Toni Kroos ended his club career at Real Madrid in the best way possible: lifting the Champions League trophy at Wembley Stadium.
But while things didn't quite go to plan for the German on home soil at Euro 2024, the 34-year-old signs off as one of the greatest midfielders to have ever lived, along with 33 trophies and countless individual accolades.
Speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo, Kroos picks four games from his career that changed his life. From his time starting out at Bayern Munich, a loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen and an incredible decade at Real Madrid - not to mention over 100 caps for the German national team - Kroos had plenty of matches to select from...
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Toni Kroos: Games that changed my life
1. Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 Borussia Monchengladbach, (December 19, 2009)
“I’ll start with a game for Bayer Leverkusen, where I made my breakthrough as a professional," Kroos tells FFT. "The club gave me the opportunity to show I belonged at the top level. I’ll always be grateful to Leverkusen for taking a gamble in loaning me as a teenager from Bayern Munich and giving me a platform.
"Before that move, people had spoken about me as a promising youngster, but proving that in the Bundesliga was what really mattered to me. I spent 18 months with Leverkusen as they helped me on my journey.
"I was thrilled to see them lift the Bundesliga last season. They were the best team throughout the campaign and deserved their success. The fans were amazing with me, so seeing them celebrate was special.”
2. Germany 1-0 Argentina (July 13, 2014)
“I have to choose this – there’s simply no bigger game in football. I’d have picked it regardless of the result. Those lucky enough to have won the World Cup will tell you how important it is – what it does to you as a person – and it has a special place in my heart because of what that win meant for all of Germany.
I can still recall the entire occasion. It was a late afternoon game and the nerves grew and grew as it got closer. The match itself wasn’t great from a spectator’s perspective, but that can happen in major finals: often, the team that scores first wins it, and that was the case for us.
"I remember Mario Gotze’s volley hitting the back of the net, the celebrations that followed, and feeling relief and happiness at the final whistle. Goosebumps, even now.”
3. Real Madrid 2-0 Sevilla (August 12, 2014)
“My first game for Real Madrid after joining from Bayern Munich was a baptism of fire: a big European final against an excellent Sevilla side that had won the previous season’s Europa League title. I felt a lot of eyes on me that night.
"Every player who signs for Real Madrid feels that when they first arrive and I’d just won the World Cup, so expectations were high. But it also gave me the confidence to perform right away. We won 2-0 thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo brace and I had my first game, as well as my first trophy, out of the way. That put the wind in my sails and paved the way for later successes.
"Making a good first impression is massive at Real – for you, the fans, the press, your team-mates and the president who signed you.”
4. Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Real Madrid (June 1, 2024)
“To sign off with another Champions League title – my fifth with Real Madrid – in my last game in club football was a fairytale ending. I couldn’t put it any other way. Many players will look back and cherish their final game for a club but, for me, there’s no comparison with lifting a European Cup and celebrating the achievement with your fans.
"Again, it wasn’t a brilliant performance, but we dug deep as a group and got the result. We had an incredible group of players last season. The dressing room was a tight unit and you just knew, going into big games, that everybody would fight for one another to the last second. That unity, that passion – and, of course, our individual qualities – made us successful. We always felt that we’d find a way to win somehow.”
