Maximising space on a football pitch can be complex, but Florian Wirtz makes it look simple.
The Bayer Leverkusen attacker’s ability to fill gaps intelligently and turn that positioning into productivity helps explain why he is one of Europe’s most coveted players this summer and why he has attracted interest from Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich, as reported by The Athletic.
The clamour over Wirtz is obvious. He turned 22 two weeks ago and is already among the Bundesliga’s best players. Few attacking midfielders have his blend of ball-carrying drive, incisive passing and spatial awareness.
But how could he fit into each of those sides on his trail? And which one of them might he suit best?
Florian Wirtz scoring for Bayer Leverkusen against Augsburg in December (Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)
How does Florian Wirtz play?
Wirtz is a versatile, right-footed forward. As the graphic below shows, he is best as a left-sided attacking midfielder but can play as a left-winger, in central positions and even on the right side.
The 29-time Germany international operates almost exclusively in the final third. Across Europe’s ‘big four’ leagues (Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga in Spain and Italy’s Serie A) this season, only Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku (32.7) has attempted more passes within the attacking third than Wirtz’s 32.4 per 90 minutes. His effectiveness at such a high volume is made possible by two principal qualities: positioning and speed of thought.
Wirtz’s mind seems to work a split second faster than those of the other 21 players on the pitch. He understands opposition structures just minutes into a game and tailors his positioning to drag defenders into undesirable positions.
This sequence, from the second minute of Leverkusen’s Champions League match against Atletico Madrid in January, is a great example. Wirtz makes his signature sudden sprint to receive a pass, with his marker, Pablo Barrios, slow to react.
Wirtz plays a first-time pass and spins around Barrios. When the return ball arrives, he has room to run into, while Jeremie Frimpong’s availability to receive a pass drags out Atletico left-back Javi Galan. Frimpong is quicker than Galan and can exploit the space in behind.
In the 20th minute of the same match, Wirtz positions himself between the lines as Leverkusen play out wide to Frimpong.
Frimpong beats Galan and crosses to Wirtz, who is still occupying that gap within Atletico’s two banks of four. From here, Wirtz has time to control the ball and fire a volley at goal, forcing Jan Oblak to make the save.
A common sight with Wirtz is his ability to accelerate instantly after receiving the ball, giving defenders limited time to react.
In this example from December’s home game against St Pauli, he receives the ball from Alejandro Grimaldo in his preferred area of the pitch. Wirtz immediately bears down on goal, and nutmegs a defender for good measure before scoring.
On each occasion, Wirtz’s positioning is made possible by fiendishly clever off-the-ball movement, with side or back-passes from team-mates often acting as triggers for him to move into space.
“What I do is mostly very spontaneous because it appears to be the best solution in that situation,” Wirtz told Werkself Magazin. “But sometimes I suspect or know beforehand what the opponent will do, and then it’s easier to do my own tricks because I can see how the opponents move and when they’ll dive in.
“It’s one of my strengths that sometimes I know in advance what will happen — and then I can concentrate on the solution, so that I anticipate the situation and create an advantage.
“I’ve learned to watch what the others do and then make the best decision. You always have to be prepared to learn if you want to become a better player.”
That mindset allows Wirtz to produce game-defining moments at a world-class volume. He has a variety of passes in his locker too, including outside-of-the-boot crosses such as the one below against Borussia Dortmund last weekend…
… and disguised passes such as this through ball against Heidenheim last season.
Wirtz is consistent with his shots too, getting 47 per cent of his goal attempts on target, at a rate of nearly two per 90 minutes across his Bundesliga career. In line with his ability to make the right decision, his expected goal per shot (xG, measuring the average quality of his shots) average is 0.13.
Without the ball, Wirtz uses spurts of energy to press opponents, often running from in to out to prevent them progressing the ball centrally and enjoys contesting duels.
“I just have the physique to get into lots of challenges. I give everything in every game for us to win. So I also look for challenges or run back because that’s part of helping my team be successful. I want to give my all and run until I can’t anymore,” Wirtz added in that same interview.
Could he be City’s De Bruyne replacement?
Manchester City need to add creativity to their midfield, with Kevin De Bruyne departing this summer and questions, as ever, over Bernardo Silva’s future. In that regard, Wirtz would be a welcome addition, and some facets of his playing style will draw comparisons with that of De Bruyne.
But unlike the Belgian, who uses his passing range to create opportunities, Wirtz prefers to carry the ball and wriggle through spaces himself. De Bruyne’s best years saw him charge forward with the ball at pace but in the past two, injury-riddled, campaigns he has relied more on his distribution. City have tried to surround him with runners, including Mateo Kovacic and, more recently, Omar Marmoush.
Wirtz could fit into that scheme better than most. The graph below from Skillcorner details his off-ball run types, with those ahead of the play and dropping short contributing to nearly half his total. Such runs would help City stretch defences, dovetailing well with Doku, Marmoush and Savinho to create quality openings for striker Erling Haaland and runners from midfield.
Wirtz’s control in tight spaces would be a help, given City’s struggles against low blocks (deep defences) in recent years, while his active positioning would pose problems for opposition defensive structures.
One example comes from Leverkusen’s 1-0 Champions League win against final-bound Inter in December.
Wirtz drifts over to the right — an area where De Bruyne has often found himself this season — and between the lines as Leverkusen pass sideways. Hakan Calhanoglu initially decides to break the structure to close him down.
But as the pass reaches Exequiel Palacios, Calhanoglu shifts his focus to the Argentinian. This moment of indecision allows Palacios to find Wirtz with space to carry the ball. Wirtz draws the attention of four defenders before delicately chipping a pass into Frimpong’s path, with the full-back firing a cross/shot behind for a goal kick.
City have struggled to unlock defences in this way without De Bruyne at his best, often forced to go sideways and then cross into the box. Wirtz’s potency in the final third would attract attention and could free up Pep Guardiola’s talented front line.
Given City’s newfound reliance on wingers and their defenders’ comfort in possession, Wirtz could play his part in creating situations like the one below, from Leverkusen’s January home game against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Wirtz runs towards his own goal, dragging a player out of the final line. Monchengladbach’s left-back is occupied by Grimaldo (not in frame), leaving a gap for Piero Hincapie to run into and receive a pass.
The ball to Hincapie is Wirtz’s cue to position himself between the lines again. Hincapie carries across halfway, then passes to the German. Wirtz then draws a defender before chipping a pass to Patrik Schick, who scores.
In many ways, the current version of Guardiola’s City are a natural fit for Wirtz, given their reliance on stretching teams instead of playing through them.
How could Wirtz improve Liverpool?
Arne Slot has most commonly used Dominik Szoboszlai as Liverpool’s attacking midfielder in his first season as Liverpool head coach, but the Hungary international has not necessarily shown all the traits you would typically associate with a player in that position.
Szoboszlai has been a crucial cog in Slot’s system, but as much for his off-ball energy in and out of possession as any of his qualities with the ball at his feet.
“He is a bit underestimated,” Slot said of Szoboszlai in a press conference after January’s 4-1 home win over Ipswich. “Not by me, but he doesn’t always get the credit for being very important for this team. His work rate is unbelievable.”
Underlapping runs have been a crucial part of Liverpool’s attacking play this season, with Szoboszlai’s selfless running dragging opposition defenders with him — making space for the wingers to come inside and swing in back-post crosses to an onrushing team-mate.
While his selfless running is valuable, a return of five Premier League goals and six assists from 34 league appearances so far suggests there is room for improvement in Szoboszlai’s attacking output — something Slot called out early on.
“We have to work on getting him even more involved in scoring goals and creating chances,” Slot said in September. “Last season, he scored three in the league, and for an attacking midfielder at Liverpool, his numbers need to go up.”
Wirtz’s basic attacking numbers are stronger, with 21 goals and 23 assists in the Bundesliga since the start of last season illustrating greater potency at the sharp end of the pitch, albeit while playing in a different league.
They are different types of footballers. Wirtz is focused more on the micro, with delicate touches and deft flicks, compared to Szoboszlai’s macro traits of energy and power. Both skill sets have their place depending on the opposition — if he joined them, Wirtz’s close control and ball-carrying would add another dimension to Liverpool’s attack rather than transform it.
Slot has largely played with a central striker this season but has also used a 4-2-4 system involving two attacking midfielders through the middle, as Curtis Jones partnered Szoboszlai at the top end of the pitch — most notably in their 2-0 victory over Manchester City in December.
The experiment was successful on the day as Liverpool put together one of their best performances of the season, but there are a couple of ways Wirtz could have bothered City had he played in that game.
Liverpool used the following structure when they had possession, matching up their four forwards against the home side’s back line.
On other occasions, they allowed their wide players to occupy the full-backs, while Szoboszlai became the nominal striker and Jones dropped to play with his back to goal.
In the 17th minute, Jones receives a pass while positioned between the City lines:
He instinctively turns and plays a through ball intended for Szoboszlai but City intercept and go on the attack themselves. In a similar situation, Wirtz would back himself to drive forward, giving Mohamed Salah and Szoboszlai an extra second to make the right runs behind.
A good example of that came in November against Bochum, where Wirtz positions himself between the lines, drives and assists Frimpong, a player he has often combined with at Leverkusen and is currently another Liverpool target.
Wirtz’s ability to play anywhere across the front line would add an extra layer of versatility to Slot’s tactical setup, allowing him to rotate his attacking options during and between games without any decrease in quality. Whether dropping into pockets against deep blocks, pulling wide to evade his marker, or carrying the ball upfield single-handedly, Wirtz can do a bit of everything.
Slot’s first season has seen Liverpool scoring through their wide players rather than depending on a centre-forward. Wirtz could fit brilliantly into that mould, alleviating the need to sign a top striker, a notoriously difficult market. Given his youth, he could also help Liverpool prepare for life after Salah, who turns 33 next month.
How would Wirtz fit at Bayern?
The immediate question for Bayern if they move for Wirtz will be how he could play alongside another right-footed young attacker — Jamal Musiala.
During last summer’s European Championship, Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann found a way to use them both in what was a 4-2-3-1 on paper, with Musiala lining up on the right and Wirtz on the left. They worked well with Kai Havertz, who played as the striker, while Ilkay Gundogan often joined the Arsenal forward up front in a fluid system.
In this example, from their group match against Hungary, Wirtz drops back to receive the ball from his defenders. As Hungary move towards him, Musiala drifts wider while Havertz and Gundogan occupy the centre-backs.
Wirtz and Musiala frequently switched positions and roles when they played together: a few minutes later in the same game, Musiala drops on the left while Wirtz moves forward to join Havertz.
There is evidence to suggest the system can work. With Wirtz and Musiala operating infield, the full-backs will be required to provide the width, but against organised defences, a midfielder joining the attack should give the team an extra player against the opposition defence.
This move would make sense for Bayern, who are over-reliant on Musiala and Michael Olise for creativity and have struggled against low blocks. A prime example came during the second leg of their Champions League play-off against Celtic in February.
Celtic sat deep in a 4-4-2 when Bayern had the ball near the halfway line.
With Olise holding the width on the right, Musiala drops between the lines to receive the ball from Joshua Kimmich:
The concern here is that Bayern do not have a midfielder or winger pushing up to give Musiala options. He eventually slides a pass through to striker Harry Kane, who forces a save with a shot from a narrow angle.
Five minutes later, Bayern work the situation differently.
Musiala is on the left this time. Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry move closer to the edge of the box, pinning Celtic back. Musiala attracts two defenders to him, creating space for left-back Raphael Guerreiro, who he finds with a through ball.
As the game progressed, Celtic marked Musiala more aggressively while holding their overall structure, reducing his impact.
Wirtz would provide extra creativity, but with Kane often dropping back and Olise excelling in the half-spaces, there is potential for this to be a clunky fit on paper. It will likely overwhelm teams in the Bundesliga, but could hurt Bayern’s defensive intensity in Europe.
Manager Vincent Kompany would need to adapt.
A system similar to Germany’s, with full-backs — Alphonso Davies on the left and Josip Stanisic or Sacha Boey on the right — providing the width, is an option. Dropping Musiala into the Kimmich role from the examples above against deep defences, making him the initiator behind Wirtz, could be a solution too.
Either way, it would be an enviable problem to solve and one that pretty much any football manager in Europe would sign up for this summer.
(Top photo: Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
