German star who beat Chrisantus Macauley to 2007 World Cup Golden Boot announces retirement

Chrisantus Macauley was primed to ruled the world in 2007, he he failed to live up to the billing

German midfielder Toni Kroos has announced that he will retirem from football after the upcoming Euros in July, Soccernet.ng reports.

Kroos has enjoyed a phenomenal career for both club and country. The 34-year-old midfielder has  won trophies at Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, where he has spent ten years, and Germany.

Kroos has won the German Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup, Spanish Cup, German Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Laliga, Bundesliga, FIFA Club World Cup, Champions League, and the holy grail- the World Cup.

The Germany international is set to win a double with Real Madrid this season as they have won the Laliga and are in the UEFA Champions League final, where they play Borussia Dortmund.

Following his successful season, Kroos has announced that he will retire from football after the EUROS. This means that the EUROs will be Kroos’ very last competition he will play.

Kroos And Chrisantus At The World Cup

Looking back, one of the key competitions that spurred Kroos to success was the 2007 Under-17 World Cup in South Korea, which Nigeria won.

Macauley was a sensation at the time, scoring seven goals in the run-up to Nigeria’s win. He eventually won the Golden Boot, but he missed out on the Golden Ball award as he settled for the Bronze ball, with Kroos nicking the Golden Ball instead.

After the competition, Macauley was expected to take the world by storm. He joined Hamburger in 2008, who were a decent side at the time, as they were always competing for a spot in Europe. However, he has failed to make a mark since then.

The 33-year-old striker has been a journeyman as he has played at many clubs across Europe. Aside from Hamburger, Macauley has played at Karlsruher, FSV Frankfurt, Las Palmas, Sivasspor, AEK Athens, Reus, Lamia, Real Murcia, HJK Helsinki, FF Jaro, Tamaraceite, and Lynx.

Macauley’s career has been a direct opposite of Kroos, who has enjoyed a lot of success since the 2007 Under-17 World Cup. Currently, the 33-year-old is without a club.

NB: Why do you think Macauley failed to reach the pinnacle in his career?

This post was last modified on May 21, 2024 4:32 pm

Kelvin Omachonu

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  • Age cheat is basically the reason. The other reason is the fact that a lot of cadet Nigerian teams are not gifted technically. So after the competition they struggle to break into most European teams unlike their European counterparts. The Nff has a lot of work to do, to upgrade our grassroot football.

  • Age cheat is the biggest reason he failed. Imagine training someone who is already a man and someone who is really young, the younger will definately have room for improvement. Not just Chrisantus that failed but the whole team.

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Kelvin Omachonu

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