Football star Toni Kroos is not the only sports star in his family. Not only was his brother Felix a professional soccer player, but his mother Birgit was also a successful athlete.
Toni Kroos is one of the most famous football players in Germany, he played 114 international matches and won several times Champions League and even became world champion with the German national team. Even after the end of his active professional career, the midfielder continues to be in the public spotlight. But it’s not just Toni and his brother Felix, who also played in the Bundesliga, who are well-known professional athletes in the Kroos family. Her mother also had a career as an athlete.
In contrast to her sons, Birgit Kroos, then Birgit Kämmer, was not active in football. She was a successful badminton player in the GDR for her hometown club, Unit Greifswald.
Toni Kroos’ mother won her first titles early on
The athlete with the famous offspring had a steep career at a young age and collected several important titles in her career. At just 15 years old, Birgit Kroos and her team won the team title at the 1978 GDR championships. Just like her son Toni Kroos later with Real Madrid in the Champions League, the mother developed into a series champion. There were to be seven more senior team titles for Greifswald. Overall, Birgit Kroos is an 18-time GDR badminton champion.
A special highlight in Birgit Kroos’ career was the year 1986. Here she and her teammate Angela Michalowski were first able to win the women’s doubles title at the GDR championships. She then managed to do this in the women’s singles. Toni Kroos’ mother also played four games for the GDR national team, of which she won three.
Birgit Kroos: The foundation for Toni Kroos’ success
Today Toni Kroos’ mother teaches biology and sports at a high school in Rostock. With ambition and discipline, Birgit laid the foundation for her sons’ successful football careers early on. But her husband, Roland Kroos, also contributed his part. As a youth coach in Greifswald, he promoted the talent on the ball of Toni Kroos and his brother Felix at a young age. It remains to be seen whether Toni Kroos’ children will continue the family’s sporting tradition.
