Two that will come to: Leverkusens Florian Wirtz (left) and the Munich Jamal Musiala
Photo: Imago/Sven Simon
With great curiosity, the system and the tactical approach, which could bring the now seventh encounter of the Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso with FC Bayern Munich. The Spanish football teacher has never lost against the record champion, also because he almost always made these encounters into coaching games with astonishing success. In the previous season he surprised Thomas Tuchel with a defense chain consisting of four central defenders and won 3-0. In the DFB Cup, this time he left Bayern the ball despite the majority, his team broke out a 1-0 victory. Finally, at 0-0 in the Bundesliga, the Leverkuseners pushed the Munich so efficient that Joshua Kimmich, Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala could not get a single controlled move through the midfield in 90 minutes.
The long -time Leverkusen captain Jens Nowotny is also excited to see which coaching tricks Alonso comes up in Munich for the round of 16 in the Champions League on Wednesday. And he is looking forward to the technical discussions that he will lead to the duel between Alonso and Munich colleague Vincent Kompany on Thursday. However, Nowotny, who is now part of the coaching staff of the German U15 national team, does not believe that systems and strategies will pave the way to the quarter-finals. “You have to be careful not to get lost in tactics,” says Nowotny, “because there is a player on the pitch who will decide these round of 16: Florian Wirtz.”
There may be Bavaria fans and supporters of Jamal Musiala who see it differently, but a lot suggests that Wirtz is currently the most influential professional in the Bundesliga. A footballer who may not play at a global class, but is constantly playing at world class level. “He is a great gift,” says Alonso. “What he does is art at a high level,” adds Leverkusen’s captain Lukas Hradecky. Almost every one of his actions has some little special flourishes, is around a magic, of a beauty that never makes sense, but always makes sense.
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What makes Wirtz as a footballer really unique, explains Granit Xhaka: “He is a tens, but with the mentality of a six.” Other world -class players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Kylian Mbappé are reluctant to invest their energies on defensive, they defend them from a sense of duty or because they have understood that victories in big games become more likely. Wirtz, on the other hand, is blessed with technology, inventiveness, artistic intuition and light -footedness, but at the same time he has a real pleasure to defend his own goal. “I try to be someone the team can rely on,” he says in the recent edition of the club magazine. “One of my great qualities is that I can run a lot, even at a quick pace. I just have the physical prerequisites to get into many duels. “
According to statistics, Wirtz won the most duels during the ongoing Bundesliga season: 334. Mönchengladbach’s Tim Kleindienst with a value of 283 follows. Because of this strength, too, Wirtz became a formative strength in this competition in his first season as a Champions League player. In the eight games of the group phase, he scored five goals and prepared another, five times he was determined for the “Man of the Match”.
He has also gained valuable experience. For example, with the 0: 4 defeat in Liverpool, when he wanted too much and lost his lightness. Or as a Bayer with 1: 2 at Atletico Madrid, and Wirtz could be involved in a personal examination with opponent Rodrigo de Paul. But he absorbs such experiences. “I think I learned from the first half in Madrid in the second half,” he says. “I have to concentrate on my things.” This is also a great talent of this footballer, which is associated with three -digit million sums on the transfer market and is already compared with the greatest stars in history.
But somehow the son of a family with ten children who is advised by his parents is still the “flo”. At the moment, there is even a lot of indication that despite the desires of the world’s greatest clubs, he extends his contract in Leverkusen. “At some point you will read something, and then you know,” he says on this topic. Also away from the square, Florian Wirtz seems to have a talent for finding amazingly simple solutions for complicated challenges.
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