Max Kruse

He then scored a penalty and assisted two goals in a 3–1 win against 1899 Hoffenheim on 3 November.

Max Bennet Kruse (born 19 March 1988) is a German former professional footballer who played as a attacking midfielder or forward.

Kruse was born in Reinbek, Kreis Stormarn, Schleswig-Holstein in the north-eastern periphery of Hamburg.

He was raised in Reinbek or in Hamburg.

Kruse began his career with hometown club TSV Reinbek before he joined Hamburg-based SV Vier- und Marschlande in summer 1998.

After more than seven years there, he was scouted by Werder Bremen in January 2006.

On 4 May 2009, he signed a two-year contract with FC St. Pauli.

During the 2011–12 2. Bundesliga, Kruse scored 13 goals and provided six assists as FC St. Pauli finished on 62 points in fourth place, missing out on the promotion playoffs on goal difference.

Following his successful spell with St. Pauli, Kruse was transferred to Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in the summer of 2012.

He made his competitive debut for his new club on 18 August 2012 in a DFB-Pokal match against Victoria Hamburg, which ended in a 2–1 victory as Kruse scored the opening goal and provided the assist for Sebastian Freis's winner.

Kruse made his home league debut on 25 August, scoring a goal in Freiburg's 1–1 draw with 1. FSV Mainz 05.

He helped Freiburg claim their first win of the Bundesliga season in their third game on 16 September, netting a goal and providing two assists in an enthralling 5–3 defeat of TSG Hoffenheim.

Kruse helped seal an upset win over Schalke on 15 December, providing assists for first half goals to both Jan Rosenthal and Jonathan Schmid in a 3–1 away victory at the Arena AufSchalke.

On 16 February, he opened the scoring nine minutes before half time as Freiburg recorded their first win over Kruse's former club Werder Bremen in 11 years with a 3–2 away victory at the Weserstadion.

Kruse scored twice in the second half of Freiburg's Bundesliga clash with Borussia Mönchengladbach on 30 March, securing a 2–0 victory for the club.

In his penultimate game with Freiburg on 11 May, he was awarded "Man of the Match" honours as he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 defeat of already relegated Greuther Fürth, all but securing Freiburg an automatic spot in the Europa League group stage for next season.

His streak started on 7 April 2012.

Following a standout season with Freiburg, Kruse signed for Borussia Mönchengladbach on a four-year deal in April 2013.

He made his debut for the club in Gladbach's loss to 3. Liga side Darmstadt 98 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on 4 August 2013.

He managed to score his first goal for the club on 17 August, firing in Gladbach's first goal in a 3–0 home victory over Hannover 96.

Kruse continued his scoring form on 31 August, netting Gladbach's third goal of a 4–1 home victory over his former club Werder Bremen.

On 10 May 2015, VfL Wolfsburg signed Kruse on a four-year deal, after activating his release clause of €12 million.

He made his debut as a 70th-minute substitute on 1 August in the 2015 DFL-Supercup, and scored in the penalty shootout as Wolfsburg defeated Bayern Munich after a 1–1 draw.

On 8 August 2015, Kruse scored his first goal for Wolfsburg in the fourth minute of 4–1 win at Stuttgarter Kickers in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.

On 2 August 2016, Kruse re-joined Werder Bremen for a second stint at the club.

He scored his first goal for the club in his third league appearance on 3 December 2016, in a 2–1 win against Ingolstadt.

On 22 April 2017, he scored four goals in one match for the first time in his career as Werder Bremen came back from 0–1 and 1–2 deficits to defeat Ingolstadt 4–2 and maintain a 10-match unbeaten run.

Ahead of the 2018–19 season, Kruse was chosen as the team's captain by manager Florian Kohfeldt.

As of October 2018, he was the player with the longest active penalty scoring streak – 24 goals.

He had not missed a single penalty in six years.

In May 2019, Kruse announced he would not extend his contract and leave the club following the 2018–19 season.

On 28 June 2019, Kruse joined Fenerbahçe on a three-year deal.

On 18 June 2020, he terminated his contract with the club citing unpaid wages.

On 6 August 2020, Kruse returned to the Bundesliga joining Union Berlin.

On 3 October, he scored his first goal for Union and the game's opener in a 4–0 win against Mainz 05.

During a 5–0 win against Arminia Bielefeld on 7 November 2020, he scored a penalty to equalise Hans-Joachim Abel's Bundesliga record for most penalties scored (16) without a single miss.

On the last matchday of the season, he scored a goal in stoppage time to beat RB Leipzig 2–1 and qualify Union Berlin for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, their first European football since the 2001–02 UEFA Cup.

On 30 January 2022, Kruse re-joined VfL Wolfsburg on a one-and-a-half-year deal.

On 28 November 2022, Wolfsburg and Kruse agreed to terminate his contract by mutual consent.

On 30 June 2023, Kruse agreed to join 2. Bundesliga club SC Paderborn.