Toni Kroos is currently being celebrated. And rightly so, after all, he has just won the Champions League for the fifth (!) time. A glorious triumph for the German who will go down in history as one of the most successful footballers. However, it is not this sporting crowning glory that brings him a lot of sympathy.

Shortly after winning the final against Liverpool (1-0) in Paris, Kroos quarreled live with reporter Nils Kaben on ZDF and broke off the interview. “Madness”, “really bad”, “fucking questions”, scolded the real star before leaving the journalist in amazement.

A reaction that goes down well with many viewers. After all, he just embarrassed the nasty journalist with the stupid questions in front of an audience of millions. But there is more to this story than pure glee and satisfaction at a man’s public display.

“Well you had 90 minutes to think of sensible questions, honestly. And then you ask me two fucking questions. Madness.” The ZDF man did indeed play an unfortunate role.

Kroos opened the emotional door at the beginning and told how important this fifth success in the premier class is for him. His children were all in the stadium for the first time “and there is no way to describe how nice it is.”

But Kaben slammed the emotions door again and opened the analytical one – and not very cleverly. The reporter wanted to know why victory wasn’t a given after the game and how surprising it was for Kroos that Real were in such distress.

Two provocative questions that the ZDF man unhappily packed in the thesis or? formulation. Just a few minutes after the ecstasy, Kroos is immediately confronted with the negative aspects of the game. A newly crowned Champions League winner doesn’t want to hear that.

And how should he answer that? It should be obvious to everyone in the football business that a victory in the premier class is just as little a matter of course as the fact that Liverpool FC under coach Jürgen Klopp can put any opponent under pressure.

Kroos himself continued to complain away from the cameras in the direction of Kaben, still clearly audible over the microphones: “You only ask three negative questions, then you already know that you come from Germany.” Humorless, stressed, distant, always looking for the negative – like that we are Germans.

And so is Kroos. The 32-year-old was, shall we say, challenging in the interview right from the start. Taciturn with short answers (“There is nothing to add”), constantly sighing, looking into the distance. Maybe there was a history with Kaben that the footballer went into the conversation so listlessly. But such negative behavior is every journalist’s nightmare.

Kroos reacted thin-skinned, overly sensitive and unsure. It is disrespectful and unnecessary for him to snap at his counterpart in this way. He’s not doing himself any favours, and more is now being reported about his reaction than about his triumph.

Interviews are part of his job. As a player, you certainly don’t have to put up with everything. Kaben’s questions may have been unfortunate and provocative, but they were by no means inappropriate. Critical questions, which are justified after 90 minutes of inferiority, are appropriate even after a Champions League triumph. Kroos knows that too.

Field interviews are rarely fun, either for the player or the interviewer. Too often there are uncomfortable moments. Immediately after the end of the game, the journalist must arouse emotions in the player and request initial analyses. But remain as creative as possible so as not to fall into the “What’s the matter” sketch.

The player, however, perceived the game from a completely different situation. How much knowledge can a professional provide shortly after the final whistle? What is he capable of anyway? Very few can, don’t want to or aren’t even allowed to say what the viewer might want to hear. So where is the added value?

Kroos is correct in everything he said. His reaction was still unnecessary and embarrassing.

Toni Kroos is really angry. He just won the Champions League with Real Madrid. But after the game against Liverpool he bickers live on ZDF with reporter Nils Kaben and angrily breaks off the winner’s interview. The Zoff in the wording.

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