AFTER ZIDANE IN 2006, SPAIN DID NOT LEARN ITS LESSON AND SAID IT WANTED TO “RETIRE KROOS” IN THE QUARTER-FINALS

Having qualified for the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 with Spain, Joselu dreams of winning his first continental title. But to get closer, the Spanish striker will have to eliminate Germany and thus send Toni Kroos into retirement.

“Toni is a great player, an example with his passing and his vision of the game, we will have to watch him very closely,” said the striker transferred this summer from Real to Al-Gharrafa in Qatar. “I learned a lot at his side, he is an example. But we hope to retire him on Friday.”

“It has to be his last game on Friday”

An unexpected hero for Real Madrid in their new Champions League title this season thanks to his double against Bayern in the semi-final second leg, Joselu worked daily with Toni Kroos. Despite the sympathy he may have for his former Madrid teammate, the 34-year-old striker intends to end his dreams of glory at Euro 2024.

“We have to believe in ourselves and think about our selection, not about the consequences for the opposing players,” Joselu said before the duel against the Mannschaft. “It’s a shame for Toni, I love him a lot, but for the good of our selection it has to be his last match on Friday.”

When Spain wanted to send Zidane into retirement in 2006

A short sentence that is reminiscent of the 2006 World Cup before the eighth final between Spain and France of a certain Zinedine Zidane . He too was about to hang up his boots, he too was a living legend of Real Madrid , he too was the playmaker of his national team… the playmaker of the Blues was sent into retirement by the Spanish newspapers.

And in the end, the French team eliminated La Roja (3-1) after a capital performance from ‘Zizou’ completed with a goal on the counter. A performance that will remain in the memories but that Joselu, then at the Celta training center, seems to have forgotten a little. For Spain, it would be better if Toni Kroos did not sign a recital similar to that of the pre-retired Zidane almost 18 years ago.