With the bronze coup at the home European Championship, the German basketball players made history. However, the success did not tempt the “Bild” newspaper to write positively about the DBB team. A circumstance that annoys ex-soccer player Toni Kroos.
“Germany chokes on European Championship bronze”, headlined the “Bild” after the 82:69 victory in the small final over Poland. The tabloid continued: “The good news: the German giants have bronze in the European Championships! The bad news: the game. It’s sometimes very difficult to watch. Both teams torment the spectators for a long time with hair-raising mistakes.”
A report that basketball fan Toni Kroos is not at all satisfied with. “A cheeky article … the author can never have played sport,” wrote the Real Madrid midfielder to the relevant article on Twitter.
Kroos added: “To get up again like this 2 days after losing the thriller in the semifinals (including a big disappointment) is a sensation!” Then the 32-year-old addressed the bronze medal winners: “Be proud of DBB basketball! It’s (almost) all of Germany!”
With criticism of reports, Kroos was already in the headlines after the Champions League final in May when he clashed with “ZDF” reporter Nils Kaben in Paris.
“You had 90 minutes to think about sensible questions and then you ask me two shitty questions,” Kroos said after the 1-0 win over Liverpool to Kaben, who had asked critical questions despite the title. A short time later, the German soccer star broke off the interview.
German basketball players end a 17-year lull
At the domestic European Championship, the German basketball players ended a 17-year lull. With 26 points, DBB captain Dennis Schröder led the hosts to bronze and thus to their first podium finish since 2005, when Nowitzki and Co. won silver in Serbia.
The ninth German EM game in 18 days was marked by struggle and cramps over long stretches, but that didn’t matter in the end. In front of an official 12,913 spectators, the Poles in particular seemed exhausted and overplayed. Germany still struggled at first and only really got going just before half-time.