Toni Kroos hits back at Uli Hoeness after ex-Bayern Munich chief slams ‘outdated’ Real Madrid ace for display vs England
TONI KROOS has hit back at claims made by Uli Hoeness that he no longer has a place in the modern game.
The Real Madrid star announced his retirement from international football just days after England’s 2-0 victory against Germany at Wembley.
Former Bayern Munich president Hoeness suggested Kroos was largely to blame for his country’s early exit from Euro 2020.
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He told Sport1: “I like Kroos a lot, he put in some world-class performances and was great at Bayern, but his style of play is outdated.
“We are 1-0 down against England in the last quarter of an hour, Kroos no longer crossed the halfway line.
“He played sideways, then sideways again, until the opposing defence had organised themselves.
“Bayern players are super self-confident guys who had a big say with Hansi Flick.
I like Kroos a lot, he put in some world-class performances and was great at Bayern, but his style of play is outdated.
Uli Hoeness
“I know they were totally unhappy with the situation, with Low’s tactics. Yet they accepted it. I don’t understand, I didn’t know them like that.
‘They should have said, ‘Toni Kroos no longer fits into this football with his sideways game. Our football is played vertically. The ball is played forward all the time’.”
Hoeness’ comments caught the attention of Kroos who took to social media to hit back.
He tweeted: “Uli Hoeness is a man with great knowledge of football (even if it wasn’t enough for RTL), little interest in polemics and completely at peace with himself. Similar to his groundskeeper.”
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The final part of Kroos’ tweet referred to remarks Hoeness made about Lothar Matthaus back in 2002.
Hoeness, 69, insisted World Cup winner Matthaus would never return to Bayern as long as he was in charge, even as a groundskeeper.
Kroos later quote-tweeted a post that showed he had completed the most passes in the final third earlier in the tournament with a caption: “Uli H can’t like that.”