Toni Kroos delays the game. His passports are far too wide. His regular place in the national soccer team is not authorized, Joachim Löw wrongly sticks to him. These are various allegations. At Real Madrid, Kroos is now literally showing off his critics.
“Querpasstoni”. Anyone who wants to demean Toni Kroos uses this derogatory nickname for the 31-year-old. Many passes in width, too little train in the game – Kroos is often criticized for his many moves, especially in the German national soccer team. After his failure at the past international matches, some wanted to declare the end of his regular place in midfield.
Felix Kroos also wrote “Querpasstoni” late on Tuesday evening. The younger Kroos brother is known for his amusing tips against his more successful brother. The professional from second division club Eintracht Braunschweig managed to expose his brother’s critics. Because Toni Kroos was able to play again after his injury break – and how. For Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Liverpool. 3: 1, a deserved victory for the Kroos team. Goals from Vinicius Junior (27./65.) And Marco Asensio (36.) decided the new edition of the final of 2018, for Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool only Mohamed Salah (51.) met at the interim connection.
What is not noted here: Kroos prepared the 1-0. And that was anything but lame, sluggish or uncreative. Kroos first played a fantastic flying ball right into Vinicius’ barrel. He used the ball with two contacts – but that would not have been possible without the pass.
“Toni is a legend”
Vinicius later praised: “Toni is incredible, a legend. A player like no other.” Kroos also had his foot in the game in the 2-0 win – the passing on of a long shot from Kroos mishandled Trent Alexander-Arnold with serious consequences. And otherwise? More than 90 percent of his passes arrived, he gave the Liverpoolers extreme trouble with clever plays and movements. Sometimes he dashed forward, sometimes he crept up slowly, sometimes he withdrew. At the final whistle, most of his team had run 11.6 kilometers. A shot on goal that went clearly over it in the 61st is negligible.
The teamwork at Real in midfield is also truly royal. Kroos harmonizes wonderfully with Luka Modric, and Casemiro brings in aggressiveness. The fact that the regular central defense with Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane failed against Liverpool was barely noticeable and was settled at an early stage. Coach Zinedine Zidane praised his midfield trio at “AS”: “They have experience, they are good and they show it in every moment.” In this form, Real Madrid is on the way to the final – it would be Kroos’ fifth Champions League title.
“There is no question that we deserved to win the game,” said Kroos after the final whistle. On Twitter, he commented cautiously: “Good game. But only the first step.” Incidentally, this first step was a very relevant one for him: His 112th game in the Champions League, which, according to transfermarkt.de, was level with Philipp Lahm. According to these statistics, only two Germans, Manuel Neuer (117) and Thomas Müller (122), have played more premier class games.
And in this form, Kroos makes it more than clear why he and Joachim Löw have an agreement: the game designer is always there – unless he gets a call. Usually it’s the other way around. “Querpasstoni” as an ennoblement.
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