep saying: We have to be patient.”
For him too, it is “the most important thing” how the youngster feels. “And he feels stronger in his legs, he has more power and he’s getting closer to his old level. But he hasn’t reached it yet,” warned the coach.
On the one hand, the fact that he can convince again in the tests is a good and important sign. On the other hand, these games were also “far from the competitive level”, said Alonso. In his view, therefore, a comparison is not permissible. Wirtz is ambitious and he has a better and better feeling, but it will take some time before he is 100 percent in his normal condition again.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
