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Alexander Zverev and Boris Becker have expressed excitement about their compatriot Toni Kroos returning from retirement to the German football national team.
The Real Madrid midfielder earned 106 caps and scored 17 goals for the German national football team from 2010 to 2020. He called quits on his international after the UEFA Euro 2020. He was also part of the German national football team that won the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
On Thursday (February 22), Kroos announced his return from retirement to the German national football team through an Instagram post. Germany will be hosting the 2024 UEFA Euros in March this year, and the 34-year-old stated that he will be part of the German side aiming for their fourth title, having last won it in 1996.
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The former Bayern Munich star also mentioned that his return was mainly motivated by the National team coach, Julian Nagelsmann.
“People, short and painless: I will play for Germany again in March. Why? Because I was asked by the federal coach, I'm in the mood and I'm sure that with the team at the European Championship, much more is possible than most believe right now!” Kroos said
After the announcement, World No. 6 Alexander Zverev shared the post made by Kroos on his Instagram story and expressed his excitement about the announcement.
“Let's goooo @toni.kr8s” Zverev captioned the post.
Zverev has had a successful season so far, having won the 2024 United Cup with Germany after defeating Poland in the final. He also reached the semi-final of the Australian Open.
Six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker, who is an avid football fan, also expressed his excitement about Kroos' return and shared the post on his Instagram story.
“The best is back home” - Boris Becker captioned
Alexander Zverev reached the semi-final of the Australian Open for the first time in 2020
Alexander Zverev has reached the semifinal of the Australian Open twice — first in 2020 and recently, in the 2024 edition, where he was knocked out by the eventual runner-up Daniil Medvedev.
In 2020, Zverev defeated Marco Cecchinato in the first round and Egor Gerasimov in the second. He then went on to beat Fernando Verdasco and Andrey Rublev in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.
Zverev also defeated three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-final to set up a semi-final tie with Dominic Thiem. The Austrian knocked him out in a four-set thriller but was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the final.
In that same year, Zverev reached the US Open final but was defeated by Thiem himself. The German also secured a gold medal at the Summer Olympics by defeating Karen Khachanov in the final, adding him to a list of tennis superstars who haven't won a Slam but have an Olympic gold to their name.
