Swimming Somewhere New
Florian Wirtz on the left.
So those who have followed this Substack since the summer will know that I’ve got thoughts on how to deploy Wirtz in a tactical sense, and that’s putting it mildly. He’s a very cool and unique player.
Shortly after the Reds signed him, I described him as a swimmer. I also labelled him as a raumdeuter, a polymath and a poet. ‘The only player in the final third counting the beat,’ I wrote in this piece.
I stand by all of that. Wirtz is heavily involved compared to your typical attacker. He gets tons of touches. Always moving. Always showing. Never shying away from acting as a passing option for his teammates, even when things aren’t quite working for him.
Xabi Alonso was keen to play into his associative nature. Bayer Leverkusen dominated the ball under his tutelage, with Wirtz deciding when to speed things up and when to slow things down. He was kinda like Rodri or Toni Kroos, only much closer to goal. As rare as it gets, and still just 22 years old.
Once establishing what he’s like as a player when he’s running on autopilot, you can see why it makes very little sense in the modern era to deploy him as a conventional wide player.
The Premier League is rife with a certain brand of winger nowadays. Fast, direct, tricky and excellent on the dribble. Savinho, Oscar Bobb, Noni Madueke, Bukayo Saka, Antoine Semenyo, Pedro Neto, Anthony Gordon, Jérémy Doku. How long have you got?
Slot likes that profile, too. Indeed, he’s spent most of his managerial career platforming those guys to win games for him. In his homeland, he was known for almost relying on his wingers, having used the rest of his team to create favourable one-on-one situations for them.
It’s not a coincidence that Mohamed Salah exploded in his debut campaign working under Slot. Cody Gakpo did pretty well, too. As did Luis Díaz, who ended up landing a move to Bayern Munich on the back of his impressive displays.
I’d go as far as arguing it’s close to being a philosophical thing for Slot. Part of his entire model. In other words, a principle that doesn’t change, almost regardless of who he’s managing. Think Pep Guardiola and possession. Jürgen Klopp and pressing. Marcelo Bielsa and man-marking.
Within that context, Wirtz isn’t suited to being a wide player for Slot. Not even close. Wirtz roams and floats. Slot’s wingers stay put until the ball reaches them. Wirtz creates and connects. Slot’s wingers press the red button.
You can see why I’ve been so against the idea of Wirtz being deployed on the flanks, because I don’t want him to be used like he’s just another player, no. I want his qualities to be appreciated, harnessed, platformed.
You do that by fielding Wirtz in the centre of the pitch, and Slot seemed to recognise that at the start of the campaign. But as the season has progressed, the Reds have struggled. Not entirely because of Wirtz, but let’s just say Dominik Szoboszlai has proved to be pretty important.
To get back on track after losing six matches from seven recently, Slot reinstated the Hungarian as his number ten, initially benching Wirtz before starting him on the left against Real Madrid.
Liverpool won both games, and appear to have turned a corner. Slot has to stick with what he’s found, which unfortunately seems to consist of Wirtz finding a new home out wide.
It should feel like a defeat for this Substack, but I’m actually pretty happy right now, because despite being deployed on the flanks on paper — and when defending — Wirtz has continued to be pretty adventurous.
Slot retained the essence of the German wonderkid against Madrid, granting him the freedom to swim as far as he saw fit. He wasn’t glued to the touchline, no. He explored, as shown below just 35 seconds into the bout.
