Loew keeping his fingers crossed for Kroos

One day before UEFA Champions League final in Kiev between Real Madrid and Liverpool, Germany coach Joachim Loew kept his fingers crossed for his key midfielder Toni Kroos.

"Before a Champions League or a World Cup final, Toni is as calm and laid back as he is ahead of normal group game. I don't know any other footballer that is so easy-going as he is. It makes him unique," Loew commented.

A big smile appeared on his face before he broke out into laughter, the 58-year-old Loew admitted, "That's very likely the case," when answering the question as to whether he will be more excited than Kroos this Saturday evening.

Not only Real Madrid rely on Kroos' unique abilities to be a perfect playmaker but the German national team too.

Loew said that Kroos is a vital figure for the defending world champions to retain their title in Russia.

The head coach will naturally spend Saturday evening sitting in front of a television at the training camp in Eppan, northern Italy. He'll no doubt pray for his key player remaining unscathed.

No other player has the gift to feel the rhythm of the game, said Loew. Born in eastern Germany, Kroos is what Loew calls an impulse-giving link for both the attack and the defense.

"He defines the rhythm of a team's game, and he is a key player in its true sense," Loew emphasized. Kroos' passing efficiency is near perfection.

Loew said the 28-year-old's move to Real Madrid opened the doors to a new dimension of his game. "In Madrid, he has improved his performance to a constant world-class level."

Not only Loew speaks about a remarkable career. Former German international and Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer says Kroos is "one of the greatest in football history."

Before being a superstar, Kroos had to endure tough times before making his breakthrough in 2014. He had been either the hero when his team won or the villain because of his easy-going style.

In his early years, Kroos admits, "It was always going back and forth between heaven and hell, but it gave me a resilience."

He is however a superstar not regularly appearing in the headlines. Kroos runs his foundation supporting severely and incurably ill children almost inconspicuously. He is involved with nearly every case and he also regularly visits a Dusseldorf hospice.

It seems stardom is of no great importance for Kroos and being compared to Germany's greatest footballers only causes mixed feelings for him.

After all, Kroos could win the Champions League for the fourth time in Kiev. The previous three came 2013 (Bayern Munich), 2016 and 2017 (Real). No other German footballer has won the Champions League with two different clubs but winning it for a fourth time would make Kroos Germany's front-runner ahead of legends like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Mueller, and Uli Hoeness.

Loew doesn't make a secret where his sympathies lie this Saturday. But he is also a "diplomat" for not offending anybody.

"Two great teams will battle for a great title," Loew said, adding that he will take a close look at the performance of his side's most important player and most likely he will be more nervous than Kroos.