A few weeks ago, ex-national player Max Kruse criticized Joachim Löw in a podcast. The ex-national coach now shot back sharply.
Former national coach Joachim Löw spoke about the retirement of Max Kruse shortly before the 2014 World Cup. “The truth is: He just wasn’t good enough,” the 64-year-old told “Bild” and then added: “We wanted to go to Brazil and become world champions in football and not in poker.” A clear advantage against the long-time Bundesliga player, who is also known for his affinity for poker off the pitch.
Although Löw also praised Kruse’s qualities as a footballer, he could not resist another jibe at the former professional from St. Pauli, Freiburg, Gladbach, Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen, Union Berlin and Paderborn. “Max would sometimes have been better off in the Uwe Seeler traditional team,” he said meaningfully about his former protégé. “The speed and dynamics of his game: that was simply not enough.”
Reason for Kruse’s exit: “Not what happened in the hotel”
Löw emphasized once again that Kruse’s retirement was purely of a sporting nature. “The reasons were performance-related. Not what happened in the hotel,” he emphasized. Because: “There were one or two things that we could perhaps tell. Things like that in the hotel have happened before.”
According to Kruse, there was a discussion the next day. He said he was even praised for his sporting achievements. Kruse was in the starting line-up for the game against England, but was not invited to the national team again until after the 2014 World Cup. “And I found that so hypocritical,” Kruse complained.
“Then just tell me: ‘Max, you’ve done shit, that’s it for you in the national team,'” said Kruse. “Just do it strictly. But acting like I’ll get another chance and then just not inviting me.” Only after the World Cup was Kruse nominated again for the DFB team.