Tony Cruise last slipped into the role of ball distributor.
In the second round of the European Championship against England, stop time was already running out and Cruz hit one ball after another. High and distant – and the audience celebrated. But it was the English fans who cheered. They appreciated every bad pass from Cruz.
Three of the four long balls came to the English defense. It was the desperate act of a man who passed records in his career as well. At the time, Cruz also knew it was over. The German national team was trailing 0-2, and the final whistle marked the end of all title dreams. And bids farewell to Cruz.
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Cruz thanked fans and critics after his resignation
“I have played 106 times for Germany and there will never be another,” the 31-year-old announced on Friday. He had decided to retire long after this match. (Reactions to Cruz’s resignation)
Considering the victories, one of the best German national players comes out. Cruise became World Champion in 2014 and Germany’s Footballer of the Year in 2018, winning the Champions League four times with FC Bayern and Real Madrid. But fans and experts have always been arguing about his role in these successes.
Significantly, Cruz’s gratitude went both ways.
“Thank you to all the fans and supporters who carried me through their applause and cheers. And thank you to all the critics for their extra motivation,” the midfielder stressed.
“Querboss-Tony” Versus. Beckenbauer tradition
For some he is the most elegant German footballer after “Kaiser” Franz Beckenbauer, for others only “Querboss-Tony” and Tempo-Schlepper in midfield. In an electric current SPORT1In the poll, 43 percent of the nearly 20,000 people who voted Friday evening saw Cruz as equal to Beckenbauer and Bastian Schweinsteiger in DFP history. Even five percent see him as the best German footballer they have ever seen.
However, 29 percent of the participants did not see Cruz in the top 15 of the national team. Twelve percent consider it an exaggeration.
“I do not want to unite everyone in Germany, of course there are a lot of fans who appreciate my game,” Cruise said. Picture-Indian view. “But sometimes in eleven years as a national team I had the feeling that some of them didn’t understand my game.”
In Spain, however, the real star is highly esteemed. “I put it this way: controversial and universally recognized in Germany – better than any other way,” Cruise said. Griffswald was accused of having a certain arrogance from the native pitch. Cruise is someone who wants to meet his critics with the best of odds. He also used the word “Querboss-Tony” more than once in his own way.
Cruise with impressive figures
The numbers proved him right. Due to “Querboss-Tony” – Cruise was the player with the most passes in the last three, E.M. Remember all teams after the initial round of. According to Choose-Data, Cruz scored 66 such passes, followed by Dutchman Daly Blind with just 48 runs.
Dominique Torrent, Pep Cardiola’s assistant, was also Catalan’s assistant coach at Bayer, and recently mentioned Cruz in one. SZInterview as “a genius at the command center”. He is someone who “plays short and long, the tempo varies”.
Current statistics underscore its value. At the current Euro, he is the player with the most ball contacts, the most passes and the most problems on the German team.
System change has implications for Cruise
It seemed as if Cruz had rediscovered himself with the goal of winning the ball in this match. Cruz captured all contact with all his might, but despite his strong season at Manchester City his side had Ilke Gundogan light on his side, which was certainly due to Joachim Lowe turning 3-4-3.
Cruz said his position on the organization “has not changed that much.” “But of course it makes a difference to me whether Ilke Gundogan is playing next to me or Joe Kimmich, who is sixth behind me at Real, like Cosmiro. In this case, I had some more defensive missions than normal.”
However, Cruz was only able to accomplish these tasks to a limited extent.
“The fact that we were so nervous had nothing to do with the organization I had, but with the attitude. Cruise, for example, did a great job in the first two games.” Wrote Marcus Babel SPORT1-Language after the Hungarian game. “Then it went against Hungary. It seemed to me that he didn’t suddenly feel like he was running. With the ball, well, it’s still fun, but things that aren’t so much fun will be done by someone else.”
Cruz sees himself as a representative of “beautiful football”
Cruise has undoubtedly created some of the best moments of his life. He scored two goals and one assist in the 7-1 semi-final victory over Brazil on their way to the World Cup. Although Bastian Schweinsteiger’s heroic struggle in the final against Argentina was a sign of his leading role, Cruz was not able to fully follow in his footsteps after Schweinsteiger’s retreat.
In the 2018 World Cup defeat, Cruz, who had to progress based on his experience, went under. Although he saved Germany with a thrilling last-minute goal in the crucial minute of the second group match against Sweden. But with a poor pass in his own penalty area, he started the embarrassing 0-2 draw in the last game against South Korea.
What’s on the cruise now?
He wants to see someone say: “I’m glad to see him because he played great football.”
Without Cruz the national team’s game would be one way or another.
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