World Champion, German champion, DFB Cup winner and a Champions League each with FC Bayern München and Real Madrid - Toni Kroos has almost won it all. Football is important to him, but his family even more so. In this DFB.de interview by editor Steffen Lüdeke, the 26-year-old talks about his values, his emotions, his charity and the new structure in the DFB Team ahead of Sunday's World Cup qualifier in Norway.
DFB.de: Mr. Kroos, one of the changes after the EUROS has seen you included in the team’s council. Does that mean that you will take on more responsibilities in the team?
Toni Kroos: I've already been assuming responsibilities both on and off the pitch. Particularly in terms of the football aspects I've tried to lead the way in the past and be there for the team in difficult moments. The players around me know that they can pass me the ball at all times. And when you deliver good performances on the pitch, you automatically assume a certain role. Being named in the team's council is a confirmation of my development, but I've always been involved before when there were important things to discuss internally.
DFB.de: Let us quickly look back at the EUROS.
Kroos: Sure.
DFB.de: During the tournament, a lot of people talked about how calm you are on the ball.
Kroos: I know that this often gets associated with arrogance, but I know what I'm capable off. I trust my abilities. I'm usually not the type of person who loses control easily. I've seen every situation possible on the pitch and therefore there is no need to be hectic or have a high heart rate.
DFB.de: Is there anything at all that makes you nervous? Perhaps in your private life?
Kroos: Yes of course, I'm not made out of ice. Football is incredibly important for me, but compared with my private life it's rather unimportant. My family is by far the most valuable thing in my life. In this regard there are many situations that make me emotional or give me heart palpitations. Most of the time, this happens in situations where I can't make an impact myself. In football I can always try to steer the game the other way. While during birth for example, as a man you are completely powerless and unable to intervene. You can only be there and hope that everything works out. It's the same thing with illness.
World Champion, German champion, DFB Cup winner and a Champions League each with FC Bayern München and Real Madrid - Toni Kroos has almost won it all. Football is important to him, but his family even more so. In this DFB.de interview by editor Steffen Lüdeke, the 26-year-old talks about his values, his emotions, his charity and the new structure in the DFB Team ahead of Sunday's World Cup qualifier in Norway.
DFB.de: Mr. Kroos, one of the changes after the EUROS has seen you included in the team’s council. Does that mean that you will take on more responsibilities in the team?
Toni Kroos: I've already been assuming responsibilities both on and off the pitch. Particularly in terms of the football aspects I've tried to lead the way in the past and be there for the team in difficult moments. The players around me know that they can pass me the ball at all times. And when you deliver good performances on the pitch, you automatically assume a certain role. Being named in the team's council is a confirmation of my development, but I've always been involved before when there were important things to discuss internally.
DFB.de: Let us quickly look back at the EUROS.
Kroos: Sure.
DFB.de: During the tournament, a lot of people talked about how calm you are on the ball.
Kroos: I know that this often gets associated with arrogance, but I know what I'm capable off. I trust my abilities. I'm usually not the type of person who loses control easily. I've seen every situation possible on the pitch and therefore there is no need to be hectic or have a high heart rate.
DFB.de: Is there anything at all that makes you nervous? Perhaps in your private life?
Kroos: Yes of course, I'm not made out of ice. Football is incredibly important for me, but compared with my private life it's rather unimportant. My family is by far the most valuable thing in my life. In this regard there are many situations that make me emotional or give me heart palpitations. Most of the time, this happens in situations where I can't make an impact myself. In football I can always try to steer the game the other way. While during birth for example, as a man you are completely powerless and unable to intervene. You can only be there and hope that everything works out. It's the same thing with illness.
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DFB.de: Amongst others, your charity helps families with handicapped and seriously ill children. Why did you choose this target group?
Kroos: I've always had a strong drive, a feeling that I had to do more. I think this developed from knowing that my family was very well off. Not just in a materialistic sense. We are all healthy and are blessed in a lot of ways. And I know that's not to be taken for granted. Lots of people are not so lucky and in contrast, a lot of people are rather unlucky. For me it's simply a blessing that I'm able to help many people through my profession.
DFB.de: In 2014 in Brazil many people attributed your victory to the strong team spirit. Do you agree?
Kroos: Yes. In my eyes there isn’t any other way to be successful. Especially in the knockout stages you need to be a unit on the pitch and know how to work with one another. Obviously we are all our individual selves and have our own interests. But our biggest interest was to be successful.
DFB.de: Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger announced their international retirement after the EUROS. How long will it take to form a new team?
Kroos: I don't think it will take a long time. It's not a new situation for us. After every tournament you have two or three players who retire and we've always been able to find a solution. This time Basti and Lukas retired and obviously they will be missed, but in terms of minutes played on the pitch we aren't losing that much. Both were important players in our squad, but Lukas didn't play much anymore towards the end and Bastian was often dealing with injuries. There shouldn't be that much change on the pitch for us.
DFB.de: On Sunday you will face Norway in the first World Cup qualifier. How important will it be to start of the qualifying campaign with a victory?
Kroos: Definitely important. Norway is not an easy opponent at home. We ended up winning our qualifying group comfortably for the 2016 European Championship, but at the start of the campaign we struggled. This time we want to be there right from the start.
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