Bayern Munich’s honorary president Uli Hoeneß has once again taken a confrontational course with Toni Kroos and has spoken out against a comeback by the Rio world champion in the German national soccer team. “That would be quite a Titanic signal,” said the 71-year-old on Monday on “Sport und Talk im Hangar 7” on ServusTV, as the “Kronen Zeitung” reports. The Real Madrid midfielder is “an outstanding footballer, but I don’t think he can save German football,” continued Hoeneß.
Hoeneß had already spoken out strongly against Kroos in the DFB team in the past. “Toni Kroos has no place in this football anymore. (…) His way of playing is completely over,” he said in the Sport1 “one-two” in 2021 after the exit from the European Championships and the subsequent DFB resignation of the long-standing leading player.
Nagelsmann: “Interesting thought”
National coach Julian Nagelsmann recently described Kroos’ return as an “interesting thought” in the ZDF sports studio and added: “You have to think about all the players who have a German passport, I think that’s my job.” Specifically Nagelsmann revealed that he had not yet spoken to the 2014 world champion about it. The Real Madrid midfielder ended his career in the DFB team after 106 international matches after the 2021 European Championship. According to the “Bild” newspaper, the 33-year-old can actually imagine a comeback at the home European Championships next year.
Former national players Lothar Matthäus and Markus Babbel are also rather critical of Kroos’ possible return to the national team. “If Kroos could play full-back – okay. But the German team has the least need in the midfield. That’s how you open a barrel that you don’t even need,” Matthäus wrote in his column for the pay-TV channel Sky: “Kroos isn’t a clearer in front of the defense either, but if Nagelsmann suddenly sees Kroos as the holding six, there will be a lot of discussions again.”
That’s exactly how Babbel sees it. Kroos is “a gifted footballer, but is he also the savior? I have my doubts about that,” said the 1996 European champion at the “ran Bundesliga web show”: “He’s not a vacuum cleaner who can shove everyone away. Above all, you need his six, who is not above going down these dirty paths and leading these duels.”
If Kroos (33) makes a comeback in the DFB team, he would need people around him who are stronger defensively. “If you don’t find a partner for him, you won’t get the defensive problems under control. As Toni Kroos, I would forego the abuse and disgrace and stay at home in Madrid,” said Babbel: “But if you find the right mix, Toni can act great.”
Thomas Klemm Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 67 Christopher Meltzer Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2 Hans-Günter Kellner, Madrid Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 11
Kroos won the Champions League with FC Bayern in 2013. After turning down a contract extension in Munich, the midfielder moved to Real Madrid in 2014, where he has been one of the central figures ever since. With Real he won the premier class four more times, something no German professional footballer has ever achieved.
