Florian Grillitsch – Hoffenheim’s ball-playing extraordinaire

Florian Grillitsch joined Hoffenheim as a precocious attacking midfield prospect but became one of Julian Nagelsmann’s projects. Nagelsmann enjoys moving his most technically proficient players deeper in order to grant them a greater influence on the game and full vision of the pitch. Grillitsch took to the responsibility like a fish to water as he proved the perfect replacement for Sebastian Rudy who has since returned to the club. The Austrian is still only 24 but has come leaps and bounds under his young German mentor as he has continued to be a standout performer at the base of midfield under Alfred Schreuder.

Werder Bremen are known as one of Germany’s top tier academies while their ability to sign and develop youngsters is of legend. Grillitsch moved to Bremen from St Polten at youth level, developing at U19 level before playing for their first team. Hoffenheim Director of Football, Alexander Rosen is one of the foremost young Directors in Germany as he managed to acquire the Austrian on a free transfer. This summer, with Arsenal and Tottenham reportedly lurking, he managed to tie him down to a new contract which will last until 2022.

The lanky Austrian distributor normally plays at the base of midfield where Kerem Demirbay would join him as the two would orchestrate moves to beat the first wave of opposition pressure. Grillitsch possesses such an innate understanding with the most central centre-back, Kevin Vogt as the two-work clever one-twos to attract the opposition before working the ball into spaces in between the lines. Vogt will normally play a wall-pass into Grillitsch for the Austrian to lay-off the ball to Vogt while another midfielder drops into the same vertical line as him, attracting pressure and creating space for Vogt to thread the ball in between the lines.

Grillitsch has become the heart and soul of Hoffenheim as his start to life in Sinsheim was inauspicious because Sebastian Rudy had just departed for Bayern Munich while Nagelsmann started with Dennis Geiger in the deep-lying playmaker role. Nagelsmann preferred to grant acquisitions the time to settle in his system, especially centre-backs and midfielders as there were many tactical nuances to Hoffenheim’s style of play. After an injury to Geiger, Grillitsch stepped in and kept things simple with sideways passes to build his confidence, adjust to his responsibilities and keep things ticking over.

Grillitsch switch ball.

Eventually, he gained the trust of his teammates and managers as he had more ball progressions and line-breaking passes than most midfielders within his under 23 age-group across Europe. Nagelsmann would play with four at the back at times with Grillitsch as the deepest-lying midfielder dropping in between the two centre-backs to create a three-chain with Kerem Demirbay collapsing into the six-space. The Austrian’s growth as a midfield distributor meant that he had more control over Hoffenheim’s style of play becoming one of the most proficient line-breaking passers in the Bundesliga.

Grillitsch interception and through ball.

Defensively, Grillitsch’ reading of the game has improved exceptionally as he sits at the base of Hoffenheim’s 5-3-2 defensive shape. The Austrian is astute at recognizing danger and shuttling across defensive blocks to intercept passes and close passing lanes as his reading of the game is so developed, he largely avoids tackling situations. In pressing situations, he pushes into the opposition half and makes cleverly timed challenges to regain possession where he has the technical ability to recycle play.

Florian Grillitsch cross.

His background as an attacking midfielder features heavily in his game as at the beginning of his Hoffenheim career, he had a knack for a popping up around the box which he has maintained to this day. In the Europa League away to Istanbul Basaksehir, Andrej Kramaric chipped a through ball to Sandro Wagner who crossed for Grillitsch to tap in. Away to Borussia Monchengladbach, he drove a shot past Yann Sommer from the top of the box to make it 3-2. Grillitsch has also shown a willingness to start counters by driving the ball forward or playing well weighted through balls to send teammates surging past their markers.

Away to Freiburg last season, Grillitsch drove the ball forward on the counter as he could have played the most obvious ball to Kramaric who was racing past him on his left. Instead, he adjusted his hips, reshuffled his feet and angled an inch-perfect disguised through ball to Kerem Demirbay in the centre. Away to Hertha Berlin, earlier this season, he surged through on the counter twice as he played through a teammate to have a shot saved on one instance. In the other, he drove the ball to work a pass for Jurgen Locadia who skipped past a man and drove a strike past Rune Jarstein at the near post. He had his second assist of the season when he popped up in the box for a Lukas Rupp cross from the left flank, to calmly let the ball roll across his body and prod it into the path of Pavel Kaderabek with his right for the Czech fullback to finish.

Grillitsch chip to Bebou.

He had another moment where he received the ball in the opposition half, to spin away from two markers by turning to face his own goal and faking a back pass to execute another spin to chip a pass to Ihlas Bebou who went through on goal and drove his shot wide. Grillitsch is so well balanced that he can twist, turn and feint out of pressure while dribbling his way higher up the pitch to earn crucial fouls. He is unphased at the prospect of weaving past more than one marker to earn space and create an attacking opportunity. This allows him to be a multi-faceted two-way midfield presence as his passing range is remarkable while he is also a threat with the ball glued to his feet.

Grillitsch earning a foul.

"Florian is an exceptionally gifted footballer, who excellently interprets the strategically and technically challenging position in the central midfield, not least through his playful solutions under pressure in confined spaces, over and over again we manage to overplay our opponent's pressing and our offensive power ", said Rosen after signing Grillitsch to a new contract in the summer.

After a rough start to the season, Schreuder cited the injury to Grillitsch as the reason for their difficulties. Ever since his return, Hoffenheim have seen a massive uptick in their form and performances further underlining his influence at club level. Injuries and competition at National Team level with Konrad Laimer, Julian Baumgartlinger and other midfielders excelling have forced him to take a back seat. If his performances continue to improve, Austria will be forced to include him in their starting lineup as they are few midfielders at his age as well-rounded as him.