#7 He’s the first East German to have won the World Cup
For many this comes as a surprise, but it’s not really when you consider 2014 was a German national team’s first World Cup triumph since the country was reunified in 1990 and that prior to that East Germany was pretty useless on the international stage compared to its Western neighbours.
Kroos was the only individual in the whole 2014 winning squad who was born in East German territory; he comes from Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommen. When presented with the fact, Kroos himself seemed equally astonished, questioning, “Am I really the only one? I am not as much in touch with those times as my parents.”
#8 His father was his first coach
Roland Kroos, father of Toni and Felix, may have originally been a professional wrestler, but he is now set on football coaching and it all began with his two sons at Greifswalder SC. Kroos talks of his childhood with fond memories of running and training constantly with his brother and father, who is now a youth coach for another of Toni’s former clubs, Hansa Rostock.
Growing up, it is believed that Toni was never thought of as a gifted footballer but instead sought success through hard work both on the pitch and off of it at school. This attitude ultimately came from his father’s electric work ethic.
