The rivalry between the two Rhenish clubs could not be denied. Even in moments when malice and ridicule were no longer appropriate, some supporters of 1.FC Köln could not contain themselves and called out a few outspoken unkindnesses to Leverkusen player Florian Wirtz, who was writhing in pain. “Good bye“Calls were by far the most harmless thing the 18-year-old encountered.
After all: When it was seen that Wirtz – who spent his youth at FC had spent, which made the affection of the FC fans much more difficult – he had injured his knee badly and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher, even some Cologne fans in the Leverkusen stadium applauded. And the majority remained silent – even if there are always a few unteachable people who even then couldn’t control their emotions and had to get rid of their obscenities.
“We hope that Florian Wirtz will be well again soon. That’s very sad for all of us. It’s not okay to mock the injury. It’s unnecessary – there’s nothing more to say about it.”, said FC coach Steffen Baumgart. Wirtz suffered a cruciate ligament tear in the front left knee. The serious injury is an enormous setback for the huge talent who has had such a clear influence on the Werkself game in recent weeks and months.
State-of-the-art embossing
Wirtz is a “Zehner” of the most modern character. The former luminaries in this position in the center, such as Wolfgang Overath, Günter Netzer or Uwe Bein, who had a similar amount of ball and space feeling, had significantly greater problems with the backward movement and the duel.
Wirtz is also an artist, but he is well aware of his duties on the football pitch. In addition to his exceptional technical and soccer skills, the native of Pulheim is strong in one-on-one fights, robust and loves to run. Against FC Bayern last week, he was once again one of the most committed players in his team with a distance of 11.3 kilometers. Wirtz has scored seven goals and provided eleven assists in 24 games this season – an impressive record. For many experts, Wirtz has even been considered the best player in the Bundesliga in recent weeks.
National coach Flick reports immediately
The recognition Wirtz already enjoys at a young age can be seen not least from the fact that national coach Hansi Flick immediately picked up the phone when he found out about the injury. “Florian Wirtz is one of the greatest talents that German football has produced recently. I’ve already phoned him and tried to encourage him. We give him our full support.”Flick pointed out. Flick should have scheduled Wirtz for the World Cup in Qatar from November 21st (until December 18th).
“We hope we don’t have to play without them for too long”, said Bayer goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, who didn’t know at the time how serious Wirtz’s injury really was. In addition, Jeremie Frimpong had previously injured his ankle and also had to be substituted. However, Wirtz will be out for at least six months, the current season is definitely over for him.