Toni Kroos has the Real Madrid faithful eating from his hands after the German midfielder defended the club from Wayne Rooney's recent attack.
England legend Rooney had suggested that his old foes Manchester City would have little trouble in swatting aside the Copa del Rey champions. Kroos, however, chose to point to what happened this time last year.
Rooney confident of English win
In his preview of the Champions League semi-final between the champions of Spain and England, former Manchester United forward Rooney boldly claimed Man City were well ahead of Los Blancos.
"Manchester City will not only beat Real Madrid in the semi-final of the Champions League, but they are going to destroy them," Rooney wrote in his column in The Times.
Kroos responds to Rooney
Rooney's words were put to Kroos in his press conference previewing the first leg and he didn't appear to bothered by the Englishman's claims, laughing off the irony.
"Well, I think we had the same thing last year, right?" said Kroos.
"Almost no one expected us to win the Champions League or that semi-final, but we did.
"I remember a few words from last year were pretty similar."
Vini must learn
Kroos was also asked about his talented but hotheaded teammate Vinicius Junior, who was once again the centre of attention in Saturday's Copa final.
The Brazilian can change a game with his talent, but too often allows himself to become involved in distracting squabbles.
"He's young and has to learn," said Kroos.
"When he's calm and level-headed, he plays unbelievably well.
"But when he moves away from that...but that's normal because sometimes they provoke him and sometimes the referees' decisions don't help."
While acknowledging that opposing teams do try to target Vinicius, knowing his temperament, Kroos emphasised that his teammate must find a way to deal with the extra attention, which is just a burden of the talent he has.
"He has to understand that he has to live with this for the next 10-15 years," said Kroos.
"He has to find the way calmly and not get distracted from his game and he can improve a bit.
"On the other hand, it's fair to say he deserves a bit more protection. From referees and so on."
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Toni Kroos has the Real Madrid faithful eating from his hands after the German midfielder defended the club from Wayne Rooney's recent attack.
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