Florian Wirtz's goal for Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League represents the next step on the road to recovery for the German teenager; Adam Bate was in the BayArena to see it and discuss the player's vast potential with sporting director Simon Rolfes
Friday 17 February 2023 00:01, UK
It was the moment that Florian Wirtz had been waiting for, the moment that the BayArena had been waiting for, and when it came it was special. The first goal for Bayer Leverkusen’s wunderkind since his long-term knee injury lit up their game against Monaco.
Wirtz touched the ball nine times in scoring it. Ten if you included the toe-poked volley to team-mate Exequiel Palacios in the build-up. But those nine touches - the ball never moving more than a metre from his boot until the finish - showed why he is so special.
That quick shift of the ball from one foot to the other had been seen minutes earlier when his previous dribble had been the catalyst for Moussa Diaby's equaliser. There is a calmness to his game, an ability to glide without breaking stride, that only the best possess.
It felt cruel on Wirtz that it was not the winner. Two late goals for Monaco made it a 3-2 win for them in the first leg of this Europa League play-off round. A blow to supporters, but for the wider game, the latest step on Wirtz's journey back is the bigger story.
Speaking to Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes in the offices at the stadium, it is put to him that perhaps English audiences do not know too much about Wirtz's wonderful talent just yet. He laughs. "You will do," Rolfes tells Sky Sports. You sense he is right.
At 19, Wirtz is the great hope of German football. The excitement about his return to fitness extends far beyond his own club - a point illustrated by the wide smile on the face of national team coach Hansi Flick, celebrating alongside Rudi Voller in the stands.
Badly missed at the World Cup, most expect him to be the poster boy for Euro 2024. But an anterior cruciate ligament injury is the sort of setback that stifles careers, even for one precocious enough to make his Bundesliga debut weeks after turning 17.
He adapted quickly, scoring against Bayern Munich in only his fourth appearance and making his international debut the following year. The world was his. Ten months out was a test, therefore, both physically and emotionally. How would he handle that challenge?
"Really well," insists Rolfes. "From the mental side, he is incredible. How he works, how ambitious he is, how stable he is emotionally. Everyone sees the technical side, the fantastic passes, the dribbling, whatever. But this side of him is amazing. He is just so focused."
The result is that he has returned to the team without missing a beat. There was an assist in his first start against Bochum last month and another in a man-of-the-match performance against Hoffenheim in completing his first full 90 minutes at the weekend.
It is not just that he is back but back to his best. That pace to run away from players is there. His low centre of gravity allows him to hold off markers untroubled. There is no indication that the injury has lowered his ceiling. It delayed him rather than slowed him down.
The mental strength is evident in his play. The most skilful player on the pitch is among the hardest working, encouraging others to join him in the pressing. "Already at this young age, he is a leader of this team, inspiring the other players with his behaviour."
The supporters respond to that. How could they not. The biggest cheer when the teams were read out was for his name. There were gasps of admiration midway through the second half when he tapped the ball one way and eluded his opponent on the other side.
At times, he seemed to playing as a No 10 just off Adam Hlozek, though there was flexibility there with the shape shifting from 3-4-3 to 4-4-2 in and out of possession. Whatever the system, Wirtz was the one who looked most comfortable in tight spaces.
In his absence, Leverkusen sacked head coach Gerardo Seoane in October, bringing in Xabi Alonso. The former Spain international could be good for Wirtz. Others at the club are happiest playing on the counter-attack but he can thrive in a passing team.
It is all there in his game, the one-touch lay-offs, the awareness to flick balls around the corner. "He is an excellent player but also an excellent team player. He makes the other players better around him. The top players have this ability," explains Rolfes.
"One thing I already mentioned is the mental side, but also from a technical side, he finds the spaces to score, to give assists, to accelerate the game. In those positions, he can find solutions."
Wirtz is the answer for Leverkusen. "The key player for us." The question is just how good he could become. "The potential is huge." That is for another day. For now, let us simply celebrate the return of this special talent. "It is really great to see that he is back."
Watch Bayer Leverkusen vs Mainz live on Sky Sports Football this Sunday; kick-off 6.30pm
