Bayern Munich: Team of the Decade

MUNICH, GERMANY - JUNE 02: Fans of FC Bayern Muenchen celebrate winning the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB Cup with their team at Marienplatz on June 2, 2013 in Munich, Germany. One day after beating Stuttgart in the DFB Cup Final and a week after winning the Champions League Final against Dortmund Bayern Muenchen celebrated winning the historical treble of two national and one international title. (Photo by Lennart Preiss/Bongarts/Getty Images)
MUNICH, GERMANY - JUNE 02: Fans of FC Bayern Muenchen celebrate winning the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB Cup with their team at Marienplatz on June 2, 2013 in Munich, Germany. One day after beating Stuttgart in the DFB Cup Final and a week after winning the Champions League Final against Dortmund Bayern Muenchen celebrated winning the historical treble of two national and one international title. (Photo by Lennart Preiss/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
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LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY – OCTOBER 05: Toni Kroos of Muenchen celebrates his team’s first goal during the Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and FC Bayern Muenchen at BayArena on October 5, 2013, in Leverkusen, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images)
LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY – OCTOBER 05: Toni Kroos of Muenchen celebrates his team’s first goal during the Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and FC Bayern Muenchen at BayArena on October 5, 2013, in Leverkusen, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images) /

Central midfielder— Toni Kroos

Considering the sour end to Toni Kroos’ career in Bavaria, this is likely to be the only dubious selection for some Bayern fans in this team of the decade. However, keeping emotions aside, there are no second thoughts about  Kroos’ ability on the pitch.

The German midfielder featured heavily for Bayern for the first four years of this decade. He didn’t gather the limelight for Die Roten’s consistent performances but played an essential role in midfield. He complemented Schweinsteiger’s tenacity with calmness on the ball and kept the play ticking in the midfield.

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Along with dictating the play from a deeper role, Kroos was equally efficient in playing a number ten role. He was a dream player for every coach. Matthias Sammer, former Bayern Sporting Director, later admitted that it was a big mistake to allow Kroos to join Real Madrid in 2014.

During his four year stay at Bayern, Kroos made a mammoth 205 appearances and scored 25 goals from the midfield position. Bayern had some wonderful midfield talents at their disposal throughout this decade, but Kroos still stands out despite his short stay at the club. He has gone on to show his class in Spain by heavily contributing to the three Champions League wins for Los Blancos.