Toni Kroos: A Phenomenal Talent, Ignored at Bayern Munich

Toni Kroos is a young talent who warms the Bayern bench. He is 18 years old and has a phenomenal goal scoring record for his country, Germany. He joined Bayern in 2006 from Hansa Rostock after spending four years there.

During the 2007-08 season, Kroos was promoted to the senior team at the young age of 17. He never fails to prove his worth. He produces something special when he comes on and is one of the major reasons behind Bayern’s survival in the DFB Pokal.

Kroos is an attacking midfielder who can also play as a supporting striker. He made eight appearances for the German under-16s, during which he scored six goals. In the under-17s, he scored 18 goals in 36 appearances. Kroos also helped Germany qualify for the under-21 Euros with two goals in five matches. He scored the sole goal recently against Italy in a U-21 friendly.

Kroos made his Bundesliga debut on 26th September 2007. He didn’t score, yet he provided two assists for Miroslav Klose and Bayern went on to win the match against Energie 5-0.

Kroos’ UEFA Cup debut was much more successful than his Bundesliga debut. He set up a goal for Miroslav Klose and then scored one himself to earn Bayern a victory against Red Star Belgrade. It took him only 10 minutes to win the match for Bayern as he came on in the 81st minute.

Toni Kroos captained Germany in the U-17 World Cup. Kroos even outshone Barca’s Bojan Krkic in that tournament. He won the Golden Ball, but that wasn’t enough for the youngster. He scored five times and took home the Bronze Shoe as well. Bojan scored five times as well, but Kroos had the higher number of assists. He scored in his Under-21 debut against Northern Ireland and provided the assist for the second.

Toni Kroos saved Bayern from the embarrassment of losing against a third division team. In the DFB Pokal first round, he scored the winning goal against Rot Weiss Erfurt. A player with such talents clearly deserves a place in the starting eleven. Bayern have already stated that when Kroos gains more experience, his jersey number will be changed from 39 to 10. Indeed, Kroos deserves that honour. However, how will Kroos gain more experience if he doesn’t get to play?

Arsenal and Barcelona both fielded their makeshift teams on Matchday six as they had already qualified, while Bayern fielded their entire first team squad with the exception of Lucio and Ze Roberto.

Kroos at least deserved a shot then.

Kroos himself isn’t too happy about being a sub. He hardly made any appearances this season. A loan move might make Kroos happy, because he really doesn’t deserve to be on the bench. Bayern have to try and keep him as they will most likely lose Podolski in the summer.

No matter which club he plays for, Toni Kroos deserves much more playing time.

Klinsmann’s arrival at the realm is another problem, as Klinsmann hardly brings on the teenager. Under Hitzfeld, Kroos was fielded many more times, and he had 19 appearances in all competitions.

Even though Kroos’s contract expires in 2012, Bayern may have to let go off this talent prior to that as Europe’s top clubs all had an eye on him during the U-17 World Cup. Losing Kroos at the moment wouldn’t hurt Bayern, but it will deprive them of their “No. 10” in the future.