[2] As player of Hansa Rostock, following an away game in Copenhagen on 8 July 1989, Kruse fled to West Germany with the help of friends.
He just ten appearances, eight of which as substitute and received a ban for assaulting referee Hans-Joachim Osmers in a DFB Cup game.
Kruse joined FC Basel during the second half of their 1993–94 season under head coach Claude Andrey.
[3] Kruse played his domestic league debut for them one week later on 9 April in the home game as Basel drew 1–1 against Yverdon-Sports.
[5] Kruse's last game with Basel was the away match against Schaffhausen on 23 April, in which he also scored a goal, as the visitors were 4–1 winners.