Toni Kroos born 4 January is a German former professional footballer. Regarded as one of the best midfielders of all time, he was known for his vision, passing, crossing, and set-piece ability. He is the most decorated German football player, as he won 34 trophies over his 17 year career. Kroos began his senior club career at Bayern Munich , where he debuted at age 17 in He was used sparingly for Bayern and he went on loan to fellow Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for 18 months, where he became a key contributor.
He returned to his parent club in He was named in the Champions League team of the season each time. He made his senior debut for Germany in , at age 20, and appeared in seven major tournaments.
With international matches for Germany, Kroos is one of the top ten most capped German players. In , Kroos retired from professional football. Kroos was born in Greifswald , Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , on 4 January Kroos first played for local club Greifswalder SC , later transferring to the youth team of Hansa Rostock. Kroos moved to Bayern Munich 's youth setup in Kroos was missing up to 40 days during the school year due to training.
For the —08 season , at the age of 17, Kroos was promoted to Bayern's senior team. He made an astounding start to his Bundesliga career, making his debut for Bayern on 26 September in a 5—0 win against Energie Cottbus and twice assisting Miroslav Klose goals within 18 minutes of his appearance as a substitute. Despite being selected to start in Bayern's opening —09 Bundesliga match against Hamburger SV , Kroos appeared less frequently for die Roten during the first half of the —09 season.
On 5 November , however, he made his UEFA Champions League debut as a 79th-minute substitute against Fiorentina in matchday four of the group stage. On 31 January , Bayern allowed Kroos to join Bayer Leverkusen on an month loan to gain first team experience. On 12 April, he made his first Bundesliga start for Leverkusen, assisting the team's goal in a 1—1 draw with Werder Bremen.
