Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 9y

Toni Kroos happy with more responsible role at Real Madrid

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has revealed he has more defensive responsibilities than at previous clubs, and he enjoys providing the "balance" at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

Former Bayern Munich star Kroos swapped clubs with Xabi Alonso last summer, and immediately settled into the deep-lying midfield 'pivot' role in Blancos coach Carlo Ancelotti's preferred 4-3-3 system.

Kroos, 25, was a regular scorer for previous clubs Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen, at a rate of almost a goal every five games, and has nine goals in 57 international caps for Germany, including two in last summer's victorious World Cup campaign. However, he has found the net just once in his first 38 appearances in a Madrid shirt.

The Greifswald born player told FIFA.com that he was nevertheless enjoying himself playing with more defensive responsibilities with the Spanish giants.

"At the end of the day the important thing is that you're able to work well in the team," Kroos said. "We tend to play with three central midfielders and at the moment I have the more defensive role, and have done since the beginning of the season. I very much enjoy playing there.

"Of course the coach sets out certain demands for playing in that position, but those coincide with my own interpretation of how to play there. So in that regard I'm delighted with how things are going."

Kroos said that even before moving to Madrid he had been playing deeper, and he knew how important it was to provide structure in a team that often contains galactico attackers Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema.

"Over the years I've been moving further back bit by bit, and that's fine by me," he said. "In Madrid it's important that we have the right balance.

"Normally we have a lot of very attack-minded players on the pitch, so for me it's almost of secondary importance to get forward. Instead, I focus on how the game is going in the middle of the park and that we're well positioned."

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