12 Amazing Facts About Florian Wirtz From Youth Days That'll Wow You
- Think Football Ideas
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Full name: Florian Richard Wirtz
Date of Birth: 3 May 2003
Place of Birth: Pulheim, Germany
Height: 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s): Attacking midfielder
Current Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Jersey Number: 10
There’s a certain kind of player who doesn’t just play football, they redefine it in real time. You feel it in the hush before he receives the ball, in the ripple of panic among defenders, in the fans’ involuntary gasp as he glides through midfield like it’s made of silk.
And right now, there’s one name, Florian Wirtz, that has Europe’s giants circling like hawks. No announcement has been made, but something’s coming. You can feel it. The next move won’t just be a transfer, it might be a turning point.
Here Are 13 Amazing Facts About Florian Wirtz That'll Wow You
1. Wirtz was born in the Brauweiler district of Pulheim, North Rhine-Westphalia
Florian Wirtz wasn’t born under stadium lights or in a football-mad metropolis, but rather in Brauweiler, a quiet, leafy district in Pulheim, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Tucked just outside Cologne, on May 3, 2003, a future Bundesliga record-breaker entered the world. It's poetic, really, Germany’s next great hope born in a town known more for abbeys and bakeries than dazzling footwork.
2. His football career began at SV Grün-Weiß Brauweiler before joining 1. FC Köln
Wirtz’s first touches of a football weren’t taken in the shadow of a big club’s training ground, but at SV Grün-Weiß Brauweiler, a grassroots club where muddy boots and orange slices still reign.
It was here that young Florian began weaving through defenders like it was second nature. By the time 1. FC Köln came knocking in 2010, he was already whispering to the ball like they had a secret. And off he went, age seven, to one of the Bundesliga's proudest academies.
3. Bayer Leverkusen came calling as they spotted his talent
By January 2020, Wirtz was the worst-kept secret in German youth football. Bayer Leverkusen, ever the opportunists, swooped in, much to Köln’s dismay. In fact, there was some serious shade thrown as Köln claimed Leverkusen poached their youth player.
But when a kid’s that good, etiquette sometimes gets benched. And so, at just 16 years old, Wirtz was off to Leverkusen. The pressure? Immense. But Florian? Unbothered.
4. He became Leverkusen’s youngest Bundesliga player, overtaking Kai Havertz
If you blinked on May 18, 2020, you might’ve missed it: a 17-year-old with the face of a schoolboy and the poise of a veteran stepped onto the pitch against Werder Bremen.
And just like that, Wirtz became Leverkusen’s youngest-ever Bundesliga debutant, sneaking past the previous record-holder, you guessed it, Kai Havertz. The baton had been passed. Sort of. Havertz was off to Chelsea while Wirtz was just getting started.
5. His first goal for Leverkusen against Bayern Munich made history
There’s scoring your first Bundesliga goal, and then there’s doing it against Bayern Munich. On 6 June 2020, in the 89th minute of a 4–2 loss, Wirtz did something that made everyone perk up: a curled beauty past Manuel Neuer.
Oh, and he was just 17 years and 34 days old, making him the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history at the time. “Who is this kid?” turned into “Wait, how is this kid doing that?” A moment of magic, even in defeat.
6. He is the first under-19 player to score more than 10 Bundesliga goals
By the end of November 2021, Wirtz had made one thing crystal clear: this wasn’t some flash-in-the-pan teen hype train. When he scored his fifth goal of the 2021–22 season against Leipzig, he brought his career Bundesliga total to 11.
And that made him the first player under the age of 19 to cross into double-digit territory. No kid before him had done it. Not Havertz. Not Götze. Not even Reus. Wirtz was rewriting records like he had the pen.
7. He is the youngest player to reach 50 Bundesliga appearances
It’s one thing to break into the first team. It’s another to stay there. On December 15, 2021, at just 18 years and 223 days old, Wirtz made his 50th Bundesliga appearance, a milestone that usually takes years of graft.
But Wirtz? He made it look easy. Consistent, fearless, and completely unfazed by defenders twice his age, he became the youngest player in league history to hit the big 5-0. If anything, it felt like he was just getting warmed up.
8. He is the first German to score 5 goals in first 5 Champions League matches
You’d think the Champions League might humble a young player. Not Wirtz. On debut against Feyenoord in September 2024, he banged in a brace and nabbed Man of the Match.
Then he kept doing it. Against Milan, Brest, Salzburg, goal after goal, game after game. By matchday five, he had scored five goals in his first five Champions League appearances, a feat no German player had ever accomplished. It wasn’t just historic, it was electric.
9. He represents Germany internationally since under-15
Wirtz didn’t just stumble into the national setup, he was practically raised in it. Since his under-15 days, he’s been weaving his way through Germany’s youth teams, dazzling at every level.
Coaches couldn’t help but notice: here was a player with vision far beyond his years and a feathery first touch that made defenders dizzy. The national team system has long had a conveyor belt of talent, but Wirtz? He was something rarer, he was an artist in the making.
10. He is the 2nd fastest scorer in international football history
Talk about making a first impression. On March 23, 2024, Germany faced France in a friendly. Seven seconds in, yes, seven, Wirtz received the ball, took aim, and buried it.
Just like that, he became the second-fastest goalscorer in international football history, only behind Austria’s Christoph Baumgartner, who (in a bizarre twist of fate) scored in six seconds on the same day.
11. He is the youngest German to score in a European Championship
When Euro 2024 kicked off on June 14, Germany needed a statement, and Florian Wirtz delivered it with a rocket. At 21 years and 42 days, he became the youngest German to score in a European Championship, firing home the opener in a 5–1 dismantling of Scotland.
The crowd erupted. The record books opened. And Kai Havertz, once again, was nudged out of history. Wirtz didn’t just score, he announced himself on the biggest stage.
12. His parents are his agents and football runs in his family
Wirtz isn’t just a one-man show, it’s a family operation. His parents, Hans-Joachim and Karin, are his agents, guiding his career with the kind of care only family can offer. His dad doubles as chairman of Grün-Weiß Brauweiler.
And it doesn’t stop there: Florian’s elder sister, Juliane, is also a professional footballer. The Wirtz household doesn’t just love football, they breathe it. It’s in the genes, the dinner-table talk, and probably the Wi-Fi password too.