Kruse walked in front of the cameras holding his favoured number 10 shirt in his hand. A moment to savour for the returning Green-White. It was about a lot more than the media attention, “because I chose to come to this club and I am happy to be here. The club has placed a lot of faith in me and I want to pay that back.” Kruse also made his position very clear on the figures, just as is expected from him. “The money was definitely not top priority. Obviously I could have gone abroad, but why should I run away or hide? That is not my style. I always hold my hands up”, says Kruse.
The attacker doesn’t want to dwell on last year at Wolfsburg anymore. That is history. Baumann is also not thinking about it. “Max gives everything for football and is someone who really enjoys life. Therefore, I have no concerns that anything will happen away from the club which will be a problem to us as employers. With his positive attitude, he will play a very important role in the dressing room”, says Baumann.
Werder’s new number ten proved his joy at being back through a Facebook video. In the car on his way from Hamburg to Bremen, Kruse filmed himself loudly singing along behind the wheel. “I really like singing, but I am not very good. Luckily we have Justin Bieber for that. No, but seriously: it just happened. I simply wanted to show that I am back, and I am very happy about it.”