It can’t be easy to pick-up and move from one country to another, regardless of the circumstances. I’m an immigrant and the child of immigrants, so the difficulty of having to pick up and start somewhere new, far from your familiar places and without your support structures, is familiar. I can’t imagine, though, having to do all of that with the added scrutiny of millions of fans watching me work and then having opinions about that.
But that’s the life of an elite athlete and exactly the experience that Florian Wirtz finds himself after moving from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool over the summer. And given that his move came with such a high price-tag, the expectations were sky high.
It’s, of course, taken Wirtz time to put together a run of form that supporters might feel good about. But with a strong showing in the Champions League against Eintracht Frankfurt and a scintillating creative performance against Real Madrid, fans might finally be getting a glimpse of the player that German giants Bayern Munich were so miffed to have missed out on.
“I have to say, I think against Madrid now it was the craziest atmosphere since I am here. I really enjoyed it, how the fans celebrated every action we did, and very thankful that they supported us like this. [I am] looking forward to more nights like this.”
Wirtz was deployed on the left as Liverpool once more rolled out the standard 4-3-3 base formation that the club has utilized since Jurgen Klopp took over. Wirtz had been slotted into the 10 role in Slot’s preferred 4-2-3-1, which caused him to come in for what feels, to me, undue criticism. Namely in terms of being the catalyst for moving Dominik Szoboszlai out of position and into right-back.
It feels clear now that the move was one utilized by Slot to ensure that Szobo – who has emerged as an early candidate for player of the season – would be on the pitch. And given the injuries to both Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley, if the question for Arne Slot is how to have both Wirtz and Szobo on the pitch, then it makes sense that the Hungarian midfielder would fill-in at right-back.
This most recent set of appearances, Wirtz also had the experience of playing out of their preferred position, slotting in at left-wing in place of Cody Gakpo. When asked about it, Wirtz indicated a willingness to play wherever needed.
“I just enjoyed to play first of all because I wasn’t sure if I would play, so I was happy that I could play. I just take the position the manager wants me to play. Of course I am familiar with this position but I can also play just in the middle, in the 10 or on the left, and I just try to always give my best and to be important for the team. I think I have already a good connection with my teammates on the pitch. Of course the numbers are not there now but I just try to give my best every game – that’s what I always do – and I’m happy that I can create some chances.”
“Some chances” feels like an understatement given that Wirtz created the most chances on the night (5). On display in that outing was the reason Liverpool bought him: strong in possession, quick to recognize and play a pass, and the technical flair to pull it all together. In actuality, any complaints about his lack of goal contributions has some bearing on his teammates: Flo should have had at least two assists as he played two incredibly killer passes that should have resulted in assists.
All told, positive signs and lots for Reds to be hopeful about. An offense with Florian Wirtz in full flight is gonna look scary and might force those low-blocks to reconsider their approach.
