Toni Kroos has dismissed comments made by Uli Hoeness, the former president of Bayern Munich, that he no longer has a place in the modern game. In the days following Germany’s defeat by England in the last 16 of Euro 2020, the Real Madrid midfielder announced his retirement from international football. Hoeness aimed his criticism at Kroos, claiming that he was mostly responsible for Germany’s elimination from the competition.
He said, “I like Kroos, he showed world-class performances in the past. He was great for Bayern. But his way of playing is completely done. He no longer fits with today’s football. We are 1-0 down against England in the last quarter of an hour, Kroos no longer crossed the halfway line. He played sideways, then sideways again, until the opposing defence had organised themselves. Bayern players are super self-confident guys who had a big say with Hansi Flick. I know they were totally unhappy with the situation, with Low’s tactics. Yet they accepted it. I don’t understand, I didn’t know them like that.”
The former Bayern president added, “They should have said: “Toni Kroos no longer fits into this football with his sideways game. Our football is played vertically. The ball is played forward all the time.”
His remarks did not go unnoticed, and Kroos responded with a forceful retort. The midfielder posted a sarcastic tweet, which said, “Uli Hoeness is a man with great knowledge of football (even if it wasn’t enough for RTL), little interest in polemics and completely at peace with himself. Similar to his greenkeeper.”
Kroos’ tweet ended with a reference to words made by Hoeness about Lothar Matthaus in 2002. Hoeness insisted that Matthaus would never return to Bayern, even as a greenkeeper, as long as he remained in control. Kroos later quoted a tweet from earlier in the competition that showed he had completed the most passes in the final third of the pitch. The caption read, “Uli H can’t like that”.
Hoeness acknowledged Kroos’ response but refrained from digging deeper. He tweeted: We live in a democracy. Everyone can say what they want.
