Toni Kroos has faced off against a lot of top-quality players throughout his career for club and country.
The midfielder, who played against Manchester City twice last season, is set to retire from playing once Germany’s participation in the current European Championship comes to an end.
Having started all four of Germany’s games in the tournament, Kroos is likely to be in the starting XI for Friday’s quarter-final clash against Spain.
Ahead of this big game, the 34-year-old has shared his thoughts on another big-name midfielder that he could be coming up against once again, one that will be very familiar to a lot of City fans.
Toni Kroos drops Rodri verdict ahead of Spain vs Germany showdown
Speaking in a recent press conference (via Bild), Kroos had this to say about Rodri including the similarities and differences between them.
He said: “He is one of the key players in the club and the national team. He exudes calmness, is not prone to making mistakes and has also scored important goals.
“His position is what sets him apart. He is a classic number six, I play more in the number eight position in the half-spaces. But there are also parallels between us.”
Rodri is one of the best around
Looking back over his most recent Premier League campaign, the Spaniard ended the season with more progressive passes (376), shot-creating actions (157), goal-creating actions (23) and successful tackles (43) in the City squad.
So while Kroos may see Rodri as a classic number six, it’s clear that the City star can do all sorts of midfield jobs up and down the pitch, making him one of the best all-round midfielders in the world right now, in our view.
In fact, Micah Richards said back in May that the City star is the best defensive-midfielder in top-level football.
Taking all of that on board, it’s clear that Kroos and the rest of his Germany teammates will have a tough test on their hands trying to deal with Rodri and what he offers Spain on and off the ball.