The rise and rise of Florian Wirtz

Origins

If you are ever arriving at Pulheim train station on the outskirts of Cologne, keep an eye out for the small sign proudly proclaiming: "Florian Wirtz's Hometown".

Deutsche Bahn, the state railway company, put similar symbols up all over Germany, pointing out to visitors during UEFA EURO 2024 where each of Julian Nagelsmann's squad had grown up.

Wirtz was actually born in the family home in the Brauweiler district of Pulheim - "that's how brave we were back then," said his father Hans-Joachim, whose youngest of 10 children entered the world on 3 May 2003. 

The age difference of over half-a-century between father and son - Wirtz's mother, Karin, is in her mid-60s - led to one TV reporter asking Florian whether his "grandma and grandpa" had come to see him play during the 2023/24 season. Wirtz, however, only sees the upsides of having his father as his agent and confidante.

"I know that he will never want something bad for me or will focus on money," Wirtz Jr explained of his father, who is now in his early 70s. "We have always had a good relationship. I have huge respect for my dad. I'm happy that I have an experienced man at my side who can advise me well." 

That guidance started at SV Grün-Weiss Brauweiler, where his dad remains a key figure on the club's board. His son's first coach, Wirtz Sr immediately saw something special. "Even then, as now, Florian had abilities that were different from those of the others," Hans-Joachim explained. "And he simply had fun with football and always had an eye for a better-positioned teammate."

For the trained locksmith, who later studied sports at the Cologne Sports University and became a special education teacher, fun was - and remains - the key for Florian. 

"It was always our desire that Florian have fun when playing football," Hans-Joachim explained. "That should continue to be the top priority, even if you now have to consider a few other things in your career. But fundamentally all the numbers are of no interest. He should have fun and play football well, and we as a family will of course enjoy that.”

With mum Karin a handball coach and his youngest sister Juliane also a footballer, Florian was surrounded by sport as a kid. "There are very few family members who have not played football," Wirtz explained. "There's always football on TV. In our family, a lot goes on around football." 

That meant that when he soon had scouts from around the country hoping to swoop for him, his family helped decide the next step in the career of the then eight-year-old talent. 

"The family decided that we should try a year at Cologne, but it was tough to come to that decision," explained Hans-Joachim of the process that led to his son joining the Billy Goats' academy in 2011. “We also looked at Bayer Leverkusen and found a good situation there, but it was a pragmatic decision to go to Geißbockheim [N.B. Cologne's training centre] because the location was good.”

Geography dictated the move, but it would never have happened had Wirtz's father not also been involved in pushing it through. "The transfer period was actually over on 2 July, but as the youth academy director at Grün-Weiß, I could put the correct date on the paperwork." 

The Cologne years & the breakthrough

"U-17 national team player Florian Wirtz moves from Cologne to Leverkusen with immediate effect. Representatives of both clubs agreed on it for the end of the current transfer window," said the understated tweet that signalled Wirtz's arrival at the BayArena in January 2020 after his contract with Cologne expired.

To say that the clubs agreed, however, does not exactly reflect the mood in Cologne.

In his nine years with the Billy Goats, Wirtz had morphed into one of Germany's top talents. The whispers of a special player in Cologne were no longer confined to the banks of the Rhine, especially when he orchestrated his young team's national championship win, seeing off Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals and final respectively during the 2018/19 season.

The team-leading performances aside, Wirtz acknowledged he added a crucial fundamental to his natural talent in Cologne.

"The awareness [on the pitch] came when I was in the Cologne youth system. We worked on that for one or two years explicitly. My youth coach came from the Spanish school of football and put a lot of value in that," explained Wirtz, who himself noted the fruit of that work was clear in his sensational goal in the 2-1 win over Freiburg on Matchday 9 of the 2023/24 season.

"When I looked at my goal against Freiburg again, I immediately noticed how often I turned my head. It seems to have become second nature to me."

Wirtz was certainly backing up the hype in Cologne, and even created a "made for social media" sensation by scoring after just five seconds in a 10-0 win over Wuppertal in December 2019 as captain of Cologne's U17 side. Bizarrely, it would prove to be his last ever appearance for the club.

"When I look back on it, it was the right decision," Wirtz explained of his switch to Leverkusen. "At Cologne, I had never thought about the first team, that was too far away."

Which brings us back to Cologne's anger. You have probably never heard of Marco Quotschalla. He was a hugely promising 12-year-old when he was signed on an eight-year contract by Cologne from Leverkusen in 2001.

It provoked a gentleman's agreement between the Rhine rivals and their neighbours Borussia Mönchengladbach that they would not poach each other's youth academy talents. Crucially - at least for Leverkusen's conscience in the case of Wirtz - senior squad players were not included.

"That this [deal] was ignored shows us what kind of business we are in,” said then Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart. Leverkusen chief Rüdi Völler countered. "In talks, we showed Florian a sporting pathway and of course emphasised the fact that in the past young players like Kai Havertz, Julian Brandt and Benjamin Henrichs have been given a chance very early, even in the Champions League."

Leverkusen's sporting director Simon Rolfes added: "I have known the player since he was 14. The possibility suddenly arose because his contract was expiring, and so we tried to get him. I knew that many clubs were interested, and so we thought that before he went anywhere else, let's try to get him to come here and stay close to home."

While geography may again have had an influence, Wirtz himself also played a role. "My switch to Leverkusen at U17 level was solely my decision, as I saw better prospects for myself in Leverkusen - and it worked out that way too."

Leverkusen insisted they had brought Wirtz in to be part of their first-team squad, and after four appearances for the club's U19 team, they were as good as their word.

"It's always something special when you make your debut, especially when you're just 17," said then Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz of the first 61 minutes of Wirtz's Bundesliga career in a 4-1 win over Werder Bremen on 18 May 2020. "All in all, it was a good performance from him, he wasn't nervous."

Just 19 days later there were no nerves again as Wirtz became the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history when he found the net in the 4-2 defeat by Bayern on Matchday 30.

"This boy learned his best lesson today. He lost the ball on each of his first three or four touches," said an uncompromising Bosz. "But you can see he's a huge talent. That's why he's been playing for us." 

"It wasn't a good result," Wirtz posted on Instagram. "But I'm very happy about my first Bundesliga goal."

Watch: Wirtz becomes Bundesliga's youngest ever goalscorer

The Bundesliga title winner

Fast forward to summer 2023. Youssoufa Moukoko has long since pushed Wirtz down the Bundesliga's youngest goalscorer chart, Wirtz has made his senior Germany debut but missed out on the 2022 World Cup due to an ACL injury that would keep him out from mid-March 2022 to mid-January 2023. 

It happened in a challenge with Cologne's Luca Kilian before the half-hour mark of a typically no holds barred Rhine derby.

"On one side, I'm born in Cologne and made great progress there and had a great time as a kid," explained Wirtz, whose feelings towards his first club were coloured by the painful experience. "But then I did my ACL in a game against them and wasn't treated well."

He returned from the first major injury of his career to feature in 17 Bundesliga matches, and though he scored just one top-flight goal, he chipped in with six assists to help his side eventually finish comfortably in the top half of the table after a troubled start to the 2022/23 campaign.

He also netted three times and assisted twice as Leverkusen reached the Europa League semi-finals, which ensured he hit the ground running as Die Werkself came into one of the most memorable seasons in football history.

"People often use the word "magic" about him," said teammate and Germany international Jonas Hofmann. "You can scarcely believe it, but he's so quick with the ball at his feet and so hard to knock off it. He shakes off physically stronger opponents and gets out of tricky situations. He's absolute gold for our attacking play."

When you are playing at a level that leaves even your teammates astounded, it says everything about just how good Wirtz has become. And boy was he good in the 2023/24 campaign.

"I'm going to remember that for a long time," said coach Xabi Alonso of Wirtz's outrageous goal against Freiburg, one of a career-high 11 Bundesliga strikes in the season.

"You can't defend against Florian Wirtz," said Freiburg boss Christian Streich with an air of resignation in the immediate aftermath of seeing his team prove him right. "What can you say? It's incredible. Only he and Leroy Sané can do that." 

Watch: Florian Wirtz wins Bundesliga Player of the Season 2023/24!

Wirtz actually outdid the Bayern man. He also provided 11 assists, and became the first Bundesliga player to register double figures for goals and assists for the season with the hat-trick in the 5-0 demolition of Bremen that secured Leverkusen's first top-flight title in a delirious Matchday 29 encounter at the BayArena.

"It hasn't sunk in yet," said Wirtz following the 2-1 victory over Augsburg on Matchday 34 that meant the team lifted the Meisterschale having become the first Bundesliga team to go through a domestic season unbeaten. "I still need a little time to get my head around what we've achieved. You can't imagine a season like this."

"It was a special day," an emotional Hans-Joachim Wirtz told German TV. "Four years ago, on 18 May, Florian made his first Bundesliga appearance. And now four years later he's champion of Germany. It's very impressive. It strikes a chord deep inside."

And Wirtz Sr. even got his hands on the trophy too. "I had the trophy in my hands," he said, beaming with paternal pride. "I was surprised by how heavy it is."

Wirtz picked up where he left off in 2024/25, dazzling his way past Bundesliga defenders once more and matching his goal involvement tally from the previous season with 10 goals and 12 assists.

The future

Do you know who Wirtz worshipped as a kid? He has been on the books of two Rhine derby clubs, but it was a Mönchengladbach prodigy that inspired him.

"My great idol was Marko Marin. I had a Werder Bremen shirt with his name on it," explained Wirtz of Marin, who came through the Gladbach youth academy to reach the first team before joining Bremen in 2009. "I was fascinated by his dribbles and his goal threat. In that respect, I could identify with him."

Despite going on to also play for the likes of Chelsea, Fiorentina, Anderlecht and Olympiacos, Marin never enjoyed the career his early promise suggested he would. Wirtz, who already has 31 caps for Germany - 15 more than his childhood idol - is clearly not going to go the same way.