Following Germany’s 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in Thursday night’s World Cup qualifier, the German media harshly criticized Florian Wirtz. The back-to-back Bundesliga Player of the Year is now in the spotlight after moving to Liverpool for £116 million this summer.
After three games, the attacking midfielder has shown signs of struggling to adjust to the pace and physicality of the Premier League, with no goals or assists despite collecting 21 goals and 23 assists in his last two league campaigns combined.
Liverpool is going through some early teething problems, but they have won all three games and are currently top of the standings heading into the international break. Nonetheless, the fact that the German media has already highlighted Wirtz’s issues is not a good indication.
The verdict against Florian Wirtz has caused concern among the German media.
Before digging into what the national media stated about Wirtz, consider his statistics performance. Despite receiving a lot of criticism for his performance, the 22-year-old managed to earn the joint-second best rating on Sofascore among the German team, having made four vital passes and created one big chance.
It appears, however, that the media would rather emphasize on the negatives following a nail-biting defeat. He also only won three of his ten ground duels, lost possession 21 times, and had a pass success rate of 79%. As a result, Buli News gave this only a 5/10 rating, writing:
“Wirtz, Germany’s only true creative spark of the evening, made three important passes and nearly scored after a spectacular solo run in the first half.
“However, he also dropped the ball prior to the home team’s opener and, rather than tracking back, became embroiled in an argument with a Slovakian player. He was frustrated for much of the game, and reasonably so.”
Bild described Germany’s defeat as a ‘historical shame’ before giving Wirtz a five, which is the second-lowest score he could have received in their model of 1-6. Sport 1 assigned him the same score, noting:
“He appeared to pull himself together at the start of the second half, but nothing came from it. He couldn’t meet the demands placed on him, which is why he eventually disappeared again.”
Elsewhere, Bavarian Football Works wrote: “The offense is lifeless, and the reserve options did not impress either. Florian Wirtz appeared stuck and miserable, and despite his best efforts, he could not outperform his opponents.”
It’s a troubling sight for Liverpool fans to see a player their recruitment team spent so much time investigating struggle to get started. Still, there is little doubt that he possesses a rare potential, and expectations remain high that he will perform well once he adjusts to Arne Slot’s system and settles in with his new teammates.
They, too, are adjusting to a dressing room altered by a summer of comings and goings that rivaled the traffic at John Lennon Airport, and Wirtz’s early indications of being nothing more than a luxury player will undoubtedly be corrected shortly.
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