JULIAN NAGELSMANN has been in charge of Germany for less than 12 months, but he has made one key decision that looks like a masterstroke.
Nagelsmann took charge after Hansi Flick’s disastrous 25-game spell ended with his sacking following a 4-1 defeat against Japan in September.
In February this year, it was confirmed that Toni Kroos would come out of international retirement after being approached by the recently appointed manager.
Before Nagelsmann’s arrival, out-of-sorts Germany looked on course for a fourth successive major tournament flop following several poor results.
They exited at the group stages of the last two World Cups and also crashed out in the round of 16 of the Euros, as Joachim Low’s reign of almost 15 years ended with a whimper amid a 2-0 defeat by England at Wembley.
Flick did not have the benefit of Kroos to rely on for the duration of his short tenure.
The Real Madrid star — who has won six Champions League trophies during his career, and seven league titles between his time in Spain and Germany with Bayern Munich — abruptly quit the national team following the England loss.
Arguably no player had defined German football more in the last decade since scoring his first competitive goals in Dublin during an emphatic 6-1 defeat of Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland.
During Germany’s best moment since the turn of the century — the 2014 World Cup triumph — Kroos was pivotal.
According to the Castrol Performance Index, Kroos was the best player at the tournament, registering a rating of 9.79 out of 10.
Born in Greifswald, he was the first and still the only player born in East Germany to win the World Cup.
And yet, when things started to go awry in the seven years following that triumph under Low, Kroos was scapegoated.
Honorary Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness suggested Kroos had no place in the team and that his style didn’t fit the modern game.
Similarly, German legend Lothar Matthaus said: “I don’t agree with the way he plays.”
In his retirement statement, Kroos said the critics “gave me extra motivation”. He explained his decision to walk away was primarily to focus on his Real Madrid commitments and spend more time with family.
Yet without Kroos, it went from bad to worse for Germany under Low’s former assistant, Flick and it was perhaps only in his absence that the player’s influence truly was appreciated.
His calming, assured presence in midfield set the tone tonight for a routine 5-1 victory in the hosts’ Euro 2024 opener against Scotland.
The likes of Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala will grab the headlines, but the 34-year-old was quietly just as impressive.
International football tends to be less tactically sophisticated than the club game, as managers don’t have much time to work with players. Consequently, individual brilliance tends to be more pronounced and significant — it is why almost any side in the tournament would be improved with Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad. Yet the veteran attacker was forced to move to Saudi Arabia last season owing to a lack of interest from Europe’s top clubs.
As Germany dominated tonight, Kroos served as the orchestra’s conductor on his 110th cap.
What made him stand out more than anything was his decision-making. Almost every touch was immaculate. More often than not, he played the simple short pass because that was what was on. But for the opening goal that made all the difference, a superb sweeping crossfield ball put the attack in motion.
Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn could only haplessly help Wirtz’s finish into the net after 10 minutes, epitomising a tame Scottish effort.
After winning 21 trophies in 10 years following a €25 million move to Real Madrid, Kroos has already played his last game in Spain.
This Euros will be his swansong. Kroos and Germany will, of course, face tougher tests than an inept Scottish outfit.
And already, you would be hard-pressed to find many players with better or more impressive careers than Kroos.
But it would be fitting if this highly gifted and decorated individual finished up by lifting a trophy on home soil. On tonight’s evidence, this scenario is not difficult to conceive.
