Max Kruse: Werder Bremen’s Fußballgott
Max Kruse has gained more notoriety for his off-field exploits rather than his on-field ability in recent years. He was fined 20,000 euros for leaving 60,000 euros in the back of a Taxi after winning it at a casino. He has taken to poker well as he makes a yearly pilgrimage to Las Vegas for poker tournaments after he was taught the game by a friend in an impressive 30 minutes. The German National Team expressed a concern for his Nutella consumption while his car was voted ugliest by the German media. However, in his role as a technically efficient nine and a half, he leads the attacks for a youthful Werder Bremen side as a creator, build-up conduit as well as a goal-scorer. A return to the cosy familiarity of Bremen has helped him gain attention for his impressive on-field exploits for Florian Kohfeldt’s side.
Kruse told the German media that his goals for the season were to play well enough to regain his spot in the German National Team and for Werder Bremen to avoid relegation. Kruse has been the technical leader of a Bremen side that is challenging for the European positions playing a brand of exciting attacking football. Kruse is so influential to this Bremen side that he either plays as a 10 ½ or a 9 ½ with his propensity to drop deep to work the ball out of tight positions. Bremen have switched formations regularly under Kofheldt as when Bremen play a 4-3-3, Kruse is positioned as the main central striker, when Bremen play a 4-4-2 diamond, Kruse is positioned in the ten space and when they play a 3-5-2, he plays as a second striker.
The 30-year-old came through the academy at Bremen as he has sustained a high level of play for a long period of time. His most fascinating asset is his technique and measured first touch as this allows him to drop into tight spaces with his back to goal and play runners into space. Bremen can be a fast-breaking side as Kruse’s role is to ease transition and be the creative force of the side. There was no better illustration of his high-level of technical ability than the video of him juggling a Coca-Cola bottle-top during Werder’s mid-season training camp in South Africa.
In the first wave of Werder pressure, Kruse is constantly gesticulating in order to get his younger teammates into position as he can sometimes lack the pace to apply proper pressure on the man in possession. His vision and innate sense for a through ball through tight channels allows him to play teammates into space as against Hoffenheim, he threaded a ball into the half space for Florian Kainz who cut back for Milot Rashica to blast over the bar. If Kruse is playing up front with Rashica in Bremen’s 3-5-2, he consistently plays the Kosovan in behind with through balls.
His creative influence is illustrated in the number of touches he has in the build-up to Bremen chances and goals. Against Schalke, he dropped deep to take on a pass to trade passes with his centre-back, the German maestro then worked a one-two with Davy Klaassen to cross for Rashica to volley into the net. Against Stuttgart, Kruse chased back to win a wayward pass played to him from the flank, he swiftly turned to beat his marker and drive the ball to play a one-two with Rashica while evading a challenge before playing Klaassen into space to turn and score a strike from range.
Kruse is so nimble in the pockets that he has mastered the art of providing neat little tricks and flicks to connect play in the tighter areas of the pitch. In Werder Bremen’s match against Augsburg, he dropped deep to flick a ball to Klaassen in the pockets who fed the ball to Rashica on the counter to finish. In a home match against Eintracht Frankfurt, he jumped to flick a throw in while in the air to Martin Harnik who played in Maximillian Eggestein to beat three men and score. Despite Kruse’s special moments, he has fallen victim to some mistakes as against RB Leipzig, his back-pass was intercepted by Timo Werner who finished with aplomb.
His light-footedness and ability to ping crisp passes around the pitch does not mean that he is incapable of holding the central striking position as when Bremen are in a low block, Kruse is their most highly positioned attacker. He is a pivotal out-ball as his physical strength allows him to shield the ball and hold it up before refining even the most haphazard of clearances into well-worked counter attacking moves. It is said that the truest test of an attacker’s ability is how he navigates moves when his back is to goal as the Werder Bremen captain passes this test with flying colours.
Niklas Moisander will attempt to work direct balls to Kruse through the lines so he can work his genius in the final third while Bremen’s deepest-lying midfielder will always work a ball to Kruse in the pockets. Bremen’s finely tuned and well-rehearsed build-up routines consist of a player dropping deep while a teammate runs into the space vacated in behind. Kruse has managed to time his movement into the deeper positions to perfectly sync with an onrushing teammates movement in behind while having the ability pick out a perfectly weighted pass.
Kruse earned a German National Team berth a few years ago while he was at Borussia Monchengladbach as he nearly reached double figures in goals and assists twice while at the club. The season before last, he had 15 goals and 7 assists for Werder Bremen while he has already matched last season’s tally for goals and assists with 6 goals and 6 assists. On his day, he is of the crème de la crème of German players as some of his abilities and feats are unmatched when he is in his groove.
Kruse and Kohfeldt have not been without their issues as Kruse turned up for training camp overweight last summer while the 37-year-old manager ordered him a personal trainer during an international break as he still deemed his captain unfit. However, the manager made him captain to instil a sense of responsibility in the attacking genius and to tempt him to take a role bigger than Kruse the player for the first time in his career.
“I have been encouraging Max all the time that he has to continue. Goals and assists make up only a small part. It is important that the basic performance is correct and that was the case with him. That's why he always had my absolute confidence. But sure, the number 10 position is a good position for him. He can move away from the opposing chain as well as anyone else," said Kohfeldt to BILD in December.
Kruse approaches football with the same joviality that he approaches life as his laid-back demeanour can create the wrong impression at times. A player always pictured with his cap back to front exudes the carefree and relaxed attitude needed to operate on the biggest stage in top level football. The captain’s armband has also added some ferocity to his attitude as he seeks to win training games and he is comfortable in getting into disputes with teammates to motivate them. Kruse will be out of contract at the end of this season as he could be on the radar of a lot of top clubs despite the fact that he turns 31 in a few days.
