Name: Florian Wirtz
DOB: 03.05.2003
Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Position: Attacking Midfield
Profile
Born in Pulheim, Germany Florian Wirtz began his football journey when he joined SV Grün-Weiß Brauweiler in 2008, aged 5. Perfecting the basics, Wirtz remained until 2010 and having shown signs of clear technical skills, the young boy joined an academy of a Bundesliga club, 1. FC Köln. Wirtz slotted in seamlessly to life as an academy player, impressively rising through the ranks whilst also being a vital part of Germans International youth fold at all age groups. Wirtz was slowly beginning to became the talk of the Country, people were starting to notice they have a real diamond upcoming.
He remained at 1. FC Köln 2020 until he moved to another Bundesliga outfit, Bayer Leverkusen. B04 are renown for giving youth opportunities and producing talent, he joined a crop of exciting prospects in, Moussa Diaby, Jeremie Frimpong, plus more. After impressing for the under-17 team, Wirtz made his senior professional debut for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on 18 May. He overtook Kai Havertz as Leverkusen's youngest player in the league, at the age of 17 years and 15 days. On 6 June, Wirtz scored his first goal for Leverkusen, making Wirtz the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history at the age of 17 years and 34 days.
Style of Play
Sometimes a footballer appears that is just aesthetically pleasing to watch and has a artistic creativity that blows your mind? Welcome, Florian Wirtz.
Wirtz is a attacking midfielder, a creative genius that has a delightful elegance, a playmaker that allows him to glide about the field, jinxing his way by a drop of the shoulder and being the catalyst for attacks. He stands at 5’9 foot with a good body size and build. With pressing and system shape being a vital part of todays game, Wirtz offers a unique style. A player that plays football with the mind and has a sense of fluidity that allows him to be an artist. Wirtz combines the athleticism needed in todays game with a artistic skill, it’s quite hard to define a specific type for Wirtz, but one of his best attributes is how easily he can find space in between the oppositions lines. You’ll notice Wirtz consistently scanning his surroundings and checking his shoulder, a trait that all midfielders should require but what separates Wirtz from the rest is that he knows how to utilise this skill. It’s almost like he paints a photographic picture stored in his memory of not only the oppositions positioning but his own teammates too.
His movements cause confusion for the opponents defensive lines but once in positions, Wirtz truly excels especially inside the final third. Capable of being the key to attacks, Wirtz is delightfully happy to receive possession in tight areas, he has the knowledge and know-how to manipulate the press and glide himself out. Utilising his picture perfect mindset, Wirtz acknowledges when and just how many opponents will be pressing but what’s more impressive, he’s already one step ahead and knows exactly how he will manoeuvre himself out before they arrive. He holds a beautiful low-centre of gravity that allows him to sharply change his direction to then burst away. Once he’s away, this is where Wirtz can deliver his magic. Orchestrating attacking like a wizard, he’s shown signs of ice-cold finishing or threading the ball through a eye of a needle. He’s very decisive with conviction and good timings to his action. As mentioned above, Wirtz is a playmaking genius, he loves to be in possession, averaging 64.86 touches per 90. Wirtz will dribble with the ball, composed enough to draw opponents towards him which opens up space for other to exploit before feeding them with a deliciously, positive and perfectly weighted pass. He’s averaging 42.95 completed passes per 90, he likes to spray short and precise passing, darting them into the path of teammates to latch onto. A monumental 3.35 enter the final third and 2.91 advance into the penalty which has him at 99 percentile, magnificent numbers for such an inexperienced footballer.
What’s even more impressive, phenomenally 4.92 of his passes result in a shot-creation action and he’s inside the 97 percentile for those resulting in a goal, utterly insane. Wirtz trend continues with key passes, 2.57 key passes per 90 (97 percentile with majority as through balls, 1.34 (99 percentile). When an opportunity presents itself for a goal-scoring action, Wirtz has the accuracy of a Dartsman, his numbers are even more impressive than his passing stats, mind blowing I know. Wirtz is currently sitting at 99 percentile for shot-to-goal ratio, he never misses the spot!
Before his most recent injury, there was no stopping Wirtz in the final third, he was 18 at the time and producing numbers to the elite level. Creating 55 chances (third-best in Bundesliga), completed 12 through balls (second-best in Bundesliga), 2.97 expected threats per 90 minutes (eighth-best in Bundesliga).
Extraordinary numbers for a young footballer but it highlights his confidence and ability.
A previous weakness of his was the ability to help out his team defensively but improvements in his numbers have proven that he’s working hard in this area to correct that.
Wirtz averages 1.25 for tackles and interceptions per 90, but what he does in pressures opponents very well. Constantly looking to force mistakes, Wirtz boasts 21.44 pressure per game which is within the 97 percentile amongst others which is pretty impressive considering his attacking and forward thinking mindset.
Florian Wirtz is a fantastic unique talent, the traits his possesses you should just watch and admire because it’s not too often these types coming around.
Thank you for your time.
