Löw on Kruse decision in 2014: “It just wasn’t good enough”

Responding to podcast statements

Former national team player Max Kruse’s escapades were not the main reason for ex-national coach Joachim Löw’s retirement before the 2014 World Cup. “The truth is: He just wasn’t good enough,” said Löw (64) to the “Bild” newspaper. The former Bundesliga professional had his qualities as a player. “But Max would sometimes have been better off in the Uwe Seeler traditional team because the pace and his dynamism in the game were simply a bit too little,” explained Löw.

Kruse (35) recently reported in a podcast that an incident before an international match in England was the reason he was not considered for the 2014 World Cup, in which the German team won the title in Brazil. At that time, Kruse was caught with an unauthorized visit from women in his hotel room. The way the national team’s sporting leadership treated him afterwards was hypocritical, said Kruse. “There was one or two things that could perhaps be told. Things like that in the hotel have happened before,” said Löw about Kruse’s account. But that wasn’t the reason for Kruse’s ejection. “The reasons were performance-related. Not what happened in the hotel. (…) We wanted to become world champions in football – and not in poker,” said Löw.

To home page