Nagelsmann Has Returned Toni Kroos to the National Team. Why Does This 31-Year-Old Player Need This?

German media have long written about Julian Nagelsmann's desire to return Toni Kroos to the German national team for the home Euros. And Toni finally announced his return. This is an excellent reinforcement for the team. There are very few midfielders with such a level of passing and understanding of football. Kroos became the prototype of Zidane at the 2006 World Cup in the unofficial role of a playing coach. But why did he leave the national team at the age of 31?

After the failed Euro 2020, Kroos was criticized by many fans and experts, especially Lothar Matthäus. He accused the midfielder of lacking passion and fire and called Toni's passes ineffective. Kroos decided that he had had enough and ended his international career. At that time, he was a man of few words, but in 2023, in an interview with Bild, he said the following:

"I don't want to blame everyone in Germany because many fans appreciated my game, but sometimes I felt that people underestimated what I did in 11 years."

Did Nagelsmann really manage to convince Kroos otherwise? Toni himself has already written about his positive mood and the desire to prove that the national team can do much more than expected of it.

Nevertheless, this is a highly unexpected decision, as just last season, Kroos considered ending his sports career altogether. But he extended his contract with Real for a year and, it seems, not in vain: with seven goals, the German is the best assistant in La Liga. And his passing accuracy has stayed below 90% for 11 seasons in a row.

Every year, Kroos plays 50 matches for Real, and international breaks are the only opportunity for him to spend time with his family. The German has three children and a loving wife who supported his decision to extend his contract last year. Perhaps she pushed her husband to return to the national team this time. The main thing is that it doesn't turn out to be in vain.

Published by Patrick Jane
24.02.2024