Florian Wirtz's New Role at Liverpool: A Fresh Start
Florian Wirtz has only been back on the grass at Liverpool for a couple of days, but one thing is already clear: Andoni Iraola’s Anfield era will look very different to what came before.
The German playmaker, signed to great fanfare from Bayer Leverkusen, cut a frustrated figure for stretches of his debut campaign. Seven goals and 10 assists were a respectable return, yet the season never quite caught fire for either player or club. Now, with Arne Slot gone and Iraola installed at the start of the summer, Wirtz senses a reset.
“It’s really fun,” he said of the early sessions. “I enjoyed every training. We play a lot of games and possessions, and that’s exactly what I like.” Short, sharp, competitive work. The ball constantly in play. For a natural creator, this is home.
A clear role at last
Iraola has already made one big call on his new No.10. Last week, the Basque coach laid out his plan: Wirtz will operate centrally, not shunted wide. No hybrid role, no compromise. A pure playmaker.
For Wirtz, that clarity matters. Last season left him with a lingering sense of underachievement.
“Of course I wasn’t happy at all — about the season, I mean,” he admitted. “I was not unhappy every day when I came to training, but I think we expected much more.”
That line could serve as the motto for Liverpool’s year. Promise, but not enough payoff.
So this summer has been framed as a clean slate.
“I think we start from zero this season,” Wirtz said. “Also here with this training camp, it’s a new start. We have a lot of things to do better this season and I’m very excited for season two.”
A gifted No.10, a coach who wants him in his natural zone, and a squad being reshaped around him: the conditions are there for a leap.
New managers, new demands
Wirtz’s reset doesn’t stop at club level. He will also report to a new national team coach — one very familiar to everyone at Liverpool.
“It’s very, very cool that [Jürgen Klopp is] there now,” Wirtz told club media. He has not yet spoken with the former Reds boss, but he hardly needs an introduction. “A lot of people here at the club told me about him, that he is a fantastic guy. All of Liverpool loves him. So, I’m very excited to meet him in a few months.”
Two demanding, high-energy coaches in one season. Two very different footballing cultures. For a 21-year-old technician, it is a challenge and an opportunity rolled into one.
Firepower ahead of him
If Wirtz is to explode as a No.10, he will need movement and goals in front of him. Iraola believes he has exactly that in Alexander Isak.
The striker, now fully fit and back in rhythm after his summer exertions, has already caught his manager’s eye.
“I think he has come in a good place,” Iraola said this week. “I think he was good in the World Cup. I saw him comfortable. First training here, I think I’ve seen a good version of Alex.”
The caveat is obvious: it is still early. “He has just started training,” Iraola cautioned, but the plan is clear. “I hope he can have some minutes against Leeds and build properly a proper pre-season. It’s not going to be very long but he will have three or four weeks of quality training, I hope, and we can put him in a good place because he is going to be massive for us this season.”
A fully firing Isak, fed by a liberated Wirtz, gives Liverpool a very different attacking profile. There could be more to come, too. Bradley Barcola has been identified as a potential addition on the wing, with Liverpool exploring a deal with PSG. If that move happens, it would add another runner for Wirtz to find between the lines.
A second season with something to prove
Seven goals. Ten assists. For many, those numbers would mark a strong first year in England. For Wirtz, they are a platform, not a peak.
He wanted more. Liverpool wanted more. Iraola has been hired to demand more.
The early signs — the intensity of training, the commitment to a possession-heavy, game-based approach, the decision to nail Wirtz down as a pure No.10 — all point in one direction: this is a team being built to let its most creative player dictate matches.
The question now is simple. With the slate wiped clean and the structure finally tailored to him, how high can Florian Wirtz push Liverpool in season two?
