There was a time when Toni Kroos He was about to join the ranks of the footballers of the Betis when they made the hallway in tribute to his career. The German, shy in these situations, seemed uncomfortable in the face of the grandiloquent gesture of rivals and teammates, these with his number eight on their backs.
It was the third ovation in just 30 minutes. The first came when he went out to warm up and the second came when the Bernabéu speaker sang his name for the last time. A moment, obviously, much longer than usual.
The stands, for their part, honored him under a banner that said: “Thank you, legend” and highlighted the titles achieved by the midfielder in the white team. There is no more common characteristic between the two than reflecting great victories. The winning DNA.
The words come to mind after the 30-minute delay in the Champions League final in Paris against the Liverpool for the incidents at the entrance. “It doesn’t matter, we’ll beat them half an hour later,” he said as calmly as his game. Cold and precise like a scalpel.
There was no need for the German to sharpen his white Adidas in this duel against the Betis. There was nothing at stake, but the tribute had to be completed with a new German football clinic.
His passing performance was the usual one, increasing the precision of his team and moving the ball from side to side, as if making movements of 30 meters seemed like a simple exercise and not a luck praised only in this Champions League by technicians like Pep Guardiola o Thomas Tuchel.
The German completed 110 passes with a 97% success rate. But, if we state the total number, we are talking about 34,022 passes in 464 games with the Real Madrid, with an average success rate of almost 94%. Some figures that are difficult to match.
And in the 85th minute, Ancelotti He fulfilled what was agreed with the German, a footballer with “eggs”, as he described him in the preview, with his German-Spanish family waiting in the locker room tunnel. The referee whistled to order the change, while he gave the first hug to Modrichis Champions partner, before merging into another with the rest of his teammates, even with Kepawho left the goal to be next to the German.
And then, after leaving the field and saying goodbye to the Italian coach and thanking him for the gesture, the cold midfielder burst into tears as he hugged his eldest daughter, Amelie, who couldn’t hold back her tears either. The eyes of the stadium stayed on the sideline and forgot what was happening on the field of play.
Little else happened after the fourth ovation to Kroos. His teammates supported him with the Bernabéu standing, and Isco, among the attendees who did not want to miss the farewell of the Madridista number 8. “He is a legend, a magnificent player, he does not lose a ball,” conceded the Betic Rodri at the end of the match.
final strake
Until 15 minutes after the end of the match, the entire Bernabéu was still in their seats breaking their hands for the German, the fifth ovation. Madrid has had many legends, but perhaps none have ended their cycle in white in this way. “I can only say thanks to Real Madrid fans,” the footballer said goodbye in the club’s media.
The German admitted that when he saw his children, his tears “killed” him and he already collapsed. He took advantage of the midfielder to praise the good group, both human and football, with which he has shared the dressing room and appealed not to forget that his farewell must end by lifting the fifteenth Champions League at Wembley.
Objective you share with Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian praised the “deserved” farewell that his fans have given the German and described him as “one of the greatest.” Few players have achieved that unanimous recognition wearing white.