Xabi Alonso is pleased with the future statements made by Florian Wirtz’s father and advisor Hans-Joachim. Bayer’s coach speaks of the “right path”.
One should stay in Leverkusen until 2027 – and the other? Bayer young star Florian Wirtz (left) with coach Xabi Alonso. IMAGO/Sven Simon
Hans-Joachim Wirtz, father and advisor to the exceptional player, had already hinted to kicker that the sought-after Florian Wirtz could stay at Bayer for a longer period of time. In conversation with the Cologne City Gazette He now made these statements more specific: “Florian has a contract in Leverkusen until 2027. That will also roughly be the amount of time he will spend in Leverkusen.” We should “wait for the next two years and then we’ll see where the path leads.”
These statements logically made Bayer fans very happy – they are the next strong signal from Wirtz. But coach Xabi Alonso also had words of praise on Friday. “From the first day here in Leverkusen, people told me that for Flo his family is the most important thing. They are very intelligent, stable people who are very calm when it comes to Flo’s future,” explained the coach League leaders before the game at 1. FC Köln (Sunday, 3:30 p.m., LIVE! on kicker).
Xabi Alonso praises the “very positive influence” of Wirtz’s family
“They have a very positive influence on him to take the right step,” said the Basque and added: “You know that he has a super team and a top club in Leverkusen. I’m happy about that Father and his family are ready to support him on the right path.”
We see a Flo who grows up a little more every month.
On Sunday Wirtz will face his former club Cologne. He played there in the youth ranks before moving to the Werkself amid loud fanfare in 2020. The playmaker is also likely to receive loud whistles in his third game at FC since the side swap. No special preparation is planned, explained Xabi Alonso. “I deal with him as I always do,” said Bayer’s coach. “We see a Flo who grows up a little every month. We’re not preparing anything special for Sunday.”
Wirtz has taken the next step in development
The most important thing is “that he plays his football, with his intelligence, with his quality. That’s the Flo we want,” emphasized Xabi Alonso, under whose guidance the 20-year-old has taken the next step in his development. For the still unbeaten Werkself, Wirtz usually plays the half-left ten position in the 3-4-3 formation, although the 14-time international does not remain rigid in this position.
Rather, he walks between the lines, acts as a pacesetter, preparer and goalscorer. The fact that Wirtz also fulfills his defensive tasks with an extremely high mileage makes him doubly important for the front-runner, who still has all three title options and leads the league table with a seven point lead over FC Bayern with one game less. The ex-Cologne Wirtz played a significant role in this.
2024-03-02 08:37:44
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