Toni Kroos opens up on ’empty void’ after Spain defeat – ‘I could barely move’

Retired Germany and Real Madrid star Toni Kroos was one of the few that missed Lamine Yamal’s exceptional goal against France in the Euro 2024 semi-finals. The 34-year-old commented on his podcast Einfach mal Luppen that he would not be watching any more of the competition.

Kroos had reasoned that none of the remaining games would live up to the Spain-Germany clash, with hosts pipped at the death by Mikel Merino’s header. He did admit that he was struggling to digest the defeat, when it was all set for a glorious last hurrah.

”I felt a very big void after losing against Spain. Something that hasn’t happened to me since 2012” (after losing the Champions League final). As in the case of Bayern Munich, the dream of a title at home was shattered with the defeat.”

“The bus ride from the Stuttgart base to the camp in Herzogenaurach seemed very long. The disappointment was incredible, but you don’t just sit there for three hours in silence, you also have nice conversations,” MD quoted.

Such was the blow suffered by Kroos, the manner it came about, and the impact of not only bidding farewell to their tournament hopes but also his career with barely any time to come to terms with it, the pain manifested itself physically.

“And I still felt bad for the next two days. It’s amazing how the min controls the body. If we had progressed, we would have played France in the Euro semi-finals and I would have been in top form. But I couldn’t take a step the last two days, everything hurt from top to bottom. My head was so bad that nothing worked.”

The popular saying goes that football always gives you a chance for revenge, but unless Kroos does go into coaching, he does not have that hope or aspiration to cushion the disappointment. After a career of sucker-punching rivals with Real Madrid, it was Kroos that suffered the blow against his adopted home.