It is said that it takes a player just as long to return to full strength after a break from injury. If this rule of thumb also applies to Florian Wirtz, German football can look forward to something really big.
The 19-year-old was not on the pitch for ten months due to a cruciate ligament tear. He only returned about four weeks ago and showed an absolutely world-class performance in Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-3 draw against AS Monaco yesterday despite the defeat.
Artwork for the gallery
Wirtz introduced his team’s first goal like a dream: A quick movement, the ball passed from right to left and his opponent straddled into space. A precise ball on the outside – the pre-assist to the interim 1:1. This scene alone would have been worth the admission fee for the approximately 28,000 spectators in the BayArena.
In the 59th minute, the playmaker then went one better: Wirtz received the ball in a central position around 30 meters in front of the goal, moved to the goal with an immaculately close ball control, let five (!) opponents get out and finished dry – the Leadership for Bayer, a dream goal.
There were two highlights that garnished Wirtz’s grandiose performance, but even in the small scenes the whole class of the four-time international showed itself. Effortlessly and elegantly, he fixed balls and passed them on with small movements of his foot – whether with the right or left. It is this technical masterclass that Wirtz combines with an enormous understanding of the game, a determination and precision that can only be observed in exceptional cases in his age group.
Stay until 2024?
Kai Havertz, for example – the comparisons come to mind – often still lack this ultimate consequence in his actions. And yet the 23-year-old switched to Chelsea in 2020 for around 100 million euros. We can only guess at what transfer fee Wirtz will eventually have to pay, whose potential can certainly be compared to that of Bayern child prodigy Jamal Musiala (19).
However, it seems that those responsible at Bayer still have some time before they have to deal with specific figures. Father and advisor Hans Wirtz explained to ‘kicker’ at the beginning of January: “Florian is in good hands with Bayer until the 2024 European Championships.” And at the European Championship he could then work magic together with Musiala – German football can look forward to something big.
