TM interview
Florian Wirtz looks relaxed as he sits down for an exclusive interview with Transfermarkt at Bayer Leverkusen’s team hotel in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. The “Werkself” opened the new CITYPARK stadium in the USA with the upcoming MLS team St. Louis CITY SC, and although Wirtz, who is suffering from the consequences of a cruciate ligament rupture, did not play, he at least completed full training sessions with the team. The 19-year-old spoke to TM about his injury, his disqualification for the World Cup and his views on Germany’s other big midfield talent, Jamal Musiala, among other things.
“It was the first time that I was able to train completely with the team,” says Wirtz. “It worked out well, my head is ready to go into the duels and follow everything with both feet. Thanks to my good rehab, I have the feeling that my knee is very stable, and of course you want to show the others what you can do again.”
Without Wirtz, Leverkusen had a difficult start to the season. Bayer were knocked out in the first round of the cup by third-division promoted Elversberg, then started with four bankruptcies in a row in the Bundesliga and lost to Bruges in the Champions League. After just one win in eight league games, head coach Gerardo Seoane had to resign. Xabi Alonso replaced him. “Of course we had imagined things differently before the season,” Wirtz sums up the botched start to the season. “Now it’s good for all of us that we’re back on track and we hope that we can build on that after the break.”
Wirtz: Seoane departure “very sad” – Leverkusen with Alonso “on the right track”
For Wirtz, the injury also meant that he had to watch his team-mates in the initial misery. The youngster says: “In the beginning there was of course the shock that you were out and couldn’t play football. Then we got into this difficult situation. Of course, that also concerns me because I would have liked to have helped the team. But my job was to think about my knee in rehab and not let other things affect me.”
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Wirtz found the departure of coach Seoane “very sad”, as he says. Seoane was an important coach in his development, and Wirtz would have liked to continue with the Swiss. The native of Pulheim is not alone in the team. Seoane is still considered a very talented manager at the club. The change did not happen without hesitation on the part of Leverkusen.
“Now with the new coach, the cards have been reshuffled, there’s a breath of fresh air. We’re on the right track,” Wirtz said after the change of coach. “Alonso is an expert and a role model from whom I and we as a team can still learn a lot.”
Wirtz on Alonso: You can tell in the dressing room that he has already won a lot
Alonso got off to a good start with the Bayer team, beating Schalke 4-0 thanks to convincing attacking work, but then again a winning streak followed in the following three league games, until a 5-0 win against Union Berlin and the trend could be reversed. Leverkusen went into the winter break with three league wins in a row.
“You can tell in the dressing room that as a player he has already won a lot that you still dream of yourself,” says Wirtz about his impression of Alonso. “It’s certainly an advantage for me, but also for our team, to be able to orientate ourselves on such an extraordinary footballer, who can still give us all a lot of valuable tips.”
Wirtz on Musiala and the agreement with national coach Flick
Unfortunately, Wirtz will not be able to meet Jamal Musiala (19) from FC Bayern, the other great hope in the German midfield, at the World Cup that has just started. How does Wirtz see the three-time national team colleague? “Jamal is a very good footballer, a very good one-on-one player, or one-on-five,” Wirtz smiles in recognition of Musiala. “He can definitely move a lot on the field with his dribbling. I’m looking forward to playing with him in the national team in the future. Of course, there aren’t just two people in a team who have to make sure the game is won. Jamal has his qualities, I have mine. That could be nice to watch, I’m looking forward to that too, but there are other good players in the national team.”
For now, German fans will have to wait to see the two midfielders in action together. There was hope that Wirtz could also be on the plane to Qatar, but the offensive talent still lost the race against time. The World Cup will take place without the fifth most valuable teenager in football. Wirtz was in constant contact with national coach Hansi Flick about how his rehabilitation was going. “It just came too early in the end,” the player stated. “I just wasn’t ready for the coach to be able to rely on me 100 percent because I hadn’t had a minute of the game, I hadn’t had any real training with duels. Then he told me that, also in consultation with the doctors, I should continue to focus on getting fit and that he looks forward to seeing me again when I’m at my top physical level.”
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From Wirtz’ point of view, it was not a unilateral decision by the national coach. “Everyone, from the national team, from the club, but also from me and my family, assessed it in such a way that it’s best that I still have a little time for myself, to get myself to a good level and not taking any risks,” says Wirtz, who was looking forward to participating in the World Cup before his injury. “But there will still be a few tournaments that I can make an effort to attend.”
Wirtz before Bayer comeback: “We just want to show that we can do better”
The short-term goal with Bayer 04 is to catch up. Leverkusen are just four points above the relegation zone, but also only seven points behind the European Cup places. “There are still enough games to make everything possible,” states Wirtz. “That’s our job now, and it’s something everyone wants to do. We also just want to show that we can do better than we did before the World Cup break. And maybe it’s not bad at all that we’re taking a break now and can regroup.”
And the long-term view? Wirtz has been linked to all sorts of clubs. According to a rumor from Spain, the alleged Barcelona fan prefers a move to Spain. Wirtz explains that he may have been a Barça fan before, and immediately goes into concrete terms: “Actually, I was a Messi fan. I like Barcelona, but I’m not a fan.”
A path like the Messis, World Cups, Barcelona and other top clubs – anyone who experienced Wirtz before his serious injury will have little doubt that all these doors are open for talent. Here in St. Louis it all still seems far away, but here too one thing is certain: Anyone who has seen him in training will have no doubt that Wirtz will soon be the focus of attention again.
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