Toni Kroos: Germany is no longer the country it was ten years ago.
The German footballer Toni Kroos was on the field for the last time with the national team at the 2024 European Championship on Friday night – in the end, there was a dramatic defeat against Spain.
He surprised his fans when he appeared on the “Lanz & Precht” podcast with ZDF presenter Markus Lanz and philosopher Richard David Precht. Kroos didn’t just make a statement about sports.
The pursuit of success in and outside of sports is important to him: “I want my children to try to be the best in what they do,” declared the ex-Real Madrid star.
He is less worried about his daughter in Spain, for
Kroos, his career has come to an end after the European Championship in Germany – For now, Kroos says, he wants to stay in Spain – also because Germany is no longer the country “as it was ten years ago, when we came”. Compared to Spain, here in Germany, she has a much more uneasy feeling when she lets her daughter go for a walk “at 11 in the evening in a big German city”.
Kroos spoke about the issue of migration in Germany, saying it is “constantly present”.
The European Championship once again shows how open Germany is. However, in recent years, many things have been too “unchecked”.
Kroos emphasized that it is clear to him that a certain percentage of immigrants have a negative attitude – this is also the case among Germans. “If we can’t distinguish them from those who are not good for us, it will be difficult in the end. Then the attitude of the Germans will also become more and more divided,” he said.
It is clear that the country needs many immigrants. However, it was not possible to bring society into line with the issue, he added.
The presenter also noted that people were systematically overloaded on several levels. “There are problems everywhere. It’s too crowded, there’s too much.” And when someone criticizes, people are quick to call him racist. But he claims: “This country is not a racist country”.
edited by Ivan Hajda
