Football Daily - Florian Wirtz - The Football Interview

Episode Date: January 31, 2026

In this week’s edition of the Football Interview, Kelly Somers speaks to Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz. They discuss his introduction to football and when he knew he would pursue a career in the sport. They also get into his breakthrough at Leverkusen aged just 17, becoming the club's youngest player to play in the division. Wirtz also speaks about signing for Liverpool and how he can reach his maximum potential.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. To embrace the impossible requires a vehicle that pushes what's possible. Defender 110 boasts a towing capacity of 3,500 kilograms, a weighting depth of 900 millimetres and a roof load up to 300 kilograms. Learn more at Landrover.ca. The Football Interview on the Football Daily Podcast. I'm Kelly Summers, and this season I'll be interviewing some of the biggest names in football, asking them the questions they don't normally get asked

as I try to find out more about the person behind the player. The first half will be on football, the second on life away from the pitch. This isn't just any interview, this is the football interview. And today I'm speaking to one of Liverpool's big summer signings, Florian Verst. Well, Florian, thank you for your time today. Let's try and get to know you a little bit better. Let's start with your first memory of playing football. It has to be in my hometown, maybe with my sister.

on the football pitch. What was the first club called? I say it in German, okay? I'm glad you're going to say it because I read it and I can't say it. Green-Vise is green white, green-white, green-weiss, brawela. I'm glad I didn't attempt because I would have looked very silly. So was that like your local team? Yes.

Is your dad the chairman of that team? Is that right? Yes, he's the guy for everything. Without him, the club would say. club would not work because he has to do everything. Sometimes on a Sunday he do the lines on the pitch. Wow. He really does everything so yeah I had no other choice to be. So he was already the chairman and he said come on Florina. Yeah he was also my first coach. Was he hard on you? Yeah he was more hard on me but I think that helped me a little bit. Yeah. So you started there playing for your dad.

in your local team. At what point did you think, okay, I'm pretty good at this. I could maybe make this into a career. I probably felt it very, very early because when we played in the school or on the street, I was always in the team with less players or because they said, okay, the other team needs more players to play against me. I think it was a bit obvious that I was good in playing football. Can you remember first signing for kind of one of those bigger clubs and what that was like?

This was at the age of six or seven and even there I was choosing between Leverkusen and Cullen. Even then? Yes. I was for, how you say, practice. I was at both clubs. One time there, one time there.

And because my parents told me to do that just to try it because I was a very shy little boy. I didn't want to go there and meet the new guys or new teams.

I just wanted to stay at my old team with my friends. I went to Cologne and they did everything to convince me to join them. It's better than in just a small club. They have better coaches,

better teams. So it was important, I think, that I made this choice to do it, although I didn't want to do it really. But yeah, and then after nine and a half years, my step to Leverkusen, I think was the other, maybe the most important thing I did. And what time you had at Leverkusen as well, from such a young age, becoming the Bundesliga's youngest ever scorer,

You couldn't really have done much more in your time there, could you? Yeah, the time was incredible. I couldn't even think about this before. I was just thinking maybe I can be a Bundesliga player or something before I joined them. Yeah, I met so many great people, good players, good coaches. And yeah, we, I break some records. maybe they are broken already again from the younger generation. But yeah, to be the best thing was to be champion for the first time in the history of the club.

Unbeaten. I think this is the biggest achievement what I've made until now. And then Liverpool, the move here in the summer, there was lots of talk over where you were going to end up. why was this the right place for you in the end? I thought this is the right place to get a better and maybe bigger player because the club is so big and yeah the team won last year the Premier League. I had very good meetings with the manager before I joined and also a few players contacted me For example, Virgil, but more as well.

He sent me also a message. Say please come. And they were not begging me to come, but just try to give me a feeling about Liverpool. And Virgil said he would be happy if I come and maybe I can help the team to get this step even a step even better than they were last year and these are things you like to hear and maybe help you to decide also in the end. I'm still happy that I made this decision even when the start wasn't that easy but I'm still so happy that I decided like this. What was that like for you? How did you deal with that? Because you came here, everyone was so excited to see you in the Premier League and

everyone was talking about you. What was that period like while you did adjust? Of course, I was very excited when I came and wanted it to be an instant success. But it didn't came like this and I just had to stay strong in my mind and keep believing myself that at one point it has to click and because I was telling myself you did so good in Germany you can't just forget how to play football like this here because it's not completely different football. It was not easy always to then also have the confidence on the pitch but I think I did I dealt really good with it

and also my people around me helped me and And yeah. Did you talk to anyone? Did anyone in particular help you through it? No, I'm also not a person who likes to talk a lot about these things. Yeah. But with my family, my friends, all of them were, keep believing in me. The start wasn't easy, but it certainly looks like you've found your rhythm now, particularly

the relationships on the pitch with the likes of Hugo Ekatike, for example. How are you feeling in yourself and where you're at in terms of getting to your maximum, I suppose? Now I'm feeling much better than, of course, on the start of the season. But yeah, it's just nice to play with players like Hugo. What's he like? Because we sat down with him before and he seems like a character. Yeah, he's a great guy, a big personality, a good friend already.

of me yeah because we know each other already from from the Bundesliga and we played a few times against the other we exchanged our our shirts already when he was at Frankfurt and he's a really fantastic player and he even surprised me when he when I first saw him here training and playing because I didn't know he was that good and there's so much fun to play with him because he knows how you move on the pitch, how you link up with each other. And yeah, it's just nice to play with him. What's an ideal day off look like for you? What do you like doing to escape from football?

Since the summer I like to play paddle. Everyone is playing paddle. Yes. Do you play with the players here? It's really fun. I've never played them. I went a few times with some players here, yeah. Who plays from Liverpool?

Dominique Soberslay Milosh Jeremy says he's good I've not seen him Are you any good? I'm not that good now I get the feeling you're quite humble actually Maybe that's why you're saying that

If you ask the others I think I'm for sure better than Jeremy But not Jeremy's quite a good friend of yours Isn't he? So I feel like you feel like you can say that Because you've known him quite a while Yeah but

He knows for sure I'm better than him What else do you? like to do because surely when you've got a Delfand football it's not just paddle you no want to relax as well yeah I like to have a to have a nice breakfast because I love breakfast yes what do you have why do you like breakfast so much scrambled egg pancakes I can eat a lot for for breakfast there the nutritionist is very is very happy with me because I eat a lot and fuel for the games okay so you have breakfast, paddle, anything else? Maybe just chill.

You put a chill guy, aren't you? Maybe play PlayStation or I have a dog as well. Oh do you? Yes. Is a dog over here? Yeah. What's he called or is she? Zuma. Zoom. But it's not Paw Patrol. I just don't watch Portrottrell.

No, me neither, but everyone is asking me about that. What's it names after then? Just... Random. But everyone says to you it's poor patrol. Yeah. I'd never heard of that. Because there's a...

You know, poor patrol? I do, yes. I've got a young daughter. Because there's a dog called Zuma. That must be quite annoying for you. It's okay. To some people I just say, yeah, it's from there. I wanted to ask what you were like as a youngster.

What kind of child was Florian birds? My parents always say that I was very shy and always... and always hide it behind my sister. Because you were one of nine, is that right? Of ten. Ten. Of ten, yes. So you have nine brothers and sisters?

Yes. What was that like, growing up? And I'm the youngest. You're the youngest. Yes. To be honest, it's not that bad, because everyone cares about you. You are the youngest.

When my parents wanted to go out, they could come and, yeah, look for me. And yeah, it's just nice to be. to have so many loved ones, you know, on birthdays, Christmas. Big parties, big Christmases, yeah. And I'm told that you're not the only footballer of your siblings. Your sister is as well, is that right? Where does she play? She plays for Verde Bremen.

Played also first for Brauweiler, Kohl and Leiburzen, and then Bremen. So we had three times the same club and we played at the same time for three clubs. What was that like for you? It was nice because sometimes we could even drive together to training. And yeah, I'm very proud of her. She's doing good. I'm happy for her that now she's playing a very good season with her team. and yeah, it should continue like that. So you're not in the same club now,

you're not even in the same country. Are you still speaking a lot about football? Are you watching each other's games and kind of helping each other? Yeah, my sister always wish me good luck for the games and calls me or texts me. I try always if I can to also watch her games and yeah, it's just nice.

We have the same ambitions and the same way maybe to think about football. I'm just happy she's also a footballer, so we have something in common and it's nice, yeah. If you could only achieve one more thing in your career, what would it be? World champion. That's an easy question, easy answer, isn't it really?

World Cup this summer? This summer already. It will be difficult, but... Let's see. I mean, we all go there to win it. It will be difficult, but hopefully you can go far. Florian, thank you for talking to us and best of luck for the rest of the season. Thank you. Life Sports NFL.

Touchdown! I think you just have to go out there and be the best that you can be. We're going to go out there and lay it all on the line. And skill collide. Convincingly in Super Bowl 59. Five life sports. NFL. On BBC Sounds