Florian Wirtz Embraces Change Under Andoni Iraola at Liverpool
Florian Wirtz is not dwelling on Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat to AS Monaco. His eyes are fixed on the man now shaping the club’s future: Andoni Iraola.
The 23-year-old playmaker, speaking after the friendly loss, cut through the noise of pre-season results and went straight to the change that really matters at Anfield. Arne Slot is gone. Iraola, fresh from an impressive spell at Bournemouth, is in.
“You could see what he can do with the team,” Wirtz said, pointing to the Spaniard’s last three years on the south coast. That stint, where Iraola dragged Bournemouth into a more assertive, aggressive identity, clearly left a mark on Liverpool’s new No. 10. “Of course, we are looking forward to working with him.”
This is still the bedding-in phase. Wirtz has only been back in training for a fortnight, but the early impressions are already strong.
“I’m enjoying it,” he admitted. “I like the idea of football he has, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
That “idea of football” is what will define Liverpool’s season. Iraola arrives with a reputation for intensity, front-foot pressing and vertical play. Wirtz, who delivered 15 goal contributions in all competitions in his debut campaign in England, looks tailor-made for a system that demands bravery on the ball and sharp decision-making between the lines.
The Monaco game offered a glimpse, then a reminder. Liverpool started brightly, imposing themselves in the first half hour before the performance faded and the French side seized control.
“I think only the first 30 minutes were good from us,” Wirtz admitted. No excuses, no sugar-coating. Just a clear message: this team is nowhere near finished. “We still have a lot to improve in training and also in the next match.”
That honesty fits the mood around the squad. Pre-season under a new head coach is part experiment, part education. Iraola’s ideas are still being drilled in, patterns still being learned, distances still being judged. The players feel it.
“I’ve not spoken about the style so much,” Wirtz said. “I think he has his ideas of playing football. We just have to work on that even more now.”
The German international knows all about adaptation. One year in England has already taught him how unforgiving the Premier League can be, how different it feels from the Bundesliga rhythm he left behind.
“I’ve said this often enough,” he added. “It’s a different style of football in England than in Germany. You just get used to the games and the opponents.”
That process of “getting used to it” now enters a second phase. New coach. New demands. Same expectations from a fanbase that measures seasons in trophies, not transition periods.
For Wirtz, the challenge is clear: turn promise and flashes of quality into consistent influence under Iraola’s command. For Iraola, the task is even bigger. Harness Wirtz’s talent, sharpen Liverpool’s structure, and turn those good 30-minute spells into 90-minute statements when the real games start.
