“The countdown has begun”

“The countdown has begun. I want to play the last games of my career like I played the last ones with Real Madrid, with the greatest possible success.”warned Toni Kroos (Greifswald, 1990) before the start of the European Championship.

“It makes me sad when I see Kroos, Modric and Cristiano because I think it could be their last Euro. And I say pity because you don’t see players like that often. Modric and Cristiano have been lucky enough to be recognized as the best in the world, but “Kroos has not been appreciated enough considering he is an absolutely fantastic footballer,” he lamented Jose Mourinho in ‘Ran’.

It saddens me to think that this could be the last Euro for Cristiano, Modric and Kroos, especially because I think Kroos has not been appreciated enough.

Jose Mourinho

Their ‘masterpass’ in the Group Stage is now behind them. Now Kroos will have to learn to play without a net. Each match will be a final, starting with the round of 16 against Denmark. If Germany falls, it will say goodbye to football forever.

However, the former Bayern player, who returned to the ‘Mannschaft’ after almost three years away, has other plans: “If I didn’t believe it was possible to win the Euros, I wouldn’t have decided to come back. “We can beat anyone.”

If I didn’t believe it was possible to win the Euro, I wouldn’t have decided to come back.

Toni Kroos

In Germany all roads lead to Kroos. “You can give the ball at any time. You know he won’t make mistakes. Toni remains one of the three best players in the world when it comes to finding space between the lines, creating chances and scoring goals. It is not easy to defend him. “He is very smart and always finds solutions.”

Kroos remains one of the three best players in the world when it comes to finding space between the lines, creating chances and scoring goals.

Julian Nagelsmann

The king of the pass

The numbers support him. According to ‘Opta’, the ‘8’ of Germany and Real Madrid was, at the end of the second matchday, the player in the entire Euro who had completed two performances with the most passes between the lines: 47 against Hungary and 30 against Scotland. He was followed, at a distance, by Vitinha, who scored 21 against the Czech Republic.

“He’s a genius. It only takes a couple of training sessions with him to realize the quality he has. It’s a lot of fun to play alongside him because he puts the ball exactly where I want it.to be able to turn and attack the back of the defense,” he stressed Jamal Musiala in ‘The Athletic’.

To quality we must add quantity. In the 5-1 against ScotlandHe completed 101 of the 102 passes he made. Never has a player been so efficient (99%) with so many attempts. Against Hungary (2-0) he upped the ante: he recorded 124 successful passes. He was only three away from the historical record of the Euro Cup, Xavi Hernandez’s 127 deliveries against Ireland in 2012.

“He’s an incredible footballer. We all know its qualities. Control the pace of the game at all times.”he asserts Jonathan Tah.

Xavi’s record survives, but Sergio Busquets’ record – he was the player who had made the most passes (2,360) between Euro Cups and World Cups – has passed away. Now it belongs to Kroos (2,387), He was, by the way, the player who made the most passes at Euro 2016 (323) and Euro 2020 (280). This year he has surpassed that figure. He is the ‘king’ with 324 and continues to add.

Master all types of passes: He is the one who has filtered the most in the final third (58), the one who has made the ball run the most with his passes (2,250 meters), the one who has taken the most corners (22), the one who has generated the most goal-scoring chances (20)…

As if that were not enough, he leads with and without the ball. “In the dressing room he is someone we all admire. He has achieved so much success that he has a special status. On the field he is incredible, nothing fazes him. You look at him and know you have nothing to worry about. His mere presence intimidates,” he points out. Leroy Sane.

In Germany, they are clear about it. They are clinging to ‘Casablanca’: “Play it again, Toni.”