Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Bodo Illgner has lavished praise on Toni Kroos for his performance in Los Blancos‘ Champions League quarter-final victory over Liverpool on Tuesday night.
Kroos was the catalyst in Real Madrid‘s first-leg win with a stunning display in central midfield, and the former shot-stopper reserved special praise for his compatriot.
“[Kroos] does everything so easily and it seems that he does so without effort,” Illgner told Radio MARCA.
“It often seems like he doesn’t sweat.
“He has a lot of quality and is very comfortable with the ball.
“He is spectacular with long balls, on corners.”
Illgner also commended the performance of Vinicius Junior, who he believes has a lot of potential.
“[Vinicius] is a boy with lots of talent,” he said.
“It is true that at Real Madrid the only thing that counts is if you are good or not, age does not matter, but sometimes you have to have patience with young players.”
However, Illgner warned that, with Jurgen Klopp as coach, the tie is far from over.
“[Klopp] is one of the best,” he said.
“He can motivate his team and for the [return leg]; [Liverpool] will be on fire, certainly. It will not be easy.”
He went on to comment on whether Klopp would be a good fit at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu one day.
“Klopp has coached modest teams, from hard-working regions and he fits in perfectly there. The same as at Liverpool,” Illgner noted.
“Whether he would fit in at Real Madrid remains to be seen, because of the way he is.
“But yes he is a coach for Real Madrid, even though it remains to be seen whether he fits in with everything that surrounds Madrid.”
