This is Why Toni KROOS is a TRUE MASTER of the GAME
Vinicius Junior deserved the man of the match award against Bayern and the general admiration of the fans, but only those who really know ball pay the ultimate respect to Toni Kroos!
In this video, Vamosito channel will tell you why Kroos is a key player in this young Real Madrid side, how he bossed the midfield against Bayern and how at 34 years old he was able to reach a whole new level. Let's get started!
Mentality
Everyone understands that Toni Kroos' value has always been in his game intelligence. He was never the fastest, strongest or most technically gifted player in his teams. However, this never stopped him from being a key player wherever he played.
His understanding of the game, the quality of his decisions, the timing of his decisions, and the level of his execution are a set of unique qualities that have made Toni who he is. It so happened that Kroos does not reserve his intelligence for the pitch, he uses it in everyday life.
The German is a very smart man who tries to improve himself even outside of football. For example, he has a podcast that he runs with his brother Felix.
This mindset has of course influenced the way Toni perceives his career. For him, it is important to stay at the top level until the very end of his tenure and not lower the bar by moving to weaker clubs as he gets older just for the sake of playing.
As early as he was 29, Kroos was thinking about when he was going to retire. And his decision to extend his contract with Real Madrid in 2019 until 2023 was driven by these thoughts.
When I am aged 33, that would be a good age to retire. My contract duration was chosen consciously. At 33, that would be a good age to hang up the boots. Signing for Real Madrid is the best thing I could have done, I will never play in the United States, China or Qatar, - Toni said at the time.
The midfielder logically assumed that after the age of 33 he could not guarantee the top level, so he extended his contract with Real Madrid only until 2023. As it turned out, his professionalism allowed him not only to keep the level, but also to improve his game. So later, Toni decided to continue his career and stay at Real Madrid for the current season. And we are grateful to him for doing so.
Before extending his contract with Real Madrid for the 2023/24 season, Kroos explained that he had only two options: to stay at the Bernabeu or to retire.
I'm not going anywhere, I'm not going to change clubs. I'm going to retire here, the only thing I don't know is when, - Toni said.
Currently, the German's situation is such that he will decide after each season whether he is ready to continue his career. And if the answer is yes, while Real offer a new deal, the decision will be to extend it for 1 year.
Like this video if you want Kroos to renew his contract and stay at the Bernabeu for at least the next season!
So far, everything looks like it would be a crime against football to end his career now. But the choice is still the player's and we have to respect it.
Impact
It will take a long time to assess Toni's impact on his teams, but we will try to show you everything quickly.
Let's start with Germany. Kroos approached his career with the national team with a cool head. He realized that as he gets older, his body will have a hard time withstanding the workload in both the club and the national team, so he decided to end his national team career after Euro 2020, which took place in 2021.
After this decision, Germany flopped at the 2022 World Cup, failing to qualify for the group, and then in 2023 lost 6 out of 11 matches, winning only 3.
The German football management began to panic, because Euro 2024 was coming up, and the team could not even beat inferior opponents. In addition, the tournament will be held in Germany, and a failure at the home forum will be a national disaster. Thus a major operation to bring Kroos back to the national team began.
Toni, when he made the rational decision to quit the national team, did not take into account his own professionalism, which allows him to stay in excellent physical condition even at the age of 34.
After consulting with his own body, Kroos decided to accept the request from his homeland and return to the national team.
I will play for Germany again from March. Why? Because I was asked by the national coach, I'm up for it and I'm sure that a lot more is possible with the team at the European Championship than most people believe! - he announced his decision.
The result? 2 wins in 2 matches against France and the Netherlands with an assist in each game from Toni. Talk about impact!
As for Real Madrid, Kroos's importance seems to have even increased. When the club bought Tchouameni and Camavinga, and later Bellingham, it was also because veterans Modric and Kroos are not getting any younger.