Nine siblings and a dog called Zoomer - Wirtz in his own words

The Football Interview is a new series in which the biggest names in sport and entertainment join host Kelly Somers for bold and in-depth conversations about the nation's favourite sport.

We'll explore mindset and motivation, and talk about defining moments, career highs and personal reflections. The Football Interview brings you the person behind the player.

Interviews will drop on Saturdays across BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website. This week's interview will be broadcast on BBC One from 23:35 BST on Saturday, 31 January (and at 00:35 in Scotland).

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It may have taken longer than he hoped, but Florian Wirtz is up and running at Liverpool.

After joining the Reds from Bayer Leverkusen for £116m in the summer, the 22-year-old Germany international had to wait 190 days for his first goal.

A month on, his tally stands at five goals and five assists.

Before moving to Anfield, Wirtz was part of the Leverkusen side Xabi Alonso led to a first Bundesliga title in their 120-year history.

The attacking midfielder had already made a record of his own when, in May 2020, he made his top-flight debut aged 17, and just 19 days later became the youngest goalscorer in the competition's history.

Wirtz sat down with Kelly Somers to talk about his slow start at Anfield, making Bundesliga history, and playing padel with his team-mates.

Kelly Somers: Florian, thank you for your time. Let's try to get to know you a little better. Let's start with your first memory of playing football...

Florian Wirtz: It has to be in my hometown, maybe with my sister on the football pitch.

Kelly: What was your first club called?

Florian: I will say it in German - SV Grün-Weiß Brauweiler.

Kelly: And your dad is the chairman there...

Florian: He is the guy for everything. Without him, the club would not work. He has to do everything. Sometimes on a Sunday, he does the lines on the pitch. He really does everything. I had no other choice [but to play for them]. He was also my first coach. He was more hard on me, but I think that helped me a little bit.

Kelly: You started playing for your dad with your local team... at what point did you think you could make it into a career?

Florian: I probably felt it very early because when we played at school or on the street, I was always in the team with less players because they said the other team needs more players to play against me. I think it was a bit obvious that I was good at playing football.

Kelly: Can you remember first signing for one of the bigger clubs and what it was like?

Florian: This was at the age of six or seven. Even then I was choosing between Bayer Leverkusen and Cologne. I was practising at both clubs 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 is better than in just a small club - they have better coaches, better teams, so it was important. I think I made this choice to do it, although I didn't want to do it really. Then, after nine and a half years, my step to Leverkusen. I think it was the most important thing I did.

Kelly: What a time you had at Leverkusen. From such a young age, becoming the Bundesliga's youngest ever scorer... you couldn't really have done much more there could you?

Florian: The time was incredible. I couldn't even think about this before. I was just thinking, 'maybe I can be a Bundesliga player'. I met so many great people, good players, good coaches. We broke some records... maybe they are broken again already from the younger generation! The best thing was to be champions for the first time in the history of the club and unbeaten. This was the biggest achievement I have made until now.

Kelly: And then Liverpool... the move here in the summer. There was lots of talk about where you were going to end up, but why was this the right place for you in the end?

Florian: I thought, 'this is the right place to get better and a bigger player'. The club is so big and the team won the Premier League last year. I had very good meetings with the manager before I joined and a few players contacted me. Virgil [van Dijk], Mo [Salah] as well, sent me a message. They were not begging me to come but just tried to give me a feeling about Liverpool.

Virgil said he would be happy if I come, and maybe I can help the team to get even better than they were last year. These are things you like to hear and helps you to decide in the end. I am still happy that I made this decision, even when the start wasn't that easy.

Kelly: How did you deal with that? When 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?

Florian: I was very excited when I came and wanted to be an instant success. It didn't come like this. I just had to stay strong in my mind and keep believing in myself that at one point it has to click. I was telling myself: 'You did so good in Germany, you can't just forget how to play football here.' It was not completely different football. It was not easy always to have the confidence on the pitch, but I think I dealt really well with it and my people around me helped.

Kelly: Did anyone in particular help you through it?

Florian: I am not a person who likes to talk a lot about these things. But with my family and my friends, all of them kept believing in me.

Kelly: The start wasn't easy but it looks like you have found your rhythm now. How are you feeling in yourself in terms of getting to your maximum?

Florian: Now I am feeling much better than at the start of the season. It's nice to play with players like Hugo [Ekitike].

Kelly: What is he like? We sat down with him before and he seems like a character.

Florian: He's a great guy - a big personality, a good friend already to me. We know each other from the Bundesliga - we played a few times against each other and exchanged shirts already. He is a fantastic player and even surprised me when I first saw him here training and playing because I didn't know he was that good. It is so much fun to play with him because he knows how you move on the pitch and how you link up with each other.

Kelly: What does an ideal day off look like? How do you like to escape football?

Florian: Since the summer, I like to play padel. I went a few times with some players here.

Kelly: Who plays from Liverpool?

Florian: Dominik [Szoboszlai], Milos [Kerkez]... Jeremie [Frimpong] says he's good but I've not seen him.

Kelly: Are you any good?

Florian: I'm not that good. If you ask the others, I am better than Jeremie. He knows for sure I am better than him!

Kelly: What else do you like to do?

Florian: I like to have a nice breakfast. I love breakfast - scrambled eggs, pancakes... I can eat a lot. The nutritionist is very happy with me because I eat a lot of fuel for the games.

Kelly: So you have breakfast and play padel... anything else?

Florian: Maybe just chill... play PlayStation. I have a dog as well - Zoomer... but it's not after Paw Patrol. Everyone asks me about that.

Kelly: What's it named after then?

Florian: Just random.

Kelly: What were you like as a youngster? What kind of child was Florian Wirtz?

Florian: My parents always say I was very shy and always hiding behind my sisters. I was one of 10. I am the youngest.

Kelly: What was that like growing up?

Florian: 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 look after me. It's nice to have so many loved ones on birthdays and Christmas.

Kelly: I'm told you are not the only footballer of your siblings...

Florian: My sister [Juliane] plays for Werder Bremen. She also played for Brauweiler, Cologne and Leverkusen. We played at the same time for three clubs.

Kelly: What was that like for you?

Florian: It was nice because sometimes we could drive together to training. I am very proud of her - she is doing good. I'm happy for her because she is having a very good season with her team.

Kelly: You are not at the same club now or even in the same country... are you still speaking about football and watching each other's games?

Florian: My sister always wishes me good luck for the games and calls or texts me. I always try to watch her games if I can. It's nice we have the same ambitions and the same way to think about football. I'm happy she is a footballer so we have something in common and it's nice.

Kelly: If you could only achieve one more thing in your career, what would it be?

Florian: World champion.

Kelly: World Cup this summer?

Florian: It will be difficult, but let's see. We all go there to win it. It will be difficult but hopefully we can go far.