If Florian Wirtz didn’t have enough problems at Liverpool, he’s now got sarcastic comments from a German legend to deal with as well.
It seems, like the rest of us, Toni Kroos is waiting for Wirtz to come good. Now in his second year at Liverpool, there’s no signs of the 23-year-old getting back to his best.
With just one assist in five games to date, the pressure is growing. That’s particularly the case after a difficult first season in England, despite seven goals and 10 assists in 49 games following his €125m move from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool.
A miserable World Cup followed last season, in which Germany were knocked out early and Wirtz was one of those who failed to contribute as expected.
Now, Jurgen Klopp is in charge and set to name his first squad for the upcoming international break. That was the subject in the Einfach Mal Luppen podcast this week, which Kroos makes with his brother Felix Kroos.
Liverpool player part of sarcastic response
They were challenged to name three players they would like to see in the squad. The proviso was that they had to be fresh faces and players who didn’t go to the World Cup. The former Bayern Munich and Real Madrid midfielder replied: “(Aleksandr) Pavlovic, (Florian) Wirtz, and (Jamal) Musiala.”
Felix was left perplexed, as those three players were in fact in the World Cup squad. Then, he got the joke – or at least the sarcasm.
“What? Which World Cup did you guys miss? Oh, (you say that) because they went unnoticed (and it’s as if they weren’t there)?”
After the bit of sarcasm, Toni Kroos named Tom Bischof, Lennart Karl, and Saïd El Mala. His brother Felix opted for Yann Bisseck, Grischa Prömmel, and Kevin Schade.
But there you have it, Wirtz has now officially gone from Germany’s brightest hope, star of the future to the butt of the joke for former players ahead of this international break.
