Robbie Kruse

Robbie Thomas Kruse (born 5 October 1988) is an Australian former professional footballer who plays as a forward.

Recruited in 2006 by Miron Bleiberg, Kruse was injured during an otherwise successful A-League pre-season during training.

He scored on his debut against Wellington Phoenix on 5 October 2007, his nineteenth birthday, with what was to be the winning goal for that game.

On 19 October 2007, Kruse struck against the Newcastle Jets for his second goal of his A-League career.

On 16 November, he got his third with an excellent curling effort to the far post as Brisbane beat Melbourne 1–0.

Kruse and his close friend Michael Zullo formed a good partnership with each playing either side of a striker in a three-man attack for Brisbane which coincided with a seven match unbeaten streak.

Kruse's place in Roar's starting line-up was in jeopardy at the beginning of the 2008 A-League season after he was involved in an altercation outside a Queensland nightspot.

The fight resulted in Kruse needing stitches and the then-19-year-old incurring the wrath of club coach Frank Farina, who offered Kruse only a short-term contract as a replacement for the injured Massimo Murdoca for the 2009–10 season.

Kruse was linked to a move to reigning A-League premiers Melbourne Victory following the departure of Melbourne striker Danny Allsopp to Qatar club Al-Rayyan.

On 10 September 2009, it was confirmed that Kruse had left the Roar for Melbourne Victory.

Kruse made his first appearance for the Victory on 13 September 2009 against Wellington Phoenix after replacing Ney Fabiano at the 58th minute.

He scored his first goal for the Victory in the 4–0 demolition of Gold Coast United on 28 November 2009.

A highlight of Kruse's professional career was when he scored a first half hat-trick on 16 January 2010 against the Perth Glory.

The Victory went on to win 6–2 as the Glory had no answer for Kruse's pace and well timed runs.

His fifth goal came against Sydney FC in the major semi final when struck a curling shot which left Sydney FC keeper Clint Bolton no chance as it tore into the top right corner.

His sixth goal for Melbourne came against Gold Coast United when he rounded goalkeeper and former teammate Glen Moss to slide the ball into the open net.

He was the first player to score a brace in a Melbourne derby, helping Victory to a 3–1 win over their rivals Melbourne Heart in December 2010.

At Victory, Kruse was known for turning his career around through his development and change of attitude, no longer getting caught up in off-field incidents like he did whilst in Brisbane, and taking his footballing potential much more seriously.

He played his junior football with Albany Creek in the Pine Rivers district to the near north of Brisbane and began his professional career with A-League side Brisbane Roar and later Melbourne Victory before moving to Germany in 2011.

Following his form for the Victory, Kruse signed with German side Fortuna Düsseldorf on a three-year contract beginning with the 2011–12 season.

He made his competitive debut for the club on 24 July 2011 in a league match against SC Paderborn 07, making a substitute appearance in the second half.

Kruse started in Fortuna's return to the Bundesliga in the 2012–13 season.

He provided a flick on for Schahin leading to the first goal and a neat cross for Schahin's second.

Fortuna went on to win the match 2–0 over Augsburg.

He scored his first goal in the Bundesliga against Hoffenheim.

In the 2–0 win over Hamburger SV, he scored his second goal of the Bundesliga campaign and then provided the assist for Fortuna's second.

Kruse signed a three-year contract with German side Bayer Leverkusen for €1.5 million on 28 April 2013.

He made his run-on debut against Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga on 21 September 2013, scoring two goals in a 4–1 victory.

On 31 August 2015, Kruse signed with VfB Stuttgart on loan until the end of the season with an option to buy.

He made his first appearance for VfB Stuttgart in the away match against Hertha BSC on 11 September 2015, as a replacement for Martin Harnik early in the second half.

The loan deal was prematurely terminated on 1 February 2016.

In May 2017, Kruse terminated his contract with Liaoning Whowin due to unpaid wages.

On 21 July 2017, Kruse joined German club VfL Bochum.

He scored his debut goal for the club on 10 September 2017, netting the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Darmstadt 98.

In July 2019, Kruse returned to the A-League, signing a two-year contract with Melbourne Victory.

Kruse was named as the Victory Medalist for the 2020–21 season; he made 19 appearances but no goals and one assist in that season.

Kruse left the Victory in June 2022 upon the expiration of his contract.

In February 2023, Brisbane Roar announced that Robbie Kruse would be returning to the club for the 2023 A-League season.

Kruse only played 8 minutes for the Roar (against Sydney FC) before being released at the end of the season.

In November 2023, Kruse became the Brisbane Roar Academy Development and Talent ID coach.