When football fans see Florian Wirtz, they see technique, speed dribbling, goal threat. Bayer Leverkusen’s playmaker, who is about to play his 100th Bundesliga game, is now much more than just a gifted soloist in Xabi Alonso’s ensemble.
Hook left, hook right, one last quick body illusion – and he’s gone. The defenders of the Football Bundesliga observe their duels with Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz. And there have already been a few of them: The 20-year-old has played all 22 league games for the “Werkself” so far and has led by far the most duels of the Leverkusen team (501), far behind is the attacking right-back Jeremie Frimpong (338).
Wirtz won over 60 percent of his often daring dribbles. If you include all other duels, including defensive ones, his overall duel rate is still 44 percent – which shows how important Wirtz’s offensive qualities, but also his commitment to working against the ball, are for coach Xabi Alonso. The Spaniard has taken Wirtz to a new level.
Wirtz is the fourth youngest player with 100 Bundesliga games
The 20-year-old is no longer just a gifted soloist, but a conductor who serves the team. Coach Alonso once praised him in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”: “There are good players and there are players who look good on the pitch. The player who looks good does things that are nice, but not necessarily efficient. Why Is Messi that good? (…) Messi says: ‘You’re in a better position? Here, there you have the ball!’ It’s not always about doing the most brilliant action, but the best and smartest. Florian can do that.”
And of course not just since yesterday, he has been in the traditionally highly gifted position for almost four years Leverkusen-Ensemble a fixed size. It’s not for nothing that he will celebrate his anniversary on Friday (8:30 p.m.) against second-to-last Mainz 05 as the fourth-youngest player to have made 100 Bundesliga appearances. Without his cruciate ligament tear in March 2022, he would certainly have been the youngest.
| player | Age at 100th use |
|---|---|
Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen) | 20 years, 186 days |
Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) | 20 years, 203 days |
Julian Draxler (FC Schalke 04) | 20 years, 225 days |
| pending: Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen) | 20 years, 296 days |
Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) | 20 years, 297 days |
Wirtz is no longer shouldering the pressure in Leverkusen alone
The fact that Wirtz has taken another step under Alonso this season also has to do with his teammates. While in recent years a large part of the pressure of expectations has often fallen on the shoulders of the highly gifted, Wirtz is now integrated into a perfectly coordinated team. Along with players like Magic Foot Alejandro Grimaldo (eight goals, nine assists) or the central defensive leader Granit Xhaka, he no longer receives the full attention.
But that doesn’t mean that the solo performances of the “Zehner” no longer attract attention. On the contrary, the high quality of his teammates gives him the space to play to his great strengths. Exemplary: In October 2023, Wirtz single-handedly outplayed SC Freiburg’s defense and scored – it was later voted goal of the year in the Sportschau.
Only Boniface scored more often: Wirtz was unlucky
The playmaker has so far distinguished himself primarily as an assist provider, setting up nine goals for his colleagues. There could have been more than five of our own goals, after all, only the still injured center forward Victor Boniface (75 shots on goal) scored more times than Wirtz (46).
But the latter is having a bit of bad luck with the rafters this season. In Heidenheim (2:1) he failed on aluminum for the fifth time. Wirtz could, however, surpass his record scorer from the 2021/22 season, in which he scored seven goals and added ten in 24 appearances, in the coming weeks.
Leverkusen can pulverize Bayern’s record against Mainz
Wirtz will get his next chance when he and Leverkusen host 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Friday. It could be a historic game for the “Werkself”: with the win in Heidenheim, Leverkusen already set Bayern’s record of 32 unbeaten competitive games in a row under Hansi Flick (December 2019 to September 2020), and now the sole record awaits.
However, Alonso warned that Mainz would continue to accelerate after their first win under new coach Bo Henriksen: “He was in Zurich last year. His teams have will and energy. They played with high intensity against Augsburg, and we expect that again. “
