Kroos: my objective is to win a fifth Champions League
Real Madrid veteran Toni Kroos explains that his hunger for success has not subsided, with his main objective being to win a fifth Champions League title.
Having been at the club since 2014, Toni Kroos is regarded as one of the stalwart veterans of the Real Madrid dressing room along with Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Casemiro and Karim Benzema.
During his six-plus years at the club, the 31-year-old midfielder has lifted three Champions League titles. Adding those to the one he won with Bayern Munich before arriving at the Bernabéu brings his total tally to four European Cup triumphs.
But not one to dwell on past victories, Kroos is always looking towards the next title – as is demanded at “the biggest club in the world” – and his hunger to lift another Champions League trophy has not subsided. The German international discussed this and more in an interview with the TOMorrow podcast.
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Kroos on Real Madrid
Grandeur of Real Madrid: “I perceived it for the first time without having played a single game for Real Madrid. It was the day of my presentation. I don’t think I would have been received that way anywhere else – in front of 30,000 people who did not come for a game but just to see how I kicked a ball around for three seconds. It was totally different from anything I had ever seen and experienced. The self-demand in terms of success and the number of titles speaks for itself. It doesn't matter if it is in China, the USA or 300 kilometers from Madrid, when you see the reaction of the people you realize that Real Madrid is coming and not any other club. It is the biggest club in the world”.
Success: “It is something that is demanded at the club where I play. Here, past success belongs to yesterday. The most important thing is the present and the conquest for the next possible title. People are taught not to be satisfied with having won this or that title.”
Character: “Real Madrid's self-demands are very similar to mine, since one day I intend to put an end to my career in the most successful way possible. I don't want to leave titles along the way that I will regret later.”
Kroos on Champions League glory
Champions League: “When you have felt what it feels like to win a Champions League, you want to feel it again and again. You may not be able to do it for a few years, since others also want to see what it is like, but that desire to re-live the experience doesn’t go away.”
Objectives: “Despite having won it four times already, I continue to pursue the objective of winning the Champions League for the fifth time. It will be difficult and, if in the end it is doesn't work out, then they won’t shoot me either. Of course, while I’m still active I want to squeeze the most out of the time I have left.”
Hanging up his boots: “Someday I will be able to sit quietly and think about what I have achieved and what makes me proud. In football, there is little time to savour what has been achieved. Even if you win one title, you can always win the next. And if you lose the next game, everything goes back to being bad again. I think that someday after hanging up my boots, those moments will be remembered, but never with the same emotions as in that precise moment of victory. For this reason, I think it wouldn’t be bad to have a little more time to be able to savor certain things.”