Adidas has renamed its 11pro boots after Germany midfielder Toni Kroos.
Kroos played what is set to be his final game in professional football on Friday evening as his Germany side lost 2-1 against Spain in the quarter-finals of the European Championship.
The 34-year-old has worn the same pair of boots — the 11pros — since their release in 2013. That includes his entire time at Real Madrid, which saw him win four La Liga titles and five Champions Leagues, and his 2014 World Cup win with Germany.
Kroos announced his retirement in May, with Madrid’s Champions League final win over Borussia Dortmund his final game at club level. He previously retired from international duty after Germany’s group-stage exit at the 2022 World Cup but returned to the squad earlier this year before the Euros on home soil.
But his career did not have a fairytale ending as Spain knocked hosts Germany out with an extra-time winner from Mikel Merino.
“We were so close, that’s what makes it so bitter,” Kroos said. “Right now, the main feeling is that the tournament is over, because we all had a big goal that we wanted to achieve together. And this dream we all had has been simply shattered.
“We all chipped in to do a lot better than before. I’m glad that I was able to help a little so that at least in football Germany has hope again and the ambition to progress and to get better. And I’m also convinced that the team will manage that in the future.”
By German football correspondent Seb Stafford-Bloor
For 11 years, Kroos has eschewed those advantages for a boot that works for him.
Bjorgvin Hreinsson is Adidas’s Global Product Manager. When he speaks to The Athletic over Zoom, he has two boots in his hand. One is Kroos’ original, fabled Adipure 11Pro, and the other is a commemorative edition, which is gold at the heel and has the names of Kroos’ three children written on the sole.
Toni Kroos and the 11pro: love at first sight, sole mates until the last kick.
Today, we’re happy to announce that moving forward the adidas 11pro will be renamed the adidas TKpro.
Danke, Toni #YouGotThis #Euro24 pic.twitter.com/ESjAxbA49s
— adidas Football (@adidasfootball) July 6, 2024
“When Toni first started in Adidas,” Hreinsson says, “it was in Predators when he was at Bayer Leverkusen.
“When we launched the Adipure series in 2008, he was one of the key faces. Since then, he’s worn the Adidas Adipure 11Pro throughout almost the entire duration of Adipure’s lifecycle.
“Then he just kept it. We kept evolving and the industry grew, but for Toni, all the way since the end of 2013 when this boot came out, he just fell in love with it.
“The leather is the key thing. We designed the boots to give the most smooth, natural touch of the ball, and Toni’s probably the best representation of that — the way you see him control the ball and how his first touch always needs to be pinpoint accurate for him to get into a position to make a key pass.
“It’s the material. He really wants that soft touch and just to feel confident.”
(Top photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images; body photo: Thomas Kienzle/AFP via Getty Images)
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