Axel Kruse

Axel Kruse ( born September 28, 1967 in Wolgast ) is a former German football and American football player.

Career

Association

Axel Kruse played 1974-1976 in his home Dynamo Wolgast, then in 1976 to move to the BSG Motor Wolgast. In 1981 he was discovered by Hansa Rostock as talent and trained there with the later professional footballers Jens Dowe, Florian Weichert, Thomas Doll and Volker Rohrich Youth Academy of the association. At the age of 18 Kruse advanced to the 1985/86 season in the first team of the club, where he was quickly becoming a regular player.

As a player of Hansa Rostock he escaped on July 8, 1989 at the Games away in Copenhagen with the help of friends in the west of Germany. There he joined the then second division side Hertha BSC, where he is now a club member, at. However, the Fifa initially gave him no permission to play, so that Kruse only got to play from the 24th Round of the club. Nevertheless, he was this season with Fred Klaus with seven goals the best attacker of Hertha. In his first game on February 24, 1990 against MSV Duisburg met the striker to score 3-0. At the end of the season he got a table on the first Hertha. In the Bundesliga, then he gave on August 9, 1990 Opening Round against FC St. Pauli made ​​its debut in Germany's highest division. Until the winter break Kruse won with his team only once: On 11 Matchday he scored against Eintracht Frankfurt the hit in a 1-0 victory.

In the winter season 1990/91, the attacker moved to Eintracht Frankfurt, which was at that time in the top flight of the league. In the frankfurters was with Anthony Yeboah, Lothar Sippel and Janusz Turowski the competition was large, yet Kruse won the day and was able to score three goals in 12 games. In the following year it was difficult to ex - Rostock. Behind Yeboah, Sippel and Eintracht returnees Jørn Andersen he was only striker number four. At the end of the season Eintrachter missed by a defeat on the final day against Hansa Rostock the championship and dropped back to third place. Also in the season 1992/93 it was not possible Kruse, to establish itself as a regular force. He completed 28 missions while the fourth- most of his team, but it was 18 times once or replaced. For this reason he moved to the end of the season for Premier League rivals VfB Stuttgart.

In Stuttgart he experienced in 1993 a black first year. He came only twice over the full 90 minutes of the game to use and could not generate any results. In April, the VfB - makers decided to rent a former East German youth international in Switzerland at FC Basel. In summer 1994, Kruse returned to VfB and was there in the 1994/95 season along with Giovane Elber with eight hits second best scorer of the team. Only Fredi Bobic was better to five goals. After another year in which he came to the course only as a substitute, he moved again in 1996 to Hertha BSC.

There Kruse immediately became captain of the team. As early as 1989, managed the club in 1996/97 with him promotion to the Bundesliga; with 15 goals, he was by far the best attacker of Berlin. In the Bundesliga, he played another 11 games for Berlin, before he played his last professional game on the 14th game day. Against the TSV 1860 München Kruse came on in the 41th minute for Alphonse Tchami.

In 1998, he had to end his football career after a knee injury. Reason for the End of career was a collision on October 4, 1997 Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann of FC Schalke 04 Kruse was unconscious after this collision, a concussion moved to and tore the patellar tendon.

National

Axel Kruse denied in his youth eleven U-17, 15 U-18 and U-19 six games as well as a U -21 game for the GDR. In 1986, he was also European champion of the A- juniors. In September 1992, Kruse was invited by national coach Berti Vogts to a scholarship course the national team in the sport Wedau. For an insert in the national team, however, he did not come.

After the active football career

Kruse launched a comparable new beginning as Manfred Burgsmüller and American Footballer was in Berlin Thunder. From 1999 to 2003, he scored 130 points as a kicker, was top scorer and took the team two World Bowl title.

By the summer of 2007, Axel Kruse was hired as head coach in Tasmania Gropius city in the fifth division of Berlin. This is the successor team of SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin, the club, the one year member of the football league was 1965/66 and as the worst team ever went down in Bundesliga history.

Later he worked as a presenter on a private TV sports program. Currently, Kruse Managing Director of the film and television production company farbfilm media in Berlin and also works as an expert and reporter for Sport 1 and the pay TV service of Telekom LEAGUE! Total.

Achievements

• Winning the 2nd Bundesliga with Hertha BSC: 1990
• U-18 European Championship in 1986 with the GDR