Felix Kroos (born 12 March 1991) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for Hansa Rostock, Werder Bremen, Union Berlin, and Eintracht Braunschweig and represented Germany at international levels U16 through U21.

Felix Kroos
Kroos in 2022
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-03-12) 12 March 1991 (age 33)[1]
Place of birth Greifswald, Germany
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Union Berlin (U-19 assistant)
Youth career
1997–2002 Greifswalder SV
2002–2008 Hansa Rostock
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Hansa Rostock II 25 (4)
2009–2010 Hansa Rostock 27 (0)
2010–2013 Werder Bremen II 66 (11)
2010–2016 Werder Bremen 65 (1)
2016Union Berlin (loan) 12 (2)
2016–2020 Union Berlin 98 (5)
2020–2021 Eintracht Braunschweig 32 (2)
Total 325 (25)
International career
2006–2007 Germany U16 8 (6)
2007–2008 Germany U17 10 (6)
2008–2009 Germany U18 10 (6)
2009 Germany U19 6 (2)
2011 Germany U21 1 (0)
Managerial career
2021– Union Berlin (U-19 assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early and personal life

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Kroos was born in Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; he was born five months after German reunification in what was once East Germany. His mother Britta was the East German champion in badminton, and his father Roland was a former footballer. His older brother Toni Kroos was also a footballer and midfielder, spending most of his career with FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid and winning honours including the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[2]

Club career

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Early career

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Kroos began his career in 1997 at Greifswalder SC and was in summer 2002 scouted by Hansa Rostock.[3] Kroos played for Hansa Rostock II for two seasons.[4] Kroos made his professional debut in a third round German Cup match for Hansa Rostock against VfL Wolfsburg on 28 January 2009.[5] He was substituted on in the 69th minute for Sebastian Svärd. Two days prior to the relegation of Hansa Rostock, Kroos announced his departure from the club.

Werder Bremen

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Kroos signed a three-year contract for Werder Bremen on 15 June 2010.[3] On 24 November 2010, he made his first-team debut during an away UEFA Champions League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur during which he gave away a penalty for a foul on Luka Modrić in a 3–0 loss.[6] He finished the 2010–11 season with six matches played.[4] He played in one match during the 2011–12.[4] He made five appearances during the 2012–13 season.[4] On 9 November 2013, he scored his first Bundesliga goal against Schalke 04 in an away match, which ended as a 3–1 defeat for Bremen.[7] He finished the 2013–14 season with a goal in 20 matches played.[8] He finished the 2014–15 season with 29 matches played.[9] During the 2015–16 season, Kroos made nine appearances before moving to Union Berlin.[4]

Union Berlin

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Kroos was loaned out to Union Berlin on 28 January 2016.[10] He joined the club permanently in June, reportedly for a transfer fee of €500,000 and a 20% share of a potential future transfer fee.[11] He finished the 2015–16 season with two goals in 12 matches played for Union Berlin.[4]

He scored his first goal for Union Berlin on 12 February 2017 in a 3–1 win over Arminia Bielefeld in the 2. Bundesliga, with a free kick.[12] He finished the 2016–17 season with two goals in 31 matches played.[13]

He finished the 2017–18 season with a goal in 30 matches played.[14]

Eintracht Braunschweig

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In September 2020, after his contract with Union Berlin expired, Kroos moved to 2. Bundesliga side Eintracht Braunschweig on a two-year contract.[15] He retired from playing in July 2021.[16]

International career

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Kroos played Germany's youth national teams at levels U16 through U21.[16]

Managerial career

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On 26 November 2021, Kroos was appointed assistant coach of Union Berlin's U-19 side.[17]

Career statistics

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total Ref.
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hansa Rostock II 2008–09 Regionalliga Nord 7 1 7 1 [4]
2009–10 18 3 18 3 [4]
Total 25 4 25 4
Hansa Rostock 2008–09 2. Bundesliga 16 0 1 0 17 0 [4]
2009–10 11 0 1 0 12 0 [4]
Total 27 0 1 0 1 0 29 0
Werder Bremen II 2010–11 3. Liga 21 6 21 6 [4]
2011–12 25 4 25 4 [4]
2012–13 Regionalliga Nord 20 1 20 1 [4]
Total 66 11 66 11
Werder Bremen 2010–11 Bundesliga 5 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 [4]
2011–12 1 0 0 0 1 0 [4]
2012–13 5 0 0 0 5 0 [4]
2013–14 20 1 0 0 20 1 [8]
2014–15 26 0 3 0 29 0 [9]
2015–16 8 0 1 0 9 0 [4]
Total 65 1 4 0 1 0 70 1
Union Berlin (loan) 2015–16 2. Bundesliga 12 2 0 0 12 2 [4]
Union Berlin 2016–17 2. Bundesliga 29 2 2 0 31 2 [13]
2017–18 29 1 1 0 30 1 [14]
2018–19 25 2 1 1 1 0 27 3 [4]
2019–20 Bundesliga 15 0 1 0 16 0 [4]
Total 98 5 5 1 1 0 104 6
Eintracht Braunschweig 2020–21 2. Bundesliga 32 2 1 0 33 2 [4]
Career total 325 25 11 1 1 0 2 0 339 26

Honours

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Germany – F. Kroos – Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  2. ^ "The beast from East Germany". Marca. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b "New acquisition: Felix Kroos transfers to Werder". Werder Bremen. 15 June 2010. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Felix Kroos » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  5. ^ ""Wölfe" zeigen erst spät Biss". kicker.de. 28 January 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  6. ^ McNulty, Phil (24 November 2010). "Tottenham 3–0 Werder Bremen". BBC News. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Schalke 3–1 Werder Bremen". 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  8. ^ a b "Felix Kroos". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Felix Kroos". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  10. ^ "Kroos wechselt auf Leihbasis zu Union Berlin" [Kroos changes on loan to Union Berlin] (in German). SV Werder Bremen. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  11. ^ Klemm, Hans-Günter (10 June 2016). "Werder verkauft Kroos an Union". Kicker Online (in German). Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Polter macht alles klar für Union" [Polter makes everything clear for Union] (in German). kicker.de.
  13. ^ a b "Felix Kroos". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Felix Kroos". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Kroos verlässt Union in Richtung Braunschweig". kicker (in German). 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  16. ^ a b ""13 Jahre haben Spuren hinterlassen": Felix Kroos beendet seine Profi-Karriere". kicker (in German). 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  17. ^ FELIX KROOS WIRD CO-TRAINER DER U19, fc-union-berlin.de, 26 November 2021
  18. ^ "Hanseaten bei OZ-Sportlerehrung dreimal siegreich" (in German). FC Hansa Rostock. 18 January 2009. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
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