As is well known, the 20th century was marked by major questions of faith. Whether a good Burgundy is preferable to a good Bordeaux, whether the Rolling Stones were more epochal than the Beatles, or whether the double Windsor is the superior solution to the simple Oriental knot when tying a tie, these were discussed, among a few other topics, in the previous article Century divided large parts of humanity.
In the young 21st century, however, the debates revolved primarily around this one existential question, which was the same everywhere between Tierra del Fuego, Swaziland and Holland: Messi or Ronaldo? And now that peace has just returned, as the two only lace up their golden shoes for recreational football in Saudi and US Disney leagues, the next ideological question of fate is already in the room, namely: Florian Wirtz or Jamal Musiala?
Bayer Leverkusen center forward Patrik Schick, 28, was confronted with this dichotomous conflict in a television interview on Saturday evening. Having contributed significantly to his team’s 5-1 win over SC Freiburg with four goals, Schick could have pointed out his own talent along the way, but he was wise enough not to praise himself or fuel the divisive competition. It was “obvious,” he said, that Wirtz and Musiala were “world-class players,” but also different types of players. To the Solomonic both/and verdict, the Czech attacker added a sentence from his own experience, which he dedicated specifically to his teammate Wirtz: It was “a dream to have this player behind you”.
The dream came true on Saturday evening in the Bayarena in a quick succession of spectacular effects: Wirtz prepared Schick’s opening goal shortly before half-time, he hit the cross before Schick’s header to make it 3-1 (67th) and he also set the ball up, put the Schick into the net to make it 4-1 (74th). In between, the Bayer playmaker took the time to miss a penalty (33′) and make it 2-0 with a stroke of genius (51′). Yes, Schick had scored a masterful four goals. But the player everyone paid homage to was Florian Wirtz. “Bayer 04 and all of Germany are blessed with this player,” said Freiburg’s Austrian attacker Michael Gregoritsch, one of many eulogists on both sides.
“I want us to!” Alonso demanded sternly – because he felt too relaxed after the 2-0 win
However, more insight than all the deserved recognition was provided by a side note from the goalscorer Schick, who was pleased with his tally of goals, but stated without coquetry that he had by no means played his best game: “I can play better”. This sincere self-criticism reveals a lot about the spirit that has shaped Bayer 04’s path through the first half of the season so far.
The team that tended to be frivolous at the start of the season in the summer in the ongoing championship euphoria and gave away points to Leipzig, Bochum, Kiel and Bremen has become an ambitious, serious and effective team in the fall and winter. Volatile moments have become rare, but are still possible. Coach Xabi Alonso complained on Saturday that his team had “relaxed a bit” after the 2-0 win, and he didn’t like that: “I want us to!” demanded he strictly unconditional concentration effort.
But with this pedagogical requirement he has already penetrated deeply into the players’ intellectual repertoire. Xabi Alonso’s team have rarely, if ever, presented themselves as mature and as uniform as they were in December in the triumphant preseason. Now she is a serious opponent for FC Bayern again.
In the 1-0 win in Munich in the cup or in the 1-0 win against Inter Milan in the Champions League, it recently looked as if Alonso had trained his students of all playfulness in favor of the idea of success. Rather than Wirtz’s magnificent performance and Schick’s hit rate, the coach praised Schick’s “intensidad” in pressing and Wirtz’s unwavering “mentalidad”, such as the unfazed persistence after the penalty kick saved by SC goalkeeper Noah Atubolo.
Intensity and mentality are two key words in Alonso’s vocabulary, both rhetorically and substantively. A player who ideally embodies these characteristics received, at least for a moment, the attention he rarely receives on Saturday at the Bayarena. The fact that the club announced to applause that it had extended Piero Hincapié’s contract until 2029 is remarkable in every respect. The agreement with the regular defender strengthens the sporting perspective and shows the attractiveness of the club.
After winning the title in May, stock market experts announced the 22-year-old Ecuadorian defender’s move as a certainty. In fact, many interested parties, especially from England and Spain, have been interested in the combative and strategically knowledgeable Hincapie. Mohamed Salah was recently able to get to know the defender’s wealth of possibilities during the duel in Liverpool – and he didn’t enjoy it. Hincapié is now countering the ongoing transfer rumors with a new contract that sets an example.
Despite all the love, the people in the Bayarena would probably have cheered even louder if Florian Wirtz’s contract had been discussed with the same content. But sports director Simon Rolfes reported that he had nothing to report – except that the report that Wirtz had already signed a new paper was not true. The club wants to continue working with Wirtz “at least until the 2026 World Cup,” Rolfes’ managing director colleague Fernando Carro added to the latest status. What can be heard: They are working on it.
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