Oops, here I am: Max Kruse always has something to say, even on the Paderborn bench. Image: picture alliance / Kirchner Media
Once a striker in the DFB jersey, now a star in the second division: Max Kruse is allowed to do sharp things at SC Paderborn. If need be, also off the pitch.
When a second division football club like SC Paderborn 07 signs a Max Kruse, then he isn’t just another good player, he’s the star. The 35-year-old has been the center of attention since his commitment: on the training ground, in test matches and as a networker when the ball isn’t rolling. The former national player has put the small club back in the limelight, and sporting expectations are also high: Kruse should become the linchpin of the Paderborn game. Ideally, a leader, target player, and enforcer. “Once you’ve had the eye and the foot, you don’t forget it,” says his trainer Lukas Kwasniok.
In the first few weeks, Kruse hardly missed an opportunity to win the initially skeptical environment in Paderborn over to his side. He painted a picture of a striker in the autumn of his career who sees his big chance in the provinces. “I still have the fire in me. I want to show and prove myself in Paderborn. It was important to me that I was needed and not just second or third.”