Robbie Thomas Kruse (/ˈkruːs/ KROOSS;[7] German: [ˈkʁuːzə];[8] born 5 October 1988) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

[16] 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.

[17] 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.

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

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.

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.

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

[23] 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.

[29] 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.

[41] On 28 December 2010, following his impressive level of play in the A-League Kruse was selected in the Australian national team's 23-man squad for the 2011 Asian Cup.

On 25 January 2011, Kruse scored his first international goal, in a 6–0 victory over Uzbekistan in the semi-final of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.