You Can Not Believe Who Toni Kroos Named As His Football Idol

Toni Kroos at the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or Awards in Zurich on Monday. | image source: twitter.com/abouttonikroos

Zinedine Zidane looked up to Uruguayan Enzo Francescoli as his football idol, Barcelona's Xavi Hernandez never stops glorifying the talent and skill of Matt Le Tissier whereas Gianluigi Buffon ditched playing in midfield for a goalkeeper role after seeing Cameroon's Thomas Nkono play at the 1990 FIFA World Cup which was held in Italy.

Footballers all over the world have players they look up to when growing up and learning in the sport and while some love to associate themselves with big games, others like Zidane, Xavi and Buffon appreciate the skill and talent in players who rarely got accolades but always got the job done.

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder Toni Kroos is one of such players. Recently included in the FIFPro Team of the Year for 2014, Kroos said that former Werder Bremen midfielder Johan Micoud is his role model.

Micoud, now 41, caught Kroos' eye during a four-year spell (2002-2006) in Germany with Die Werderaner during which he won the Bundesliga (2003-04) and the German Cup (2003-04). Micoud also played for Bordeaux, Cannes and Parma during a 16-year professional career that saw him make 20 appearances for France.

Speaking at Monday's FIFA Ballon d'Or Awards, Kroos said the following about Micoud, "There are many great players and concerning the position I play in, Zinedine Zidane is one of the players I looked up to but Johan Micoud was my favourite. He played at Bremen at that time and I have never seen a player read and control a game like him."

For a glimpse of how good Micoud was, watch the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ETLdQMPKNec