As if that condition of German that is invoked to try to explain to him had the ability to shape destiny, Toni Kroos leaves Real Madrid this Saturday fulfilling what he had set out to do (doing it high). And something else, something beyond anyone’s reach, somehow going back in time to undo a calamity from the past. Kroos won his first Champions League in 2013 with Bayern, but an injury prevented him from playing in the final against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley. And here he is, on his last night as a Real Madrid player, number 465, again at Wembley, in another Champions League final, again against Borussia Dortmund, in which Hummels and Reus are barely holding out, who will also leave his club at the end. the meeting.
That time, Kroos was still wearing number 39 (8 was Javi Martínez), in a season that had a certain air of vindication for him. The previous one had ended with a tremendous burden in the eyes of his fans, in his own stadium, the Allianz Arena. Bayern lost there in 2012 against Chelsea in a Champions League final that went to penalties, in a shootout in which Kroos avoided shooting. In part, because of something that happened to him at the Santiago Bernabéu. Three weeks earlier, the semi-final also went to a tiebreaker. Casillas stopped the German’s shot, although Bayern ended up defeating Madrid in the last round that they have lost so far.
For some time Kroos was burdened with that, which made his fans look at him with a certain distrust. “I suffered a lot with that defeat. I had a very bad time. But before you win you also have to have a hard time,” he said a couple of years ago, when he already had four Champions League titles. With the shadow of the Allianz debacle, the midfielder was flying that following season, in which he scored three goals, his best mark in the European Cup. And he could only play until the 15th minute of the first leg of the quarterfinals, against Juventus, at the Allianz. He suffered a torn abductor and was replaced by Robben. The lament of his coach, Jupp Heynckes, summarizes the weight that the footballer had acquired: “It is a very hard blow, for him and for all of us. “We are entering a decisive phase of the season and it seems like he is going to be out for a long time.” The first medical prognosis estimated between six and eight weeks of sick leave. There were seven and a half left until the final on May 25. And it didn’t arrive on time.
But fate has placed him again in a moment that could well be that one, at the end of a dazzling career in which he has already played 150 games in the Champions League, with a formidable weight in the game. Since he arrived at Madrid in the summer of 2014, after winning the World Cup in Brazil with Germany, no player has made more passes than him in the European Cup (8,149, of which he completed 7,662), with an accuracy of 94%. , according to Opta records. He also leaves as the Madrid player who has created the most scoring chances in his time, 967.
And, as I wanted, in fullness. Just a month ago, again at Allianz, she left behind a memorable display of authority. Madrid endured the blow from Bayern’s attacks. I barely saw the ball. It barely lasted when he met her. It was a famous team, lost in the fog. Until the German turned on the lighthouse.
Kroos raised his hand, took up space and lowered the revs. It was an extreme version of what Casemiro, his old teammate in the center, said: “Madrid’s games always go at Kroos’ pace. If Toni wants us to go slow, we go slow. If he wants us to go faster, we go faster.” If he decides that the trembling is over, he drives away the anxiety. Like in Munich. After almost 20 minutes adrift, he took control of the tempo and created a masterpiece with Vinicius that put the team ahead with the first peck. He had turned a desperate situation around, in his penultimate role in the Champions League. At 34 years old. In fullness.
On Monday in Valdebebas, five days before his return to the past against Dortmund at Wembley, the very German German, showed some nostalgia in Ser: “What I will always miss is the game. There are many things next to football that you have to handle, but what I have always liked about everything is playing on the field.”
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