Max Kruse

For the Australian rules footballer, see Max Kruse (Australian footballer). For other people of the same name, see Max Kruse (disambiguation)

Max Kruse
Kruse with Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2015
Personal information
Full name Max Bennet Kruse[1]
Date of birth (1988-03-19) 19 March 1988 (age 36)[2]
Place of birth Reinbek, West Germany
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, forward
Youth career
1992–1998 TSV Reinbek
1998–2005 SC Vier- und Marschlande
2006–2007 Werder Bremen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2009 Werder Bremen II 69 (7)
2007–2009 Werder Bremen 1 (0)
2009–2012 FC St. Pauli 96 (22)
2009 FC St. Pauli II 1 (0)
2012–2013 SC Freiburg 34 (11)
2013–2015 Borussia Mönchengladbach 66 (23)
2015–2016 VfL Wolfsburg 32 (6)
2016–2019 Werder Bremen 84 (32)
2019–2020 Fenerbahçe 20 (7)
2020–2022 Union Berlin 38 (16)
2022 VfL Wolfsburg 19 (7)
2023 SC Paderborn 5 (0)
Total 465 (131)
International career
2006–2007 Germany U19 17 (6)
2007–2008 Germany U20 6 (1)
2008 Germany U21 1 (1)
2021 Germany Olympic 3 (0)
2013–2015 Germany 14 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Max Bennet Kruse (German pronunciation: [ˈmaks ˈkʁuːzə]; born 19 March 1988) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward.

Early years

[edit]

Kruse was born in Reinbek, Kreis Stormarn, Schleswig-Holstein in the north-eastern periphery of Hamburg. He was raised in Reinbek[4] or in Hamburg.[5]

Club career

[edit]

Early career

[edit]
Kruse with St. Pauli in 2011

Kruse began his career with hometown club TSV Reinbek before he joined Hamburg-based SV Vier- und Marschlande in summer 1998. After more than seven years there, he was scouted by Werder Bremen in January 2006. On 4 May 2009, he signed a two-year contract with FC St. Pauli. During the 2011–12 2. Bundesliga, Kruse scored 13 goals and provided six assists as FC St. Pauli finished on 62 points in fourth place, missing out on the promotion playoffs on goal difference.[6]

SC Freiburg

[edit]

Following his successful spell with St. Pauli, Kruse was transferred to Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in the summer of 2012.[7] He made his competitive debut for his new club on 18 August 2012 in a DFB-Pokal match against Victoria Hamburg, which ended in a 2–1 victory as Kruse scored the opening goal and provided the assist for Sebastian Freis's winner.[8] Kruse made his home league debut on 25 August, scoring a goal in Freiburg's 1–1 draw with 1. FSV Mainz 05.[9] He helped Freiburg claim their first win of the Bundesliga season in their third game on 16 September, netting a goal and providing two assists in an enthralling 5–3 defeat of TSG Hoffenheim.[10][11]

Kruse helped seal an upset win over Schalke on 15 December, providing assists for first half goals to both Jan Rosenthal and Jonathan Schmid in a 3–1 away victory at the Arena AufSchalke.[12][13] On 16 February, he opened the scoring nine minutes before half time as Freiburg recorded their first win over Kruse's former club Werder Bremen in 11 years with a 3–2 away victory at the Weserstadion.[14]

Kruse scored twice in the second half of Freiburg's Bundesliga clash with Borussia Mönchengladbach on 30 March, securing a 2–0 victory for the club.[15] In his penultimate game with Freiburg on 11 May, he was awarded "Man of the Match" honours as he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 defeat of already relegated Greuther Fürth, all but securing Freiburg an automatic spot in the Europa League group stage for next season.[16]

Borussia Mönchengladbach

[edit]

Following a standout season with Freiburg, Kruse signed for Borussia Mönchengladbach on a four-year deal in April 2013.[17] He made his debut for the club in Gladbach's loss to 3. Liga side Darmstadt 98 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on 4 August 2013.[18] He managed to score his first goal for the club on 17 August, firing in Gladbach's first goal in a 3–0 home victory over Hannover 96.[19] Kruse continued his scoring form on 31 August, netting Gladbach's third goal of a 4–1 home victory over his former club Werder Bremen.[20]

Wolfsburg

[edit]

On 10 May 2015, VfL Wolfsburg signed Kruse on a four-year deal, after activating his release clause of €12 million.[21] He made his debut as a 70th-minute substitute on 1 August in the 2015 DFL-Supercup, and scored in the penalty shootout as Wolfsburg defeated Bayern Munich after a 1–1 draw.[22] On 8 August 2015, Kruse scored his first goal for Wolfsburg in the fourth minute of 4–1 win at Stuttgarter Kickers in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.[23]

Werder Bremen

[edit]
Kruse captaining Werder Bremen in 2018

On 2 August 2016, Kruse re-joined Werder Bremen for a second stint at the club.[24][25] He scored his first goal for the club in his third league appearance on 3 December 2016, in a 2–1 win against Ingolstadt.[26] On 22 April 2017, he scored four goals in one match for the first time in his career as Werder Bremen came back from 0–1 and 1–2 deficits to defeat Ingolstadt 4–2 and maintain a 10-match unbeaten run.[27]

Ahead of the 2018–19 season, Kruse was chosen as the team's captain by manager Florian Kohfeldt.[28]

As of October 2018, he was the player with the longest active penalty scoring streak – 24 goals. He had not missed a single penalty in six years. His streak started on 7 April 2012.[29]

In May 2019, Kruse announced he would not extend his contract and leave the club following the 2018–19 season.[30][31]

Fenerbahçe

[edit]

On 28 June 2019, Kruse joined Fenerbahçe on a three-year deal.[32] On 18 June 2020, he terminated his contract with the club citing unpaid wages.[33][34][35]

Union Berlin

[edit]

On 6 August 2020, Kruse returned to the Bundesliga joining Union Berlin.[36][37] On 3 October, he scored his first goal for Union and the game's opener in a 4–0 win against Mainz 05.[38] He then scored a penalty and assisted two goals in a 3–1 win against 1899 Hoffenheim on 3 November.[39] During a 5–0 win against Arminia Bielefeld on 7 November 2020, he scored a penalty to equalise Hans-Joachim Abel's Bundesliga record for most penalties scored (16) without a single miss.[40] On the last matchday of the season, he scored a goal in stoppage time to beat RB Leipzig 2–1 and qualify Union Berlin for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, their first European football since the 2001–02 UEFA Cup.[41]

Return to Wolfsburg

[edit]

On 30 January 2022, Kruse re-joined VfL Wolfsburg on a one-and-a-half-year deal.[42] On 28 November 2022, Wolfsburg and Kruse agreed to terminate his contract by mutual consent.[43]

SC Paderborn

[edit]

On 30 June 2023, Kruse agreed to join 2. Bundesliga club SC Paderborn.[44] On 24 November 2023, his contract with SC Paderborn was mutually terminated.[45]

A month later, Kruse announced his retirement from playing.[46]

International career

[edit]

Kruse was a member of the Germany U-19 that competed at the 2007 UEFA U-19 Championship and also featured for the under-21 team.[47]

Kruse received his first call up to the senior squad for a friendly against Ecuador on 29 May 2013 in Boca Raton, Florida.[48] He provided the assist for Lukas Podolski's second goal of the match before being substituted for Dennis Aogo in the 79th minute. The match ended with a 4–2 victory.[49] Kruse scored his first goal for the national team in his second cap, scoring Germany's second goal in a 4–3 defeat to the United States in Washington, D.C., on 2 June, a game which celebrated 100 years of the United States Soccer Federation.[50] Despite Kruse's successful league campaign with Gladbach, he was omitted from the 30-man preliminary squad for the World Cup in Brazil.[51]

During qualification for UEFA Euro 2016, Kruse scored twice in a 7–0 win over Gibraltar on 13 June 2015.[52]

In March 2016 Joachim Löw said that he would not consider Kruse for the national team anymore after Kruse made negative headlines.[53]

During this time, Kruse was a part of a collaboration between the German Football Association and The LEGO Group, who in May 2016 released a Europe-exclusive collectible minifigure series, with Kruse featured as the sixteenth and final minifigure in the collection.[54]

2020 Summer Olympics

[edit]

After not having represented Germany since 2015, Kruse was named as one of Germany's three overage players for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[55] Kruse started in Germany's opening match against Brazil where the German team lost 4–2.[56]

Professional poker

[edit]
Max Kruse
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)1
Final table(s)4
Money finish(es)15
Information last updated on 9 November 2022.

Kruse is an avid poker player and made it to the final table, finishing third, at the No-Limit 2–7 Draw Lowball event at the 2014 World Series of Poker on 18 June 2014, taking home $36,494 in prize money.[57][58] In March 2016, Kruse was fined €25,000 and warned of his future conduct by Wolfsburg after it was revealed that he had lost €75,000 worth of poker winnings in the back seat of a taxi. This incident also caused him to be dropped from the Germany squad.[59] In November 2022, at the World Series of Poker Europe in Rozvadov, Czechia, Kruse won his first WSOP bracelet in a €1,650 No Limit Hold 'em event besting 412 entrants for a prize of €134,152. As of the start of the 2024 WSOP, Kruse has won almost $367,000 in all poker tournaments.[60]

Personal life

[edit]

In February 2021, Kruse was one of more than 800 professional footballers, across both the men's and women's game, who signed a petition in German football magazine 11 Freunde to support gay players.[61]

He has a son with his first partner Alina.[62] In July 2021, he proposed to his wife Dilara Mardine of Kurdish origin on live TV after a 3–2 win against Saudi Arabia during the 2020 Summer Olympics.[63] The couple married in December later that year.[64]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[65][66]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Werder Bremen II 2006–07 Regionalliga Nord 12 0 — — — 12 0
2007–08 Regionalliga Nord 33 2 3 0 — — 33 2
2008–09 3. Liga 24 5 — — — 24 5
Total 69 7 3 0 — — 72 7
Werder Bremen 2007–08 Bundesliga 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 0
FC St. Pauli II 2009–10 Regionalliga Nord 1 0 — — — 1 0
FC St. Pauli 2009–10 2. Bundesliga 29 7 2 0 — — 31 7
2010–11 Bundesliga 33 2 1 0 — — 34 2
2011–12 2. Bundesliga 34 13 1 0 — — 35 13
Total 96 22 4 0 — — 100 22
SC Freiburg 2012–13 Bundesliga 34 11 5 1 — — 39 12
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2013–14 Bundesliga 34 12 1 0 — — 35 12
2014–15 Bundesliga 32 11 3 2 7[a] 0 — 42 13
Total 66 23 4 2 7 0 — 77 25
VfL Wolfsburg 2015–16 Bundesliga 32 6 1 1 9[b] 2 1[c] 0 43 9
Werder Bremen 2016–17 Bundesliga 23 15 1 0 — — 24 15
2017–18 Bundesliga 29 6 4 2 — — 33 8
2018–19 Bundesliga 32 11 4 1 — — 36 12
Total 84 32 9 3 — — 92 35
Fenerbahçe 2019–20 Süper Lig 20 7 3 0 — — 23 7
Union Berlin 2020–21 Bundesliga 22 11 0 0 — — 22 11
2021–22 Bundesliga 16 5 2 1 5[d] 2 — 23 8
Total 38 16 2 1 5 2 — 45 19
VfL Wolfsburg 2021–22 Bundesliga 14 7 — — — 14 7
2022–23 Bundesliga 5 0 0 0 — — 5 0
Total 19 7 0 0 — — 19 7
SC Paderborn 2023–24 2. Bundesliga 5 0 0 0 — — 5 0
Career total 465 131 31 8 21 4 1 0 518 143
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Appearance in DFL-Supercup
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

[edit]
Appearances and goals by national team and year[67]
National team Year Apps Goals
Germany 2013 6 1
2014 4 0
2015 4 3
Total 14 4
Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kruse goal.
List of international goals scored by Max Kruse
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 2 June 2013 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., United States  United States 2–4 3–4 Friendly
2 13 June 2015 Estádio Algarve, Loulé, Portugal  Gibraltar 2–0 7–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
3 7–0
4 11 October 2015 Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany  Georgia 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Honours

[edit]

VfL Wolfsburg

Individual

  • VDV Newcomer of the Season: 2012–13

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Squad List: Men's Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020: Germany (GER)" (PDF). FIFA. 22 July 2021. p. 7. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Max Kruse – Player Profile". Bundesliga. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Max Kruse". VfL Wolfsburg. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  4. ^ Goldmann, Sven (4 November 2013). "Hamburg, seine Perle". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Verlag Der Tagesspiegel GmbH. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  5. ^ Schöne, Marc; Plum, Andreas (20 February 2014). "KRUSE: "ALS VATER BIN ICH EHER STRENG"". FOHLEN HAUTNAH (in German). Online-Magazin Fohlen-hautnah.de Andreas Plum – Marc Schöne GbR. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  6. ^ "Matchday 34 – League Table". Bundesliga. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  7. ^ "Sport-Club verpflichtet Max Kruse" (in German). SC Freiburg. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Joker Freis erlöst den Sportclub spät" (in German). kicker. 18 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Mainz fight back against Freiburg". Sky Sports. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  10. ^ "Freiburg hit Hoffenheim for five". Bundesliga. 16 September 2012. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  11. ^ "Bundesliga: Freiburg 5–3 Hoffenheim". ESPN UK. 17 September 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  12. ^ "Freiburg cause a royal upset". Bundesliga. 15 December 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  13. ^ "Schalke 04 1–3 SC Freiburg". ESPN FC. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  14. ^ "Werder Bremen 2–3 SC Freiburg". ESPN FC. 16 February 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  15. ^ "Doppelpack! Kruse ärgert Bald-Klub Gladbach" (in German). Sport Bild. 30 March 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  16. ^ "Europe beckons for Fürth-slaying Freiburg". Bundesliga. 11 May 2013. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  17. ^ "Kruse Gladbach-bound next season". Bundesliga. 11 April 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  18. ^ "Darmstadt schafft die Sensation" (in German). Sportschau. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  19. ^ "Erst Kruse, dann Kramer — die Neuen bringen Gladbach in die Spur" (in German). kicker. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  20. ^ "Borussia Monchengladbach 4–1 Werder Bremen". ESPN FC. 31 August 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  21. ^ Chaffer, Alex (10 May 2015). "Wolfsburg sign Gladbach's Max Kruse". dw.de. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  22. ^ Dunbar, Ross (1 August 2015). "Bendtner leads Wolfsburg over Bayern Munich on penalties in German Super Cup clash". Fox Sports. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  23. ^ "De Bruynes artwork rewarded wide awake Wolves". kicker. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  24. ^ ""Keine Bedenken": Werder macht Kruse-Wechsel perfekt!" ["No Concerns": Werder perfects the Kruse deal] (in German). kicker. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  25. ^ "Max Kruse kehrt an die Weser zurück" [Max Kruse returned to the Weser] (in German). Werder Bremen. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  26. ^ "Bartels belohnt kämpfende Bremer". kicker Online (in German). 3 December 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  27. ^ Cottäus, Daniel (22 April 2017). "Vierfacher Max Kruse bringt Werder auf Europa-Kurs". WerderStube. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  28. ^ ""Absoluter Leader": Kruse neuer Werder-Kapitän". kicker Online (in German). 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  29. ^ PENALTY-SCORING Streak by Max Kruse! - YouTube
  30. ^ "Kapitän Max Kruse verlässt den SV Werder" (in German). werder.de. 17 May 2019.
  31. ^ McGraghan, Jack (17 May 2019). ""I played with great joy for three years" – Kruse to leave Werder Bremen". Goal. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  32. ^ "Kruse agrees three-year Fenerbahçe deal". beIN Sports. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  33. ^ "MAX KRUSE HAKKINDA BİLGİLENDİRME". Fenerbahçe. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  34. ^ Erözden, Can (18 June 2020). "Fenerbahce star Kruse unilaterally cancels contract". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  35. ^ Knips, Björn (19 June 2020). "Ex-Werder-Star Max Kruse erklärt seine Kündigung bei Fenerbahce Istanbul" [Former Werder star Max Kruse explains his termination at Fenerbahce Istanbul]. Kreiszeitung (in German). Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  36. ^ "Max Kruse returns to the Bundesliga with Union Berlin". Bundesliga. 6 August 2020.
  37. ^ "Union Berlin sign Max Kruse". Union Berlin. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  38. ^ "Max Kruse off the mark as Union Berlin add to Mainz's misery". Bundesliga. 3 October 2020.
  39. ^ "Max Kruse inspires Union Berlin to victory away to Hoffenheim". Bundesliga. 3 November 2020.
  40. ^ "Nicht nur Schütze: Kruse demontiert Bielefeld bei Neuhaus-Rückkehr". kicker. 7 November 2020.
  41. ^ Fried, Nico (22 May 2021). "Union-Sieg gegen Leipzig: Kruse geht all in". Süddeutsche (in German). Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  42. ^ "Return to Wolfsburg". VfL Wolfsburg. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  43. ^ "Contract terminated". VfL Wolfsburg. 28 November 2022.
  44. ^ "Paderborn gelingt Coup - Kruse kommt". sportschau.de (in German). 30 June 2023.
  45. ^ "Kruse verlässt Paderborn nach nur 194 Einsatzminuten". spiegel.de (in German). 24 November 2023.
  46. ^ ""Die Zeit ist gekommen": Kruse verkündet Karriereende" ["The time has come": Kruse announces the end of his career]. kicker (in German). 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  47. ^ "Nationalspieler Max Kruse" (in German). dfb.de. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  48. ^ "Germany to miss Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund players on team for US tour". The Washington Post. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.[dead link]
  49. ^ "Germany edge past Ecuador". Bundesliga. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  50. ^ "USA 4–3 Germany: Altidore snaps drought as Klinsmann's USA tops Germany". Goal.com. 2 June 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  51. ^ "Germany unveils preliminary World Cup roster". Deutsche Welle. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  52. ^ "Armenia 2–3 Portugal". BBC. 14 June 2015.
  53. ^ Weber, Joscha (21 March 2016). "Löw wirft Kruse raus". DW (in German). Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  54. ^ Lego Group (12 April 2016). "This squad will be playing for the LEGO Minifigure Series "DFB – Die Mannschaft"". Lego.com. Lego. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  55. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Tokyo Olympics: Max Kruse, Nadiem Amiri and Maxi Arnold in German football squad | DW | 05.07.2021". DW.COM. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  56. ^ Bennett, Tom (22 July 2021). "Tokyo 2020 football news - Richarlison fires in first-half hat-trick as Brazil withstand Germany fightback". Eurosport. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  57. ^ "Germany's Kruse third in poker event". ESPNFC. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  58. ^ "Event #36: No-Limit 2–7 Draw Lowball". WSOP. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  59. ^ "Allofs: Kruse needs our help". dw.com. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  60. ^ "Max Kruse". pokerdb.thehendonmob.com. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  61. ^ "Bundesliga stars offer support to gay footballers". ESPNFC. 17 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  62. ^ Kammertöns, Hanns-Bruno (20 October 2018). "Max Kruse: Der letzte Filou" (in German). Zeit Online.
  63. ^ Bairner, Robin (25 July 2021). "Kruse asks girlfriend to marry him on live TV after Germany's Olympics win" (in German). Goal.com.
  64. ^ "Union-Berlin-Star Max Kruse hat geheiratet" (in German). T-Online.de. 16 December 2021.
  65. ^ "M. Kruse". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  66. ^ "Max Kruse » Club matches". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  67. ^ Max Kruse at National-Football-Teams.com
[edit]
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