More contact than with his own club coach! Is Liverpool star Florian Wirtz secretly being coached from afar?
Germany coach Jürgen Klopp gets in touch with international Florian Wirtz after every Liverpool FC match, according to Bild. He apparently speaks to him more often than Reds coach Andoni Iraola does.
"He will become the key player for him. He is putting all his faith in him. He is also the one having the conversations. He is practically coaching him at Liverpool, too. After every Liverpool match, which he apparently still watches very regularly because of his long-standing ties to the club, he really does exchange text messages with him and speak to him on the phone," said Bild football editor Christian Falk on the programme "Lage der Liga".
Falk added: "I've even heard from Liverpool: he speaks to him more than the coach there does. That shows how important this player is to his system."
Wirtz repeatedly faces criticism in England under Liverpool coach Iraola, but he looks considerably more settled in a Germany shirt. "If they gave him more responsibility at Liverpool, he would play better there too. But Klopp gives it to him," Falk said.
Former Germany coach Joachim Löw also appeared on the programme. The 66-year-old first called Wirtz up to the national team in March 2021 and recalled how clear the teenager's potential was even then.
Which Germany coach first called up Florian Wirtz?
"With Florian, it was really a case of knowing that, if he continued developing as he was, he could become a truly great player. He was 17. Jamal Musiala was there for the first time too, I think. It was shortly before Euro 2021, and it was an extended squad. Wirtz was not at the tournament, but you could already see that he was exceptionally good and had an incredible understanding of space and positional awareness," Löw said.
Löw added: "That's what I find brilliant about Florian: he is one of the best players without the ball. If you pay attention: brilliant on the ball, brilliant ideas, superb technique. But he is a player who makes incredibly good runs without the ball and repeatedly drives in behind. That sometimes opens up big gaps in the opposition for a team. And that is important."
