Hellooooo and welcome back to week 3 of season 7, where in Episode 11 we will be continuing our look at the M(C) positions via taking a trip to Germany (well, Spain, if we consider where he currently plays his footy), as we take a look into another absolute baller who has a thing for dominating the middle of the park. We’re gonna be discussing the man himself, Toni Kroos! If you’ve always believed that Kroos started his career as a Deep-lying Playmaker (spioler alert 🫢), you’d be sadly mistaken. He actually started out as a No.10 in a similar mole of a Frank Lampard, but it was soon realized that he lacked the mobility to truly make those late runs into the box, and since he always had that ability to control the tempo of a game, in addition to his absolutely stunning work rate and stamina, it was the logical thing for him to drop deeper into the midfield. This occurred during his latter stages at Bayern Munich under coach Jupp Heynckes that also coincided with the revelation of Thomas Muller in the No.10 position. Kroos then earned a move to Real Madrid back in 2014 where he hasn’t looked back ever since, becoming a top 3 baller within his role currently as well as being yet another key cog in Los Blancos’ Champions League reign over the past decade.
PLAYER BIO
Toni is one of those players who may not look too good on the eye since he is not a flair type player that will use body feints and technical dribbling to ghost past his opposition, but BOY can this guy pass a football! If it’s one thing to expect from Kroosy is that when he has the ball, he will NEVER give it away (no matter what the match situation is). Kroos is just too good of a player and makes the art of passing look extremely simple…
BEST ATTRIBUTES WITHIN SM23
This is exactly one of the reasons why majority of his style of role attributes look really good within soccermanager. However, his ‘Positioning’ should be higher since, like most of the world class Playmakers, they tend to always have that knack of finding space no matter where they are on the pitch. And since Toni is now better playing even deeper on the pitch, his positioning aids him when ever he has to do some defensive work. The other aspect of his attributes that should be higher is his ‘Freekicks’. Kroosy has an incredible technique and can really strike a ball well. Let’s keep his ‘long passing’ in consideration for the rest of the episode since it’s the attribute that truly separates him from EVERY other playmaker within world football
BEST ROLES
Play close attention to the following section, Soccermamagerite, cause Kroos is a player who can be used in several different ways but will basically perform the exact way no matter where we decide to play him. Firstly, His optimal role (in my opinion) is that of a DLP who is given the license to be the sole ball player within the midfield areaHis secondary role will be as a ‘Playmaker’ whenever he is given that ‘No.8’ role alongside some other midfield operators. The trick is that Toni will practically play the exact same way whether he is playing as an ‘8’ or ‘6’ which is why we must cover up for his deficiencies as trying to play him anyway else than his usual game would lead to frustration for both parties (him and us, as his Manager) In a 3 at the back formation, Kroosy will operate the exact same way as he would in more popular formations, with the caveat being that if you play him as your deepest midfielder then it’s a ‘DLP’ role that he will be automatically given, while playing him any where else in the M(C) positions will identify that he is being tasked to play as your ‘Playmaker
HOW TO BEST USE HIM
Contrary to popular belief, Kroos no longer has the mobility (as a matter of fact, he never had it in the first place) to play as an ‘8’ in today’s game for an entire season. Because of this, he has adapted his defensive game to be able to operate as a sole pivot in the ‘no.6’ role which gives him that ability to be the hub of possession for his team (something that he absolutely loves to do). Don’t get me wrong, you can still play him as your ‘no.8’ from time to time, just know that you will not get the best out of him and will require to have specific players around him to have him perfroming at his best
WHO ARE THE BEST TEAMATES?
Toni Kroos is a maverick of a player who won’t be easy on the eye in terms of exciting 1v1 technical skills like a Thiago, or Verratti, but if you love to see proper weighted and multiple range of passes at the highest possible peak, then it will be recommended that you have the following players surrounding him within your X1 which will have him performing at World Class levels every other game (sometimes, even every game if you’re lucky) :
Although I mentioned that Toni is capable as a lone pivot, he is still not a specialized player within that position. So, you will need to add a bit of protection so you’re never caught lacking on the defensive end. Firstly, we need to have a ‘Stopper’ who will simply focus on his defensive responsibilities while always aiming to give Toni the ball in many different scenarios, The’ Wingbacks’ will be the beneficiaries of Kroosy’s exceptional long range passing, while, in the centre of the pitch, you will need a energetic defensive type player who can do the physical side of the game well and aim to give Toni the ball as much as possible. This midfield compatriot can be either a ‘B2B Midfielder’, or a very energetic and physically gifted ‘BWM’. Up front, you will DEFINTELY need to have a top level off the ball operator since Toni is going to find him no matter how difficult the pass will beWhen choosing to play Toni as your ‘no.8’, the same set up remains in terms of the ‘WB’s’ and ‘WF’ or ‘GF’ (if you have no idea what any of these initials mean then check out season 4). The only difference will be his midfield partners as Toni is not a mobile player and will therefore need mobility around him. If you’re playing a middle 3 formation like the 4-3-3A, then both of his teammates need to have high level of work rate, stamina and speed, which is why a player like Tchouameni or a Fabinho will be his best friend in the midfield, but if you chose a BWM like an Anguissa or Rodri (even though both are really good players) the balance will be extremely off since there will be a lack of speed within the engine room. On the other hand, the ‘B2B’ that you choose to play (if you’re using a midfield 3) only needs to have a high level of physical fitnessLastly, we have Toni operating in a back 3 formation. Here is where you have slightly more flexibility in terms of who you choose to play next to him since there is some more defensive protection available in these formations. The same important teammates still remain as he will need a ‘Box to Box Midfielder’ next to him when playing as a ‘DLP’, while he will need a ‘BWM’ next to him when playing as a ‘Playmaker’. The wide players can be any from a ‘WB’, ‘WM’, or an out and out ‘Winger’, but bare in mind that in order to use ‘Wingers’ you will need to have Toni playing as a ‘Playmaker’. Of course, we will need a F(C) who is all about making those deadly runs off the ball to stretch the opposition and cause their defence a whole heap of problems on the transition Although I normally mention this after each formation and players roles, I think we’re familiar with Playmakers by now to know that they will always need to be used whenever we’re playing in a game. If we choose not to use them (especially when it comes to Kroosy) he simply won’t have any other where to fit in due to the fact that he is a special type of playmaker and should only play like one
Make no mistake: Toni is still a player who will win us games from the middle of the pitch as long as we are using him at his best and not exposing his deficiencies. That’s it for today’s episode, soccermanagerite. I hope it was helpful as always and that you’ll be gearing up to come back again tomorrow as we will be taking a look at one of Toni’s best buddies in football that has allowed the both of them to have a trophy cabin stacked to the brim. HALA MADRID! 🇪🇸 🇭🇷
The Soccermanager Experience 