Toni Kroos has arrived in Ascona to join Germany's national team after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid. In this interview the midfielder talks about the final victory in Milan, his emotions and the teams' preparations for their final test game against Hungary on Saturday.
Question: Mr. Kroos, congratulations on winning the Champions League, but doesn't it cut down your preparations for the Euro's too much?
Toni Kroos: No, I don't think so. I'm fully fit and played the entire campaign. Other players ended their season three weeks ago and you need more training in that case. It's enough time for me to get ready, as I'm already in my rhythm and I'll just keep going as before. I basically don't need preparation.
Question: Germany will face the Ukraine in their first group game on June 12th. How do you rate them and how important is the first game?
Kroos: The past tournaments have shown how important it is to get off to a good start. We studied the Ukraine extensively and our friendly opponents are somewhat similar to the teams that we face in our group. We will still have a couple of days in France to prepare more intensively for the Ukraine.
Question: Your toughest group opponent is likely to be Poland. What do you expect from them?
Kroos: In qualifying we actually played well against them both times. In our first game we simply forgot to score the goals. Poland has players who can hurt you. They don't just have Robert Lewandowski. They have a lot of players who've played or are still playing in Germany and that speaks for their quality. It won't be an easy game against Poland, as they like to feature in a compact shape and wait for counter attacks.
Question: There was a lot of talk about Germany's defensive formation. Should they play with a four-man back-line or just with three players. What system do you prefer? Or should the system always depend on the opposition?
Kroos: Basically it should be the case that all our opponents gear their game towards us. But it's also important to remain flexible. In tournaments, we usually always played with a back-four though. However, there might be certain situations in our games where we will need to adjust. In a recent game against Italy we played with three or five players at the back. It's important that we remain versatile but our main formation features a four-man backline.
Question: And you want to play in defensive midfield?
Kroos: Somewhere in the centre. In Brazil I would play both in an attacking midfield role and in a defensive one.
Question: How did the team welcome you after you won the Champions League with Real?
Kroos: In a very nice way of course. They were all happy for me and I didn't see a single one for whom this wasn't the case. But obviously our main concern here is to prepare for the Euro's. The atmosphere in the team is great.
Question: Your goal is clear: You want to be crowned European Champions. Is it a realistic goal?
Kroos: Of course it's realistic. But it doesn't mean at all that it will be easy to achieve this goal. Every team that takes part in the tournament will want to win and five or six teams have a legitimate claim. But we aren't the only ones.
created by mmc/fr
Toni Kroos has arrived in Ascona to join Germany's national team after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid. In this interview the midfielder talks about the final victory in Milan, his emotions and the teams' preparations for their final test game against Hungary on Saturday.
Question: Mr. Kroos, congratulations on winning the Champions League, but doesn't it cut down your preparations for the Euro's too much?
Toni Kroos: No, I don't think so. I'm fully fit and played the entire campaign. Other players ended their season three weeks ago and you need more training in that case. It's enough time for me to get ready, as I'm already in my rhythm and I'll just keep going as before. I basically don't need preparation.
Question: Germany will face the Ukraine in their first group game on June 12th. How do you rate them and how important is the first game?
Kroos: The past tournaments have shown how important it is to get off to a good start. We studied the Ukraine extensively and our friendly opponents are somewhat similar to the teams that we face in our group. We will still have a couple of days in France to prepare more intensively for the Ukraine.
Question: Your toughest group opponent is likely to be Poland. What do you expect from them?
Kroos: In qualifying we actually played well against them both times. In our first game we simply forgot to score the goals. Poland has players who can hurt you. They don't just have Robert Lewandowski. They have a lot of players who've played or are still playing in Germany and that speaks for their quality. It won't be an easy game against Poland, as they like to feature in a compact shape and wait for counter attacks.
Question: There was a lot of talk about Germany's defensive formation. Should they play with a four-man back-line or just with three players. What system do you prefer? Or should the system always depend on the opposition?
Kroos: Basically it should be the case that all our opponents gear their game towards us. But it's also important to remain flexible. In tournaments, we usually always played with a back-four though. However, there might be certain situations in our games where we will need to adjust. In a recent game against Italy we played with three or five players at the back. It's important that we remain versatile but our main formation features a four-man backline.
Question: And you want to play in defensive midfield?
Kroos: Somewhere in the centre. In Brazil I would play both in an attacking midfield role and in a defensive one.
Question: How did the team welcome you after you won the Champions League with Real?
Kroos: In a very nice way of course. They were all happy for me and I didn't see a single one for whom this wasn't the case. But obviously our main concern here is to prepare for the Euro's. The atmosphere in the team is great.
Question: Your goal is clear: You want to be crowned European Champions. Is it a realistic goal?
Kroos: Of course it's realistic. But it doesn't mean at all that it will be easy to achieve this goal. Every team that takes part in the tournament will want to win and five or six teams have a legitimate claim. But we aren't the only ones.
