I’m really glad Lothar Matthäus has said this.
Because I think Florian Wirtz has reached the stage where people are judging him almost entirely on whether he scores or produces some spectacular moment every time he plays.
And that’s simply not how football works.
The Germany legend has now come out and defended Wirtz from criticism in both Germany and England, insisting that the media have been “unfair” to the Liverpool midfielder.
And, honestly, I think he has a point.
“The media in Germany and England are being unfair”
Matthäus was speaking to RTL/Sky after watching Wirtz impress for Germany during the international break.
His message was pretty clear.
“The media in Germany and England are being unfair to Florian Wirtz.”
He then explained that he has contacts in England and regularly hears that Wirtz is actually producing very good performances for Liverpool.
That is the part I think Liverpool supporters should pay attention to.
Because there is a huge difference between saying Wirtz has been perfect for Liverpool and saying he has been a bad player.
He hasn’t been a bad player.
He simply hasn’t produced enough of those spectacular moments that everybody expected after Liverpool spent so much money bringing him to Anfield.
And those are two completely different things.
Matthäus made exactly that point.
He said Wirtz doesn’t always have the standout moment like the outstanding goal he scored against Serbia for Germany.
But then came the bit I particularly liked.
At Liverpool, he is involved in sequences that subsequently lead to goals.
That is something we need to remember.
Wirtz doesn’t have to score every week
Let’s be honest.
When Liverpool signed Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, expectations were enormous.
He wasn’t just another new signing.
He was a £100m-plus player arriving with a huge reputation, and supporters naturally expected him to immediately start producing goals and assists.
But football doesn’t always work like that.
Especially when you’re moving to a new country, a new league, a new club and a new tactical system.
Wirtz is still learning Liverpool.
Liverpool are still learning Wirtz.
And Iraola is still working out exactly how he wants to get the best from him.
That’s why I’ve never been particularly interested in judging him purely by his goal tally.
Of course I want Wirtz scoring.
Of course I want him creating chances.
But I also want him involved in the build-up.
I want him finding space.
I want him receiving the ball between the lines.
I want him bringing other players into the game.
And I want Liverpool’s attack to eventually reach the point where Wirtz isn’t expected to do everything himself.
Then Germany reminded everyone what he can do
The timing of Matthäus’ comments is interesting because Wirtz has just given Germany fans a reminder of his quality.
He played a major role in Germany’s 2-0 victory over Serbia, assisting Tom Bischof’s opener and then scoring himself.
He also produced an excellent all-round performance, with reports highlighting his creativity and influence as Germany claimed Jürgen Klopp’s first victory as national-team manager.
And that is exactly what Wirtz is capable of.
The danger is that people will now look at that performance and say:
“Why can’t he do that for Liverpool?”
But I’d actually look at it differently.
I’d say:
There he is.
The ability hasn’t disappeared.
The player hasn’t suddenly become ordinary.
It’s still inside him.
Now Liverpool need to find the best way of bringing more of it out.
Even his German teammates have defended him
And this isn’t the first time somebody from Germany has pushed back against the criticism.
Jonathan Tah also recently defended Wirtz, saying he watches Liverpool games and doesn’t believe Wirtz is playing badly.
His argument was that sometimes Wirtz is simply missing the final moment — the goal or decisive pass — rather than producing poor performances.
That’s a pretty important distinction.
Because if Wirtz was constantly losing the ball, hiding from responsibility and having no influence on matches, I’d be worried.
But that’s not what we’re seeing.
We’re seeing a player who is still trying to find his rhythm.
And sometimes the final piece isn’t quite there.
I still think Liverpool will get much more from him
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again:
I’m not ready to give up on Florian Wirtz.
Not even close.
There have been moments when I’ve wanted more from him.
There have been games where I’ve wondered why he hasn’t influenced things more.
And I still think Iraola needs to work out the best position and role for him.
But I also think we need to give the lad some time.
Liverpool have changed manager.
The team has changed.
The attacking structure is still developing.
And Wirtz is adapting to the Premier League.
That’s a lot of change.
Matthäus’ comments don’t mean we should pretend Wirtz has been brilliant in every Liverpool game.
They mean we should look beyond the highlights.
Look beyond the goals.
Look beyond the £100m-plus price tag.
Look at the little things he does that help Liverpool move the ball into dangerous areas.
Look at the sequences that eventually lead to goals.
And perhaps most importantly, give him the opportunity to settle.
I think this will eventually click
That’s what I’m hoping for anyway.
Because we’ve already seen what happens when Wirtz is confident.
We’ve just watched him produce an outstanding performance for Germany, score a brilliant goal and remind everybody why Liverpool wanted him so badly.
Now I want to see that version of Wirtz at Anfield.
Not necessarily every week.
Not immediately.
But gradually.
More confidence.
More freedom.
More involvement.
More decisive moments.
And fewer people judging him every time he doesn’t score.
Lothar Matthäus has basically reminded everybody that there is more to Wirtz’s Liverpool performances than what appears on the scoresheet.
And I’m bloody glad he has said it.
Because Florian Wirtz hasn’t suddenly forgotten how to play football.
Liverpool haven’t wasted their money.
And the talent that made Liverpool spend so heavily to bring him to Anfield hasn’t disappeared.
We just haven’t seen the best of it consistently yet.
I’m still waiting.
And I genuinely believe it’s coming.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
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