Confusion before the top game against BVB – “Something happened”

Guesswork before the top game

Fuss about DFB star Wirtz: “Something happened”

During the guest appearance in Dortmund, Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso surprised with his starting line-up. Florian Wirtz was missing. The exact reason remains unclear.

Bayer Leverkusen started the new year perfectly with a 3-2 away win at Borussia Dortmund. Surprisingly, star player Florian Wirtz was not allowed to take part from the start. The 21-year-old, who has already scored seven goals and provided just as many assists this season, had to sit on the bench.

The exact reasons for this initially remained a mystery – and should remain so until after the final whistle. Coach Xabi Alonso only said on the streaming service DAZN before the start of the game: “Something unexpected happened this morning, but he has no problems. It’s something internal. He’ll be there for the second half, no problem.”

Bayer’s sports managing director Simon Rolfes chose similar words. The ex-professional explained that there was “a small problem” with Wirtz and spoke of a “coaching decision” in connection with his exclusion. Rolfes also pointed out that the midfielder could play in the second half.

That was actually the case. Wirtz came on as a substitute for double goalscorer Patrik Schick in the second half. But he no longer had a major influence on the game.

After the game, Granit Xhaka was also asked about the situation surrounding Wirtz. On the Sat.1 microphone, the Swiss said: “Just for your information: It wasn’t anything big. Not that we have to talk about the topic here in the next few days.”

But he was then asked whether it was a disciplinary offense at Wirtz. “Whether it has to do with discipline – ‘discipline’ is a big word, let’s put it that way,” explained. Then he admitted: “But something happened… very, very, very small. The coach made the decision.”

He then described Wirtz as a “huge professional”. He deserves great respect from his own teammates, the club and the coaches. But Xhaka didn’t want to say what exactly had happened.