Suddenly everything returned to 2014. To Maracaná, to the beaches of Copacabana… As if almost 1,000 days had not passed without Toni Kroos wearing the Germany shirt. Kroos arrived at the Mannschaft and everything returned to its place. Eight seconds were enough for the Real Madrid midfielder to uncover the bottle of essences at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon. Havertz’s initial kick-off, Kroos kneaded the ball, turned on his body, raised his head and put a precise ball to the unmarked Florian Wirtz… And the Leverkusen talent unleashed a whip that knocked out the almighty France. It was the fastest international goal in German history. A plan drawn up by Kroos with the Danish Mads Buttgereit, set piece coach.
Kroos was the compass that Germany had suffered from for a long time. Without him they fell at the first opportunity in the World Cup in Qatar. Without him, Germany was walking confused towards a Euro Cup as host that many Germans feared. Not even the arrival of Julian Nagelsmann to the bench had managed to calm the waters since with the young German coach the correct direction was not found. Painful defeats against Austria (2-0) and Turkey (2-3) and a blow against Mexico (2-2). They were the lowest hours in Germany, almost in its entire history. There was fear in the Central European country about making a horrible fool of itself this summer at the European Championship. Until Kroos arrived and everything returned to its natural order. Gündogan was Gündogan; Wirtz and Musiala showed all the mischief they are capable of; Havertz remembered the one who dazzled at Leverkusen before going to England… and all under the leadership of the ‘8’. The best conductor in the world.
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Julian Nagelsmann y Kroos.Stefan Matzke – sampicsCorbis via Getty Images
Euphoria broke out among the German press. “Something big is happening here!” it read. Kroos was less euphoric: “We are very satisfied. We have taken a good step forward, an important step. When I see Maxi Mittelstädt, for example, he played his first international match and it is remarkable how calm he did it…”. Although he added mischief to the great kick-off play: “The coaches had enough time (four months) to prepare something…”.
This Saturday it was not obvious to the German that he was 34 years old. France applauded Kroos, Germany surrendered to the Madrid player, Nagelsmann stood at his feet: “It’s incredible, to be honest! We all know what he can do with the ball. But also how he got involved in all the duels. He set the pace with the ball. What I like is that he is a normal guy, that’s why he has done what he has done at Real Madrid for years. He always demands the ball. He gives security to the other players and with Toni the ball is always in good hands.”
Germany knocked down France (0-2) in what was a wake-up call for Les Bleus. It was the reckoning of the Euro 2016 semi-finals when France destroyed Germany’s chances of the World Cup-Euro Cup double. In Germany they already think that with Kroos everything is possible.
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