Lothar Matthäus seems to have found a victim to blame for the disappointing European championship. The former international and legend points the finger of blame at Toni Kroos, now that the Real Madrid midfielder has decided to end his career as a German international. In a column in BILD Matthäus has nothing good to say about Kroos’ performance with the German national team.
“He thinks he’s better than me,” says Matthäus. “It’s nothing personal. I congratulate him on everything he has achieved at Real Madrid and in the national team. I take my hat off to his career and his achievements in general. Toni is a great and elegant player, but his achievements at the European Championship were very disappointing. He was not able to lead the team for a moment.” Germany finished second in the group behind France, but then lost against England (2-0) in the eighth finals.
Kroos had already decided before the European Championship that the tournament would be his last trick as an international. A great opportunity for Matthäus to give the 106-time international a kick. “I missed the passion, the fire and the deep passes”, Matthäus continues his story. “His short passes and wide passes are like his haircut: nice and tailored, completely correct. But that slows down the game and takes away his joy. There were too many wide passes, he was way too far back. Playing with a three-man defence, that makes no sense.” Kroos won the World Cup with Germany in 2014 by dealing with Argentina in the final. It marked the fourth world title for Germany.
With his decision, Kroos hopes to be able to fully focus on his ‘real Madrid goals’. He also wants to free up more time for his family. “I would have loved to see, and I have done everything I could, that it would eventually be 109 games, plus the European title,” wrote the midfielder. “As a father and as a husband, I want to be there for my wife and three children. It was a great honor to wear this shirt for so long. I did it with passion and pride. Thanks to all the fans who cheered and applauded me for me. And thanks to all the critics for the extra motivation.”
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