Kroos primed for third world title bid - FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP
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Only five players have won the FIFA Club World Cup three times since the competition adopted its current format, all of them with Barcelona. This year, however, two Real Madrid players have the chance to join that select band: Cristiano Ronaldo and Toni Kroos.
While the Portuguese was on the winning side when Manchester United defeated Liga de Quito in the Japan 2008 final, the German was part of the Bayern Munich side that got the better of Raja Casablanca in the showpiece match at Morocco 2013. After joining forces a year later to help their current club see off San Lorenzo and lift the trophy, the two players now have their sights set on a third title in Japan.
Kroos was all smiles when giving an exclusive interview to FIFA.com, not least because he has made a speedy recovery from a fracture of the fifth metatarsal of his right foot, an injury that had put his participation in the tournament in serious doubt.
“I’m back training with the team again and I feel good. I’m going to be fit,” explained the 26-year-old midfielder, who will be available for Zinedine Zidane at Japan 2016 and whose desire to be there has nothing to do with the aforementioned personal record. “Individual achievements are not important for me, to be honest. But when you go to a tournament all you want to do is win it, so lifting this title for a third time would be special for me. It also means that I’ve won the Champions League three times,” he added with a wink.
“I’m really looking forward to the tournament,” he continued. “You don’t get to play a lot of games against teams like these, and it’s really interesting to take on sides who play very different types of football and who you’re not used to playing.”
The German can list Guangzhou Evergrande of China PR among his Club World Cup scalps, along with Raja Casablanca of Morocco, Cruz Azul of Mexico and San Lorenzo of Argentina. Real Madrid’s first rival at Japan 2016 will be the winner of the second-round match between Korea Republic’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Mexico’s Club America.
"It’s really interesting to take on sides who play very different types of football and who you’re not used to playing."
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos
“I have really good memories of the previous tournaments,” said Kroos. One of the happiest of them is the pinpoint corner-kick he played in for Sergio Ramos in the final at Morocco 2014, allowing the captain to head Madrid in front. “I had an assist in the semi-final too,” added the midfielder.
Kroos had only been with Los Blancos for six months when that tournament took place. “The fact is I settled in really quickly,” explained the German, who is now into his third season with the club. “It was a big step to leave Bayern and come here, but everyone helped me a lot. I felt very comfortable and part of the team at that tournament. I’ve got more experience now and things are still going great.”
Real Madrid kick off their Japan 2016 campaign on 15 December. “Just before Christmas too!” said the player, with the excitement you would expect of someone who is a father to two young children. “It’s a long trip and it won’t be easy to acclimatise,” he added, turning his attention back to football. “We have a lot of matches at this time of year and it’ll be tough. It’s a tournament that we take very seriously, though. We’re up against the champions of the world’s other confederations and it won’t be easy. It never is.”
A player who makes the difficult look easy, if not natural, an optimistic Kroos added: “It would be great if we can produce some good performances again and go on and win.” Kroos clearly hopes the competition will continue to smile on him then, as he strives to join that Barcelona quintet – Dani Alves, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets – and become a three-time Club World Cup winner himself.