Rise Up: Special recognition for Florian Wirtz from UEFA

The 20-year-old Werkself player talks about special moments in Leverkusen including the impressive start made by Bayer 04 in the UEFA Europa League this season, his serious injury, his comeback as well as ambitions with the Werkself in Europe.

over the roofs of Leverkusen

At the start of the many hours filming the Rise Up video, Florian Wirtz looks out from the top floor of the Sparkasse bank headquarters over Leverkusen – the city where he developed from a youth player into a Germany international. Then it moves on to the Chem Park site of Bayer AG where Florian Wirtz demonstrates his ability with the ball against an industrial backdrop.

The outcome is an entertaining film where Florian Wirtz presents his football home of Leverkusen and also demonstrates the close connection between Bayer 04, Bayer AG and the city of Leverkusen.

key player in the Europa League

Florian Wirtz is one of Leverkusen's key players in the UEFA Europa League this season with six goal involvements in three games.

Rise Up:

UEFA launched the Wonderkids series in 2022/23 with the focus on promising players in the UEFA Europa League. The protagonists in the three-part series were Xavi Simons (PSV Eindhoven, now RB Leipzig), Mohamed Ali Cho (Real Sociedad) and Luiz Henrique (Real Betis).

UEFA has further developed the concept for the current 2023/23 season the focus on telling the stories of players who have shone in the Europa League this season – the result is the Rise Cup series.