Abraham P. Romero

Updated Friday, March 22, 2024-23:18

Tonight (9:00 p.m.), against the

France

of

Camavinga, Tchouaméni and Mbappé

,

Toni Kroos

will once again wear the

German national team

shirt . He will do it

998 days

after the last time, that defeat against England in the round of 16 of

Euro 2021

. That afternoon, at

Wembley

, he 100% assumed a decision that he had been reflecting on for months. He wanted to take advantage of the international breaks to be with his family and give his body a rest to extend his career in

Madrid

.

Almost 1,000 days

later, the German can assure that the move has turned out well.

He retired from the national team at the

age of 31

and

returned to it at the age of 34,

in the middle of what is already one of the best individual seasons of his career. According to the

WhoScored

platform

, his

7.12 average score

in LaLiga goes directly into his own Top5. He has never averaged such a good passing percentage as in the current Champions League (

95.3%

) and the

seven assists

he has accumulated in the domestic tournament are on track to equal the 10 he achieved in the 2015-16 and 2020-21 campaigns, two courses that are in second place in goal passes. The 12 of 16-17 was his best performance.

These data only confirm what Kroos has been feeling in his legs during these months. It's better than ever, or almost. He has missed the World Cup and the Nations League, but now, with a European Championship at home, he has decided that it is time to return after reasoning with himself and his family. And there are several important factors.

The first is

the head

of the German midfielder. In the summer of 2021, Kroos looked very close to total retirement and looked for a

disconnection point

in saying goodbye to the national team that would help him mentally continue for several more years. And he found it. «During this time, what has surprised me the most is my head. Much more my head than my body, because with my body

I have few problems

», He explained in the press room at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig a few weeks ago. His mind, more liberated during these years, has been pushing him to return to Germany.

The other factor is your closest environment. The main reason for his first withdrawal was to spend time with his wife, his children and his closest relatives. They are the ones who insist that he continue for another year in Madrid. His mother,

Birgit

; His son,

Leon

, and his grandfather,

Heinz

, want more than anyone for him to renew for another season with the white team. And Kroos, who always thought that he was going to retire at 33 (he is already 34), listens, on the way to extending his contract.

Selection is a different topic. «

I'm not coming back for family reasons

. "If it were for that, I wouldn't have come back," she said this week. Kroos returns for football, because he is a "footballer at heart", because he believes that he can help his team, because physically he sees himself capable of enduring the Eurocup after the entire season with Madrid and because that tournament is held in Germany . But not for the family. «I had to convince my grandfather, who advised me to play for Madrid and then go on vacation. But now I have changed my mind and he agrees," he explained.