Shortly before his 21st birthday, Florian Wirtz dominated three statistics in the Europa League. That only leaves one conclusion.
Florian Wirtz celebrates his 21st birthday on Friday . That’s just enough to play another Europa League game in the hours before, the first leg of the semi-final at AS Roma (Thursday, 9 p.m., LIVE! on kicker). The Bayer 04 Leverkusen playmaker can extend his lead in three categories.
Shortly before his 21st birthday, Florian Wirtz dominated three statistics in the Europa League. That only leaves one conclusion.
Feels very comfortable in the Europa League so far: Florian Wirtz.
Feels very comfortable in the Europa League so far: Florian Wirtz.IMAGO/Mika Volkmann
Florian Wirtz celebrates his 21st birthday on Friday . That’s just enough to play another Europa League game in the hours before, the first leg of the semi-final at AS Roma (Thursday, 9 p.m., LIVE! on kicker). The Bayer 04 Leverkusen playmaker can extend his lead in three categories.
Because: Wirtz is already the youngster in this competition with the most appearances (30), the most wins (19) and the most goals (11) under the age of 21, although the latter only applies if you take the previous competition, the UEFA Cup disregards.
Wirtz has already left Muniain, Koke and Cutrone behind him
In terms of appearances, Iker Muniain , a former top talent and now a veteran of Athletic Bilbao, is second, who played all 26 games before his 20th birthday and then simply didn’t qualify for the Europa League. In terms of victories, Spain’s 70-time international player Koke has now been left behind, winning 15 of his first 18 games.
And when it comes to goals, Wirtz tops Patrick Cutrone , who scored nine times as a youngster in the AC Milan jersey (and is now a 26-year-old for the Italian second division club Como – his hometown). Only in the UEFA Cup did two-time Bundesliga top scorer Dieter Müller net twelve times before his 21st birthday – Wirtz can still do that at the Olimpico.
It’s obvious: Wirtz just seems too good for the second most important European Cup. Because Leverkusen, as champions, has long since qualified for the Champions League, the 16-time national player and European Championship hopefuls can prove themselves on the biggest stage for the first time in 2024/25.
But before that he wants to achieve something that Koke managed twice with Atletico Madrid (2012, 2018), the first time in the final against Muniain : the Europa League triumph. Even if – unlike Koke – he would already be 21 years old.