It doesn’t fit the DFB team: The cozy genius of Max Kruse


It doesn’t fit for the DFB team
The cozy genius of Max Kruse

By Tobias Nordmann

Union Berlin has already celebrated the first small festival in Europe this season. Now it is also running in the 1st Bundesliga. There is a victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach, which the team also owes to a brilliant moment of the slow Max Kruse.

Max Kruse had taken a little longer. He is not as fast as his storm colleague Taiwo Awoniyi. It’s not a secret. Max Kruse deals with this weakness quite openly and confidently. And Awoniyi has developed a way of dealing with it. Against Borussia Mönchengladbach, the Nigerian held the ball, waited until his colleague was up and then played him. Awoniyi’s pass, however, was anything but good. A little too much in the back, but not a problem for Kruse. He may struggle with the speed, but not with the ball at his feet. And so he came up with something very nice for the record transfer from Union Berlin. He played a sensational pass right into the room Awoniyi wanted to run into. He had hinted that gently.

Kruse pushed the ball perfectly. He did this without looking. For his opponent, the action was hard to guess. However, he wasn’t particularly keen to attack Kruse. What is called pressure from the opposition was abstinent. The result: The 2-0 (41st) for Union. The felt preliminary decision. Coach Adi Hütter’s team tried hard and had good moments, but too seldom got themselves into really good situations. In the end, the game was lost 2-1. The Borussia are on one point after three match days. Regardless of personnel bottlenecks and already sensible approaches on the lawn, this is a false start. “A bitter pill,” says Hütter: “We have to score so that we don’t run after the band.”

A lot of passion, little spectacle

Chasing after, that’s more for Kruse. Small joke. In fact, the 33-year-old didn’t have a particularly good day. For the first 40 minutes he was barely visible. However, he was involved in the tour through Nico Gießelmann. Kruse opened the right side with a clever pass. From there came the cross, which Gießelmann turned with a placed header.

As beautiful as the two goals were played out, it was otherwise rather rare in the Alte Försterei. The Berliners earned their first victory of this Bundesliga season primarily with passion and struggle. “We did a decent job, but we still have a lot of room for improvement,” said Kruse at DAZN. “At the moment the whole team is working extremely well. We have brought our virtues onto the pitch, and we do that in every game. We know what we can do.”

And they also know what they have. A good goalkeeper. His name is Andreas Luthe and he defused a hefty pound from national player Jonas Hofmann, who, by the way, will not switch to Bayern. As Gladbach’s manager Max Eberl said at DAZN.

Hofmann is meanwhile not the only Borussia rumor has been around. Whether and what will happen on Monday, the so-called Deadline Day – wait and see. Matthias Ginter should also be courted by the record champions. Even at Union something should still be done. Defender Marco Friedl from Werder Bremen is considered a candidate. According to “Deichstube” he should want to strike in Berlin. In addition, there should be interest in midfielder Kevin Möhwald, who also still plays at the Weser.

What, on the other hand, seems clear: Union no longer needs reinforcements in the storm. Awoniyi was signed by Liverpol FC for 6.5 million euros after his good performance last season. Also Andreas Voglsammer, who came from Bielefeld. And Kevin Behrens from second division SV Sandhausen. In any case, the part of the squad was already very well filled. An attacker may still leave. Currently there are ten men in the front row (including the winger), a huge luxury.

Kruse is now even in the mood for Europe

Kruse won’t go. And neither is Awoniyi, of course. Even if after his odyssey with numerous loan deals in Germany – among other things, he once played for FSV Frankfurt (!) – and Belgium plays more strongly at Union than seldom before in his career and should have interested parties. Something grows together with him and Kruse. A brilliant preparer and a ripped-off striker, because the way he processed the pass against Gladbach was also fine art (because technically high-quality).

It had already shown how well this connection works in the Europa Conference League. Or on the way there. The Union team marched into the group stage with a 4-0 win at Kuopion PS (we’d rather not talk about the 0-0 second leg). Awoniyi had scored two goals (7th and 31st), Kruse (29th) one less, but prepared two. But he, of all people, who “didn’t feel like playing the Conference League” six months ago, shone with his enthusiasm.

She had quickly caught him again after his maddenedness. Just like they’d always caught him up to now. Kruse, the guy who always caused a stir, is a very inconspicuous team player in Berlin. Off the pitch. Even if he caused great emotions with the German Olympic team in Tokyo during a rather frustrating trip when he sent his girlfriend Dilara a marriage proposal live on TV.

But on the terrain away from the field he was not always so touching and sure-footed. The small and mostly larger escapades that kept occurring ruined his reputation with ex-national coach Joachim Löw and ultimately his career in the national team. Will it pick up speed again after the end of the Löw era? Possible. Hansi Flick, the new boss, had said that the best would play. When they perform at their best. Age does not matter. And that Kruse is one of the best at the top is not in dispute. And it is even less undisputed that he is doing top performances. The problem could be: Flick relies on lightning-fast attack football. And if Kruse has one weakness, it’s the speed.

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