Football News Update: Toni Kroos Prepares for Potential Final Bow at Euro 2024 and Beyond
Nuremberg, Germany – Kroos’ Calm before the Storm
As the curtain could soon fall on Toni Kroos’ illustrious football career, the 34-year-old midfield maestro sat down with a calm demeanor, making no apologies for arriving empty-handed. With Germany set to face an exceptional Spain side in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals in just two days, the question of whether these could be Kroos’ final public pronouncements as a professional footballer looms large.
“I’m not feeling nostalgic in the least,” Kroos deadpanned, making it clear he does not expect this to be his last match. “I assume we’ll all be seeing each other again.”
The kuchen (cakes) will have to wait, and so will the goodbyes, as the host nation hopes Kroos can extend his international career further.
Kroos’ Decision to Retire and One Last Shot
Kroos’ decision to retire this summer, announced in May, came as a shock to many. The Real Madrid star, seemingly with a few more years left in the tank, wanted to depart on a high note and gave his decision to have one last shot at international football, made three months earlier, a fresh dimension. A European Championship medal has eluded him, but there is a growing belief that Kroos could ride into the sunset wearing one.
“I’m fully aware of the fact that football will no longer play a key role in my life,” Kroos said. “But I’m not afraid. I was the one who took the decision. Nobody had told me, even in veiled terms, that it was time to say goodbye. I will miss it because I still love the game, and I doubt I’ll find anything I can do as well as football.”
Kroos’ Desire to Control the Narrative
Kroos’ performances at Euro 2024 have pulsated with a desire to control the narrative, and his display in the destruction of Scotland will be difficult to top all summer. The midfield maestro has hardly stopped pulling the strings since, though Denmark had some joy in limiting his influence on Saturday.
As Germany prepares to face Spain in a midfield battle for the ages, Kroos is expected to be at the heart of the action.
“It’s been my opinion for a long time that games like these are decided in the middle,” he said. “Whoever can control the game there will have a much better chance of winning.”
Kroos’ Retirement Plans and Legacy
Whether or not Spain can “retire” Kroos, one certainty is that the German midfielder will retire to Spain, where he expects to run an academy in Madrid while enjoying family life. As for his legacy, Kroos believes he is well-appreciated everywhere, even if it has taken time.
The atmosphere around Germany’s training base in Nuremberg is businesslike but relaxed, with a sense of history and a drive to succeed. Kroos and the team’s old guard carry some burden from past failures, but the midfielder believes they have already proved a point and are convinced they can go further in Euro 2024.
“You can’t plan for a title,” he said. “It worked out well with Real Madrid, and I’ll try it here too, without being devastated if it doesn’t work out.”
For now, the shorter-term target is to stretch out the farewell tour for as long as possible. Bavaria’s finest bakers can stand down for the moment, as Kroos focuses on the task at hand, determined to add one more trophy to his illustrious career.
🔗 Source