No, Toni Kroos is not doing himself any favors with this.
Yes, at first glance it sounds promising: Toni Kroos, the 2014 world champion, the “metronome” in midfield, back in the black and white jersey with the eagle on the chest. He is honored that he is taking on this task. His qualities? Undisputed. A ball distributor that is rare in world football.
But: Do you still remember the 2018 World Cup in Russia? Correct: preliminary round elimination. Or the European Championships 2021? Exactly: out in the round of 16. And who was a central part of the German midfield? Guess. Kroos wasn’t the cause, but part of the problem – and should he now be the solution? He’s not doing himself any favors.
After all, he himself has already emphasized: “You shouldn’t think that this trick will make us favorites” at the home European Championships in the summer. Especially since he no longer knows the teammates of past times next to him at the DFB, and decency dictates that he not expose his future teammates by naming them.
Publicly, the sober man from Greifswald is still seen as a savior in order to bring about a turnaround in the DFB team, which has recently been so aggressive and bloodless. The four-time world champion has recently been so dramatically lacking in emotion and excitement. But that’s exactly what he is, a loudspeaker, a leader type, a catcher of people like Thomas Müller, who has always been cited as the blueprint of the emotional footballer, he is not, he never was.
Toni Kroos back in the national team – that seems like a short-sighted return campaign, almost a cheap maneuver that is primarily intended to tame the public furor. An indication of the dramatic personnel situation, which national coach Julian Nagelsmann also publicly admits. He must be very desperate.