When the opponent’s fans praise a player from the other side and when everyone on the field says goodbye, congratulations and comfort you, then you know: a great one is leaving. Toni Kroos ends his football career. The most successful – and best – German footballer of this millennium leaves the stage.
At 34 years old he is over it. Kroos wanted to stop at a time when he could still keep up with the sport. A sentence that amounts to an understatement. Kroos dominated the game of the German national team in this tournament, just as he did at Real Madrid until the end. A few weeks ago he celebrated his sixth victory in the Champions League, five with the Spaniards and one with FC Bayern. He played 465 games for the biggest club in the world – Kroos has long been a legend in Madrid. A status that should also be given to the 114 times national player and 2014 world champion in Germany.
But his homeland struggled with the midfielder for a long time. He is too slow, too calm, too fine for the hard “typically German” game in the defensive midfield. None of this is wrong at all, but it is only half the populist truth. No wonder Bayern let him move to Real in 2014 – and that’s where he really came from.
Kroos is not a defender, he is not a long-distance runner, he is not an athlete on the football pitch, as the new German school of football from RB likes to see him. According to modern training science standards and physical parameters, he would probably be thrown out of a youth training center today because the speed is missing or he can no longer complete the xth run at y speed. What a waste that would be! Instead, children should learn to play like Kroos.
“Querpasstoni” is an insult.
Because the native of Greifswald, who – and this seems completely crazy today – was initially parked on the left wing as a top talent at Bayern and when he was on loan at Leverkusen, it is impossible to touch with him in other disciplines of the game. For a long time he was called “Querpasstoni” in Germany, which is a real insult given his real qualities. Yes, Kroos played a lot of cross passes – but they always served the game. The NDR data project claims to have analyzed almost 38,000 passes on football pitches since 2014. More than 35,000 came, most of them forward. Others strive for pass rates beyond 90 percent – for him they are normal.
Kroos is probably the most technically intelligent player Germany has ever had. Calm in all situations, cool regardless of the score – because he knew that one of his passes could change everything again. Who must win each duel?
In the last game of his career against Spain, Kroos also showed a lot of what the Germans have been missing about him for a long time. At the beginning he replaced the super talents Pedri and Yamal. This can be seen as weak defensive behavior, but in this country it is a symbol of protection. And Kroos really did that – even against the cramp in extra time. He pulled through.
Germany only noticed Kroos when he was missing
It says a lot about football in Germany that someone like that got more recognition abroad than at home. When he ends his DFB career in 2021, few will shed a tear for him. There was no sense that one of the greatest German players of all time had been lost. He only came when you realized what you were missing: in 2024 he decided – or was he lying? – take home the European Championship. A “Toni” hype developed during the tournament and chants in the stadiums.
Because people finally saw how important this player is, how good he is for his team – and how much the opponents respect him. Now his career is over. The European Championship title, in fact the last one missing, has been denied him. This is nothing to be sad about. Kroos should be proud of what he has achieved – just as German Football is proud of this player.