 Kruse withBorussia Mönchengladbach in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Max Bennet Kruse[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1988-03-19)19 March 1988 (age 37)[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:[ˈmaksˈkʁuːzə]; born 19 March 1988) is a German former professionalfootballer who played as anattacking midfielder orforward.
Kruse was born inReinbek,Kreis Stormarn,Schleswig-Holstein in the north-eastern periphery ofHamburg. He was raised in Reinbek[4] or in Hamburg.[5]
Kruse began his career with hometown club TSV Reinbek before he joined Hamburg-basedSV Vier- und Marschlande in summer 1998. After more than seven years there, he was scouted byWerder Bremen in January 2006. On 4 May 2009, he signed a two-year contract withFC St. Pauli. During the2011–12 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]
Following his successful spell with St. Pauli, Kruse was transferred to Bundesliga sideSC Freiburg in the summer of 2012.[7] He made his competitive debut for his new club on 18 August 2012 in aDFB-Pokal match againstVictoria Hamburg, which ended in a 2–1 victory as Kruse scored the opening goal and provided the assist forSebastian Freis's winner.[8] Kruse made his home league debut on 25 August, scoring a goal in Freiburg's 1–1 draw with1. FSV Mainz 05.[9] He helped Freiburg claim their first win of theBundesliga season in their third game on 16 September, netting a goal and providing two assists in an enthralling 5–3 defeat ofTSG Hoffenheim.[10][11]
Kruse helped seal an upset win overSchalke on 15 December, providing assists for first half goals to bothJan Rosenthal andJonathan Schmid in a 3–1 away victory at theArena 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 theWeserstadion.[14]
Kruse scored twice in the second half of Freiburg's Bundesliga clash withBorussia 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 relegatedGreuther Fürth, all but securing Freiburg an automatic spot in theEuropa League group stage for next season.[16]
Following a standout season with Freiburg, Kruse signed forBorussia Mönchengladbach on a four-year deal in April 2013.[17] He made his debut for the club in Gladbach's loss to3. Liga sideDarmstadt 98 in the first round of theDFB-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 overHannover 96.[19] Kruse continued his scoring form on 31 August, netting Gladbach's third goal of a 4–1 home victory over his former clubWerder Bremen.[20]
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 the2015 DFL-Supercup, and scored in thepenalty shootout as Wolfsburg defeatedBayern 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 atStuttgarter Kickers in the first round of theDFB-Pokal.[23]
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 againstIngolstadt.[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 the2018–19 season, Kruse was chosen as the team's captain by managerFlorian 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 the2018–19 season.[30][31]
On 28 June 2019, Kruse joinedFenerbahçe on a three-year deal.[32] On 18 June 2020, he terminated his contract with the club citing unpaid wages.[33][34][35]
On 6 August 2020, Kruse returned to the Bundesliga joiningUnion Berlin.[36][37] On 3 October, he scored his first goal for Union and the game's opener in a 4–0 win againstMainz 05.[38] He then scored a penalty and assisted two goals in a 3–1 win against1899 Hoffenheim on 3 November.[39] During a 5–0 win againstArminia Bielefeld on 7 November 2020, he scored a penalty to equaliseHans-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 beatRB Leipzig 2–1 and qualify Union Berlin for the2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, their first European football since the2001–02 UEFA Cup.[41]
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]
On 30 June 2023, Kruse agreed to join2. Bundesliga clubSC 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]
Kruse was a member of theGermany U-19 that competed at the2007 UEFA U-19 Championship and also featured for theunder-21 team.[47]
Kruse received his first call up to the senior squad for a friendly againstEcuador on 29 May 2013 inBoca Raton, Florida.[48] He provided the assist forLukas Podolski's second goal of the match before being substituted forDennis 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 theUnited States inWashington, D.C., on 2 June, a game which celebrated 100 years of theUnited States Soccer Federation.[50] Despite Kruse's successful league campaign with Gladbach, he was omitted from the 30-man preliminary squad for theWorld Cup in Brazil.[51]
Duringqualification forUEFA Euro 2016, Kruse scored twice in a 7–0 win overGibraltar on 13 June 2015.[52]
In March 2016Joachim 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 theGerman Football Association andThe LEGO Group, who in May 2016 released a Europe-exclusivecollectible minifigure series, with Kruse featured as the sixteenth and finalminifigure in the collection.[54]
After not having represented Germany since 2015, Kruse was named as one ofGermany's three overage players for the2020 Tokyo Olympics.[55] Kruse started in Germany's opening match againstBrazil where the German team lost 4–2.[56]
| Max Kruse | |
|---|---|
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 1 |
| Final table(s) | 4 |
| Money finish(es) | 15 |
| Information last updated on9 November 2022. | |
Kruse is an avid poker player and made it to the final table, finishing third, at theNo-Limit 2–7 Draw Lowball event at the2014 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]
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 magazine11 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 ofKurdish origin on live TV after a 3–2 win againstSaudi Arabia during the 2020 Summer Olympics.[63] The couple married in December later that year.[64]
| 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 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 2013 | 6 | 1 |
| 2014 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 3 | |
| Total | 14 | 4 | |
| 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 |
VfL Wolfsburg
Individual
