Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos (German pronunciation: [ˈtoːniː ˈkʁoːs]; born 4 January 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Germany national team. Kroos plays mainly as a central midfielder, but is also used as a defensive midfielder or deep-lying playmaker. He is known for his vision, creativity, passing, and set-piece ability,[4][5] and is widely considered to be one of the best midfielders in the world.[6]

Toni Kroos

Kroos with Real Madrid in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Toni Kroos[1]
Date of birth	(1990-01-04) 4 January 1990[2]
Place of birth	Greifswald, East Germany
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Playing position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Real Madrid
Number	8
Youth career
1997–2002	Greifswalder SC
2002–2006	Hansa Rostock
2006–2007	Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2008	Bayern Munich II	13	(4)
2007–2014	Bayern Munich	130	(13)
2009–2010	→ Bayer Leverkusen (loan)	43	(10)
2014–	Real Madrid	187	(15)
National team^‡
2005–2007	Germany U17	34	(17)
2009	Germany U19	5	(3)
2008–2009	Germany U21	10	(2)
2010–	Germany	96	(17)
Honours Representing  Germany FIFA World Cup 2014 2010 UEFA European Championship 2012 FIFA U-17 World Cup 2007
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:08, 19 July 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:38, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

Kroos began his senior club career playing for Bayern Munich, where he made his debut at age 17 in 2007. He was sparingly used, and quickly opted for an 18-month loan spell at fellow Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, where he became a key contributor, and returned to his parent club with an increased profile in 2010. Kroos then became indispensable for the Bavarian club, and was critical to several successes, including two consecutive league titles, a UEFA Champions League title, and two DFB-Pokal titles. He was also voted into the league team of the season three times, before moving to Spain to join La Liga side Real Madrid in 2014, for a fee of €25 million.[7]

In Madrid, Kroos became a vital part of the team under head coaches Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane, and he helped Real win three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles from 2015–16 to 2017–18, each time being selected in the squad of the season. He also contributed heavily as the club captured a La Liga title in 2017, when he was also chosen for the team of the season, as well as another league title in 2020. Kroos was also voted into both the FIFPro World11 and UEFA Team of the Year in 2016 and 2017, and has won further championships, including five FIFA Club World Cup titles.[8][9] In 2018, Kroos was named German Footballer of the Year by a selection of journalists and the publication kicker.

After a successful youth international career, in which he won the Golden Player award and finished as top goalscorer in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in 2006, and won the Golden Ball award for best player at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2007, Kroos made his senior debut for Germany in 2010. He scored his first international goal in 2011 in a friendly match against Poland, and has since been key to the national team, appearing in every major tournament Germany has qualified for, beginning with the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In 2014, Kroos led his country to victory in that year's World Cup, where he was the top assist provider and was selected to the All-Star team and Dream Team. He was also named German Player of the Year. At UEFA Euro 2016, Kroos was voted to the Team of the Tournament.

Club career

Early career

Kroos first played for local club Greifswalder SC, later transferring to the youth team of Hansa Rostock. Kroos moved to Bayern Munich's youth setup in 2006. Kroos was missing up to 40 days during the school year due to training.[10]

For the 2007–08 season, at the age of 17, Kroos was promoted to Bayern's senior team. He made an astounding start to his Bundesliga career, making his debut for Bayern on 26 September 2007 in a 5–0 defeat of Energie Cottbus and twice assisting Miroslav Klose goals within 18 minutes of his appearance as a substitute.[11] At the time of his debut, Kroos was the youngest player ever to represent Bayern in a professional match at 17 years, 265 days old, a record since broken by David Alaba in 2010.

On 25 October, Kroos earned Bayern a valuable victory away to Red Star Belgrade on his UEFA Cup debut, coming on as a substitute in the 81st minute and providing an assist for Miroslav Klose and then scoring the winning goal, his first for the club, in stoppage time.[12] He made his first start for the club in a 3–1 defeat away at VfB Stuttgart.

Kroos ended his first season with 20 appearances for Bayern, including six starts. He also scored three goals in 12 appearances for Bayern Munich II in the Regionalliga Süd.

Despite being selected to start in Bayern's opening 2008–09 Bundesliga match against Hamburger SV, Kroos appeared less frequently for die Roten during the first half of the 2008–09 season. On 5 November 2008, however, he made his UEFA Champions League debut as a 79th-minute substitute against Fiorentina in matchday four of the group stage.[13]

Loan at Bayer Leverkusen

On 31 January 2009, Bayern allowed Kroos to join Bayer Leverkusen on an 18-month loan to gain first team experience.[14] He made his debut on 28 February as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat against Hannover 96. On 12 April, he made his first Bundesliga start for Leverkusen, assisting the team's goal in a 1–1 draw with Werder Bremen. On 18 April 2009, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 2–1 loss to VfL Wolfsburg.

On 30 May, Kroos appeared as a late substitute in the 2009 DFB-Pokal Final against Werder Bremen, where Leverkusen were beaten 1–0 by a Mesut Özil goal.[15]

During the 2008–09 season, Kroos made 13 appearances for Leverkusen in all competitions, scoring once.

Kroos established himself as a regular in the Leverkusen team in 2009–10, appearing all but one of Bayer's Bundesliga matches. Between matchdays 16 and 20, Kroos registered five goals and four assists in five Bundesliga matches, earning him back-to-back "player of the month" awards from kicker for December 2009 and January 2010.[16]

He ended the season with nine goals and 12 assists from 33 matches.

Bayern Munich

In the summer of 2010, on the expiration of his loan at Bayer Leverkusen, Kroos returned to Bayern Munich. When asked about his first team chances with Bayern, runner-up in the previous season's Champions League, Kroos stated, "I want to play as often as possible!"[17]

On 16 August 2010, he started against Germania Windeck in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, scoring the third goal in a 4–0 victory. On 29 October 2010, he scored his first league goal for the club, in a 4–1 win for the Bavarians against SC Freiburg. During the 2010–11 season, Kroos was a regular starter for Bayern in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League. He ended the season with 37 appearances in all competitions.

During 2011–12, under Jupp Heynckes, his former coach at Leverkusen, Kroos established himself as a first choice player from Bayern, forming a strong midfield partnership with national team colleague Bastian Schweinsteiger. He played 51 matches in all competitions during the season, including the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, where Bayern were beaten on penalties by Chelsea at the Allianz Arena.

Kroos was an important member of Bayern's treble-winning team during the 2012–13 season. As the most advanced member of a midfield containing Schweinsteiger and Javi Martínez, Kroos scored three goals in the team's opening four Bundesliga matches. He also scored his first Champions League goal in Bayern's opening group match against Valencia. After sustaining an injury in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Juventus,[18] Kroos was unavailable for the remainder of the season, missing Bayern's successes in the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final, the 2013 DFB-Pokal Final and the last seven matches of the Bundesliga season.

Kroos returned to fitness for the start of the 2013–14 season and, played in the German Super Cup[19] and the UEFA Super Cup.[20] On 4 October 2013, scored his first goal of the season in a 1–1 draw against former club Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. He started two matches for Bayern in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup.[21] The first against Guangzhou Evergrande in the 3–0 semi-final win on 17 December 2013,[22] and in the final as the team beat Raja Casablanca 2–0.[23][24]

On 19 February 2014, Kroos scored his second goal of the season in a 2–0 Champions League win against Arsenal.[25] On 25 March, he scored in a 3–1 win over Hertha BSC as Bayern were confirmed as Bundesliga champions.[26]

Real Madrid

2014–15 season

Kroos playing for Real Madrid in 2015

Prior to joining Real Madrid, Kroos had a deal in place to join Manchester United after agreeing terms with David Moyes. However, after Moyes was sacked and Louis van Gaal replaced him, the Dutch manager decided against signing Kroos. Around the time of the 2014 World Cup he received a call from Carlo Ancelotti.[27]

On 17 July 2014, Real Madrid announced that they had reached an agreement for the transfer of Kroos, signing a six-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[28][29][28][30][31] The press reported that Kroos had cost between €24 and €30 million.[28][32][33][30][34][35] Greifswalder SV 04, the successor to his first youth team, received €60,000 from the transfer.[36]

Kroos became the ninth German player, after Günter Netzer, Paul Breitner, Uli Stielike, Bernd Schuster, Bodo Illgner, Christoph Metzelder, Mesut Özil, and Sami Khedira, to join Real Madrid.[37] At his presentation in front of 8,000 supporters, he stated how Real Madrid is the "biggest club in the world" and is a "cut above Bayern".[38][39] He played in his debut match against Sevilla in the 2014 UEFA Super Cup on 12 August 2014, winning his first trophy at Real Madrid.[40][41]

He was part of a midfield trio with James Rodríguez and Luka Modrić that led Real Madrid to 22-game winning run late in the year. On 8 November, Kroos scored his first goal for Real Madrid in a 5–1 win over Rayo Vallecano, at home.[42] In December, he helped the team win the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup, leading the tournament in assists. He was named to the FIFPro World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year.

2015–16 season

In 2015, Ancelotti was replaced by Rafa Benítez in Madrid's command. Benítez was replaced in the middle of the season by Zinedine Zidane, under whom Kroos continued to be a key midfield player. Zidane said "We signed Toni because we want him to mark an era" and called Kroos "perfect for Madrid".[43] He was a regular starter when the team won the 2015–16 Champions League, his second Champions League trophy.[44] Los Blancos' triumph at San Siro meant that Kroos became the first-ever German to lift the Champions League trophy with two clubs.[45]

2016–17 season

On 12 October 2016, he signed a new contract until 2022, and by the end of the year he was once again nominated to the FIFPro World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year.[46]

He scored the winning goal for Real Madrid in the 81-minute of the game against Celta Vigo as Real Madrid won their first home game of the La Liga season by 2–1.[47]

He was a regular starter when Madrid won the 2016–17 La Liga and later defended their title in the 2016–17 Champions League. He became the first German player to win the trophy three times.[48][49][50]

2017–18 season

During the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, he made twelve appearances, when Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall Champions League title.[51]

2018–19 season

On 22 December 2018, Kroos won his record fifth FIFA Club World Cup after his team defeated Al Ain FC with a 4–1 margin in the final.[9] On 20 May 2019, he extended his contract with the club until 2023.[52][53]

2019–20 season

On 12 January 2020, Kroos won the 2019–20 Supercopa de España with Real Madrid beating the local rivals Atlético Madrid on penalties.[54] He was a regular starter during the league season, scoring four goals, as Real Madrid won the 2019–20 La Liga.[55]

International career

Kroos with Germany in 2012

Youth teams

In the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup, Toni Kroos was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player and also won the Bronze Shoe after scoring five goals.[56] Kroos' debut for the national U-21 team came on 5 September 2008 in a 2009 Euro U-21 Championship Qualifier against Northern Ireland and scored the opening goal in the 11th minute,[57] his second goal for the U-21 side was goal in Germany's 1–0 win over Italy, a precise long-range shot in the angle. It came as a surprise that coach Horst Hrubesch left him out of Germany's U-21 squad for Euro 2009, and Germany went on to win the tournament without him.[58]

2010 World Cup

In January 2010, Kroos was called up to the senior Germany team for the first time, for a training session in Sindelfingen[59] and was named in the squad for the following match, a friendly against Argentina on 3 March 2010, in which he subsequently made his debut for the national side.[60]

Kroos was selected to Joachim Löw's 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He made his FIFA World Cup debut in Germany's final group-stage match versus Ghana, coming on in the 80th minute for Bastian Schweinsteiger, with Germany leading 1–0. He made further appearances as a substitute in the quarter-finals against Argentina, in the semi-finals against Spain and in the third place play-off against Uruguay.

Euro 2012

Kroos (left) battles Julian Baumgartlinger for the ball in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match against Austria in Vienna (Ernst-Happel-Stadion).

Kroos established himself as a regular starter in Germany's qualification campaign for UEFA Euro 2012, playing in eight out of a possible ten games. Germany won all ten qualifying matches to top group A. After qualification was already ensured, Kroos scored his first two international goals, both with his strong right foot. Notably, both Kroos' goals were Germany's first after falling behind in the respective matches, both of which were drawn away friendlies, against the two Euro 2012 hosts – Poland and Ukraine. National coach Joachim Löw also praised him: "How Toni distributes the ball, how he receives it, is very good. He's technically excellent ... He has made progress in the last few matches, I'm extremely satisfied with the player."[61]

At the tournament finals, Kroos appeared as a substitute in all three of Germany's Group B matches. For the semi-final match against Italy, Löw selected the naturally attacking Kroos to man mark Italy's playmaker Andrea Pirlo. The decision was heavily criticised as Germany lost the match 2–1.[62][63]

2014 World Cup

During Germany's 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, Kroos scored his first two competitive international goals in a 6–1 win over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. On 6 September 2013, he scored the team's second goal in a 3–0 win over Austria.

Kroos was named in Germany's squad for the 2014 World Cup.[64] In the team's opening match, a 4–0 defeat of Portugal, Kroos started in midfield and assisted Mats Hummels for Germany's second goal.[65] Then in the quarter final the only goal scored by Mats Hummels against France came from his free kick.[66] In the semi-final against the host nation Brazil, Kroos scored two goals two minutes apart (24' and 26') in Germany's 7–1 win.[67] He also recorded his fourth assist of the tournament, crossing for Thomas Müller's opening goal, and was named man of the match by FIFA.[68] Kroos has been nicknamed Garçom ("waiter" in Portuguese) by the Brazilians for precisely delivering most passes to the strikers.[69]

On 11 July, Kroos was named on the ten-man shortlist for FIFA's Golden Ball award for the tournament's best player.[70]

The Castrol Performance Index, the official statistical analyser of the World Cup, rated Kroos as the best player at the 2014 World Cup, with a rating of 9.79 out of 10.[71]

Kroos is considered the only player from the former German Democratic Republic to ever win the World Cup.[72]

2018 World Cup

On 4 June 2018, Kroos was included in Germany's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[73] On 23 June, Kroos scored from a free-kick in stoppage time against Sweden to resurrect Germany's World Cup hopes with a 2–1 victory.[74] But in their next and last group stage match, his side were knocked out by South Korea after losing 2–0 four days later.[75]

Style of play

"How Toni distributes the ball, how he receives it, is very good. He's technically excellent ... He has made progress in the last few matches, I'm extremely satisfied with the player."

–Joachim Löw, Manager of the Germany National Football Team[76]

A tall and athletic right-footed midfielder, Kroos is known for the range and accuracy of his distribution with either foot, his technique, vision, creativity, reading of the game, and his ability to dictate play in midfield or set up goals with his passing and ball delivery from set-pieces; he is also capable of scoring goals himself, courtesy of his striking ability – in particular from long range – and his accuracy from free kicks.[77][78][79][80][81] He has been described by Jonathan Wilson as "perhaps the archetype of the modern attacking midfielder". Wilson has also described Kroos as "dynamic and hardworking", and has praised him for his versatility, physical strength and ability to play in several midfield positions: in addition to his usual role, he has also been used in the centre as a deep-lying playmaker, on the flank, in a box-to-box role, or even as a defensive midfielder, due to his ability to both break up play, retain possession, and create chances for teammates.[4][82][83] Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes said in 2014 that Kroos, "a top-class central midfielder", was the player that United most needed to sign.[5]

Former Netherlands captain Johan Cruyff said of Kroos' performances at the 2014 World Cup, "He's doing everything right: the pace in his passes is great and he sees everything. It's nearly perfect."[84]

Personal life

Kroos was born in Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, on 4 January 1990.[31] He has a younger brother, Felix Kroos, who is also a professional footballer.[10] His father Roland works as youth coach for Hansa Rostock.[10] During his youth, he was a mediocre student and spent a lot of time practicing football,[10] however, he was well-behaved in class and well liked among his peers at school.[10]

Kroos married his long-term girlfriend Jessica Farber on 13 June 2015. They have a son, Leon (born 14 August 2013),[85] and daughter, Amelie (born on 20 July 2016).[86] He owns a house on the island of Mallorca.[28]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 7 August 2020

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Europe		Other[lower-alpha 1]		Total		Ref.
		League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bayern Munich II	2007–08	Regionalliga Süd	12	3	—		—		—		12	3	[87]
	2008–09	3. Liga	1	1	—		—		—		1	1	[88]
	Total		13	4	—		—		—		13	4
Bayern Munich	2007–08	Bundesliga	12	0	2	0	6	1	—		20	1	[87]
	2008–09	Bundesliga	7	0	1	1	1	0	—		9	1	[88]
	2010–11	Bundesliga	27	1	3	1	7	1	—		37	3	[89]
	2011–12	Bundesliga	31	4	6	1	14	2	—		51	7	[90]
	2012–13	Bundesliga	24	6	3	0	9	3	1	0	37	9	[91][92]
	2013–14	Bundesliga	29	2	6	1	12	1	4	0	51	4	[21][93]
	Total		130	13	21	4	49	8	5	0	205	25
Bayer Leverkusen (loan)	2008–09	Bundesliga	10	1	3	0	—		—		13	1	[88]
	2009–10	Bundesliga	33	9	2	0	—		—		35	9	[94]
	Total		43	10	5	0	—		—		48	10
Real Madrid	2014–15	La Liga	36	2	2	0	12	0	5	0	55	2	[21]
	2015–16	La Liga	32	1	0	0	12	0	—		44	1	[21]
	2016–17	La Liga	29	3	5	0	12	1	2	0	48	4	[21]
	2017–18	La Liga	27	5	0	0	12	0	4	0	43	5	[21]
	2018–19	La Liga	28	0	4	0	8	1	3	0	43	1	[21]
	2019–20	La Liga	35	4	2	0	6	1	2	1	45	6	[21]
	Total		187	15	13	0	62	3	16	1	278	19
Career total			273	42	39	4	111	11	21	1	544	58

1. Includes DFL-Supercup, Supercopa de España, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Supercopa de España

International

As of match played 19 November 2019[95]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Germany
	2010	13	0
	2011	11	2
	2012	10	2
	2013	7	1
	2014	16	4
	2015	5	0
	2016	12	3
	2017	6	0
	2018	11	2
	2019	5	3
Total		96	17

As of match played 19 November 2019. Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first.[96]

List of international goals scored by Toni Kroos

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 September 2011	PGE Arena Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland	Poland	1–1	2–2	Friendly
2	11 November 2011	Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, Kiev, Ukraine	Ukraine	1–2	3–3
3	12 October 2012	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland	Republic of Ireland	5–0	6–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
4				6–0
5	6 September 2013	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Austria	2–0	3–0
6	8 July 2014	Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil	Brazil	3–0	7–1	2014 FIFA World Cup
7				4–0
8	14 October 2014	Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Republic of Ireland	1–0	1–1	UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
9	18 November 2014	Estadio de Balaídos, Vigo, Spain	Spain	1–0	1–0	Friendly
10	26 March 2016	Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany	England	1–0	2–3
11	29 March 2016	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Italy	1–0	4–1
12	8 October 2016	Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany	Czech Republic	2–0	3–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	23 June 2018	Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi, Russia	Sweden	2–1	2–1	2018 FIFA World Cup
14	16 October 2018	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	France	1–0	1–2	2018–19 UEFA Nations League A
15	6 September 2019	Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany	Netherlands	2–2	2–4	UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
16	16 November 2019	Borussia-Park, Mönchengladbach, Germany	Belarus	3–0	4–0
17				4–0

Honours

Bayern Munich[97]

• Bundesliga: 2007–08, 2012–13, 2013–14
• DFB-Pokal: 2012–13, 2013–14
• DFL-Supercup: 2012
• UEFA Champions League: 2012–13
• UEFA Super Cup: 2013
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2013

Real Madrid[98]

• La Liga: 2016–17, 2019–20[55]
• Supercopa de España: 2017, 2019–20[99]
• UEFA Champions League: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
• UEFA Super Cup: 2014, 2017
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018

Germany

• FIFA World Cup: 2014[100]

Individual

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship Golden Player: 2006[101]
• FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Ball: 2007[102]
• FIFA U-17 World Cup Bronze Shoe: 2007[102]
• Fritz-Walter-Medal U18 Gold Medal: 2008[103]
• kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14
• UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18[104][105][106][107]
• FIFA FIFPro World11: 2014, 2016, 2017[108][109][110]
• FIFA FIFPro World11 2nd team: 2015, 2018[111][112]
• FIFA FIFPro World11 nominee: 2019 (9th midfielder)[113]
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2014, 2016,[114] 2017[115]
• IFFHS World's Best Playmaker: 2014[116]
• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2014[117]
• FIFA World Cup Dream Team: 2014[118]
• Castrol Performance Index: 2014 FIFA World Cup Castrol Index Winner[71][119]
• Silbernes Lorbeerblatt: 2014[120]
• Germany national team Player of the Year: 2014[121]
• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2016[122]
• UEFA La Liga Team of the Season: 2016–17[123], 2019-20[124]
• IFFHS World's Best Playmaker Bronze award: 2016[125]
• IFFHS World's Best Playmaker Silver award: 2017[126]
• IFFHS Men's World Team: 2017[127]
• Footballer of the Year in Germany: 2018[128]
• GQ athlete of the year in Germany: 2019[129]

References

1. "Acta del Partido celebrado el 21 de septiembre de 2016, en Madrid" [Minutes of the Match held on 21 September 2016, in Madrid] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
2. "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of Players: Germany" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2019.
3. "Kroos". Real Madrid CF. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
4. "The Question: How is interpretation of the playmaker role changing?". The Guardian. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
5. "Paul Scholes: Manchester United need Bayern Munich's Toni Kroos". BBC Sport. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
6. "Xavi believes Toni Kroos could control Real Madrid midfield over long haul". 25 May 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
7. "Toni Kroos joins Real Madrid from Bayern Munich for £20m". 17 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
8. "Kroos becomes first German player to win four champions leagues". 4 June 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
9. "Kroos becomes Club World Cup's most decorated player". Real Madrid CF. 22 December 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
10. Meyn, Jörn (22 May 2012). "Warum der junge Toni Kroos barfuß spielen musste". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 22 May 2012.
11. "Hitzfeld's Review". FC Bayern Munich. 21 May 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
12. "Kroos control". Sky Sports. 2 October 2013.
13. "Toni Kroos". UEFA. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
14. "Bayern let Kroos join Bayer". Sky Sports. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
15. "Werders Triumph dank Özil". kicker (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2013.
16. "Toni Kroos: Werdegang". toni-kroos.de (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2013.
17. "Kroos: "Ich will spielen, so oft wie möglich!"". Münchner Merkur (in German). 22 July 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
18. "Bayern Munich's Toni Kroos expected to miss rest of season with injury". Sky Sports. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
19. "Reus eröffnet und beendet den Torreigen". kicker (in German). 27 July 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
20. "Neuer hält den Supercup fest". kicker (in German). 30 August 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
21. "Toni Kroos " Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
22. "Bayern im Finale – Guangzhou kein Prüfstein". kicker (in German). 17 December 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
23. "Bayern Munich 2–0 Raja Casablanca". BBC Sport. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
24. "FCB holt sich den fünften Titel". kicker (in German). 21 December 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
25. "Bayern's Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller leave Arsenal on the brink". The Guardian. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
26. "Hertha BSC 1–3 Bayern Munich". BBC. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
27. Honigstein, Raphael. "Toni Kroos: I'm blessed with the gift of not getting..." The Athletic. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
28. "Vertrag bis 2020! Kroos wechselt zu Real Madrid" (in German). kicker. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
29. "Official statement". Real Madrid CF. 17 July 2014.
30. "Toni Kroos leaves Bayern Munich for Real Madrid". The Local. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
31. "Toni Kroos joins Real Madrid from Bayern Munich". BBC Sports. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
32. Jiménez, Rubén (17 July 2014). "Willkommen Kroos!". Marca. Spain. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
33. "Germany midfielder Toni Kroos moves to Real". Deutsche Welle. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
34. "Real Madrid seal €30 million Toni Kroos transfer from Bayern Munich". Eurosport UK. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
35. "Real Madrid to pay €30m for Toni Kroos, be presented at 5 pm on Thursday". Inside Spanish Football. 17 July 2014. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
36. "Greifswalder SV kassiert für Kroos" [Greifswalder SV cash in on Kroos] (in German). SVZ. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
37. "Kroos-Wechsel zu Real ist perfekt". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 17 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
38. "Kroos: "Wechsel der absolut richtige Schritt"" (in German). kicker. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
39. Gladwell, Ben (18 July 2014). "Toni Kroos: Real a cut above Bayern". ESPN FC. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
40. Phillips, Rob (12 August 2014). "Super Cup: Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice in Real Madrid win". BBC Sports. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
41. "Kroos gewinnt seinen ersten Titel mit Real Madrid". Die Welt (in German). 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
42. Rawson, Dov. "Tekkers! Real Madrid's Toni Kroos scored a beautiful golazo in win over Rayo". 101greatgoals.com. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
43. "Zidane feels Kroos was Real Madrid's missing link". FourFourTwo. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
44. "Spot-on Real Madrid defeat Atlético in final again". UEFA. 28 May 2016.
45. "Toni Kroos focused on Euros 2016 after Real Madrid UCL win". espnfc.com. 30 May 2016.
46. "Official announcement: Kroos". Real Madrid CF. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
47. "Toni Kroos nets late winner for Real Madrid against Celta Vigo". Reuters. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2018 – via The Guardian.
48. "El Real Madrid, campeón de LaLiga Santander 2016/17". laliga.es (in Spanish). 21 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
49. "Real Madrid win La Liga title with victory at Malaga". BBC. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
50. "Majestic Real Madrid win Champions League in Cardiff". UEFA. 3 June 2017.
51. "Madrid beat Liverpool to complete hat-trick". UEFA. 26 May 2018.
52. "Toni Kroos signed his contract extension with Real Madrid". Real Madrid CF. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
53. "Toni Kroos: Real Madrid midfielder signs new four-year deal". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
54. "Real Madrid beat Atlético Madrid on penalties to seal Super Cup". as.com. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
55. "Real Madrid win the longest LaLiga Santander season". marca.com. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
56. "Shining Starlets Pocket Prizes". FIFA. 9 September 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2007.
57. "Kroos scores in his first match". German Football Association. 5 September 2008. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
58. "Darum sind Kroos und Baumjohann nicht dabei" (in German). tz-online.de. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
59. "Robert Huth ist wieder da". kicker sportmagazin (in German). 21 January 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
60. "DFB-Team mit Müller und Kroos". kicker sportmagazin (in German). 26 February 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
61. "Better than Schweinsteiger". goal.com. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
62. "Euro 2012: Spain v Italy – five key issues". The Telegraph. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
63. "Kroos emerges as talk of Bayern Munich, challenging German stars". Sports Illustrated. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
64. "Germany World Cup 2014 squad". The Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
65. "Germany 4–0 Portugal". BBC. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
66. Hytner, David (4 July 2014). "France 0-1 Germany | World Cup quarter-final match report". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
67. Knight, Ben (8 July 2014). "Germany demolish Brazil in surreal World Cup semi-final". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
68. "MAN OF THE MATCH". FIFA. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
69. ""Garçom" Kroos serviert Bälle – WM als Schaufenster" (in German). Süddeutsche.de. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
70. "World Cup 2014: Fifa announces Golden Ball shortlist". BBC. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
71. "Castrol Index Full Ranking". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
72. "The paradox of East German representation in the national team". Bundesliga Fanatic. 24 June 2014.
73. "Germany announce final World Cup squad, with Manuel Neuer, without Leroy Sané". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
74. Hytner, David (23 June 2018). "Toni Kroos brings off late miracle for Germany to stun Sweden". The Guardian.
75. "South Korea 2–0 Germany: World Cup 2018 – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
76. Whitney, Clark (18 April 2012). "Better than Schweinsteiger? 'Complete package' Toni Kroos comes up big against Real Madrid". goal.com. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
77. "Real Madrid are the best team there is". Real Madrid CF. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
78. Alvarez, Eduardo (25 May 2017). "Xavi believes Toni Kroos could control Real Madrid midfield over long haul". ESPN FC. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
79. "Toni Kroos". FIFA. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
80. García, Javier (28 March 2017). "Kroos, the dead-ball specialist". Real Madrid CF. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
81. Seguir, Marco Ruiz (25 January 2019). "Cristiano has failed to score with his last 51 free-kicks". as.com. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
82. Smith, Rory (5 July 2015). "Sneijder a man for the key moments". ESPN FC. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
83. Cox, Michael (12 May 2015). "Champions League semis showcase changing role of deep-lying midfielder". ESPN FC. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
84. "Brazil have no answer to might of Toni Kroos's control for Germany". The Guardian. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
85. "Bayern-Star Toni Kroos ist Papa" (in German). Focus Online. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
86. ""Einfach stolz!": Toni Kroos ist zum zweiten Mal Vater geworden" ["Simply proud!": Toni Kroos for the second time father]. Der Spiegel (in German). 20 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
87. "Kroos, Toni" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
88. "Toni Kroos" (in German). Fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
89. "Kroos, Toni" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
90. "Kroos, Toni" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
91. "Kroos, Toni" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
92. "Die Bayern holen den ersten Titel der Saison". kicker (in German). 12 August 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
93. "Kroos, Toni" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
94. "Kroos, Toni" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
95. "Kroos, Toni". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
96. "soccerway.com T.Kroos summary". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
97. "Toni Kroos" (in German). fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
98. "Toni Kroos" (in Spanish). Real Madrid CF. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
99. "Spanish Super Cup: Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid on penalties". BBC Sport. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
100. "Match report: Germany – Argentina". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019.
101. "2006: Toni Kroos". UEFA. 3 March 2008. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
102. "FIFA U-17 World Cup Korea 2007". FIFA. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
103. "Florian Jungwirth erhält Fritz-Walter-Medaille in Silber" (in German). TSV 1860 Munich Official Website. 24 July 2008. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
104. "UEFA Champions League squad of the season". UEFA. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
105. "UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season". UEFA. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
106. "UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season". UEFA. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
107. "UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season". UEFA. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
108. "2014 FIFA FIFPro World XI: How they finished". FIFPro World Players' Union. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
109. "The Best named at FIFA Football Awards". FIFA. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
110. "FIFA FIFPro World11". FIFA. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
111. "2015 World XI: the Reserve Teams – FIFPro World Players' Union". FIFPro.org. 11 January 2016. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
112. "World 11: The Reserve Team for 2017-18". FIFPro.org. 24 September 2018. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
113. "Rankings: How All 55 Male Players Finished". FIFPro World Players' Union. 23 September 2019.
114. "Team of the Year 2014". UEFA. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
115. "UEFA.com Fans' Team of the Year 2017 announced". UEFA. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
116. "THE WORLD'S BEST PLAYMAKER 2014". iffhs.de. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
117. "Castrol Index Top 11". FIFA. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
118. "The Dream Team". FIFA. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
119. "Kroos finishes up top of Castrol standings". FIFA.com. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
120. "Weltmeister mit Lorbeerblatt geehrt: „Deutschland sagt Danke!"". ostsee-zeitung.de (in German). 11 November 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
121. "Kroos, best German player of 2014". Real Madrid CF. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
122. "UEFA EURO 2016 Team of the Tournament revealed". UEFA. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
123. "Once ideal de LaLiga para UEFA: 4 del Madrid, 3 del Barça..." Diario AS. Madrid. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
124. "La UEFA se olvida de Oblak en sus equipo ideal de la Liga". Mundo Deportivo. 22 July 2020.
125. Ley, Robert (29 December 2016). "THE WORLD'S BEST PLAYMAKER 2016: Lionel Messi". IFFHS.de. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
126. "THE WORLD'S BEST PLAYMAKER 2017: ONE MORE FOR LIONEL MESSI". iffhs.de. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
127. "THE IFFHS MEN WORLD TEAM 2017". IFFHS.de. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
128. "Toni Kroos ist Fußballer des Jahres 2017/18". kicker.de (in German). 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
129. "Kroos bei "Men of the year"-Gala der GQ ausgezeichnet - REAL TOTAL". realtotal.de.

External links

• Official website (in German)
• Toni Kroos at Soccerway
• Profile at Real Madrid CF
• Toni Kroos at kicker.de (in German)
• Toni Kroos – UEFA competition record
• Toni Kroos – FIFA competition record
• Toni Kroos at National-Football-Teams.com